The parliament in Guernsey has passed new legislation to modernise what was seen as outdated laws covering domestic abuse, with the aim to protect and empower victim-survivors.
Measures include new protection notices which can impose longer-term requirements and prohibitions on perpetrators, more powers given to police to restrict the movement of offenders to safeguard victims, and the introduction of pre-charge bail to allow police to enforce conditions while they investigate.
Training will be given across all agencies before the law comes into effect. As no extra resources will initially be allocated to the police, it will be a challenge to make best use of the powers under the new legislation without more boots on the ground, the BBC reported police chief Ruari Hardy as saying.
The laws, which have yet to be receive Royal Assent, are based on recent updates in Scotland and the Isle of Man.
