Staff Development at the Helpline
The All Wales Helpline would like to thank Graham Cobley from the Public Protection Unit North Wales Police for visiting the Helpline to give an overview of the Domestic violence protection notices (DVPN) and domestic violence protection orders (DVPO) and how they work in practice.
He explained that a DVPN gives the arresting officer the opportunity to intervene in order to protect victims. DVPN can stop the offender from returning to an address for 48 hours.
A DVPO is granted by the court, can last up to 28 days and will include conditions with which the perpetrator must comply. This can include prohibiting the perpetrator from molesting the associated person for whose protection it is issued, and include molestation in general or certain acts of molestation.
If the perpetrator lives in the same premises as the victim, the DVPN can:
•Prohibit the perpetrator from evicting or excluding the victim from the address
•Prohibiting the perpetrator from entering the address
•Require the perpetrator to leave the address
•Prohibit the perpetrator from coming within a specified distance of the address
All the staff members felt they were much more confident in discussing these new procedures with service users after the presentation.