Member

It is right that breaches of domestic abuse protection orders or other orders may send perpetrators straight back to prison. However, the sad truth is that victims may not always recognise breaches of an order, or they may be too scared to call it in. Even when they do, very few breaches are acted on by the police. Recall is an important tool in ensuring that victims are safeguarded in the short term, but we cannot create a system in which there is a cycle of ever-increasing risk. As a result, I have tabled amendments 22 and 23, and new clause 5, which seek to address this issue by ensuring that any offenders who are recalled on the basis of contact with their victim are not automatically released after 56 days, but are instead holistically risk assessed and held in custody until their risk to the victim has been reduced to the extent that it can be managed in the community. By breaking the cycle, my amendments would address some of the concerns raised by senior police and probation officials regarding the resource pressure of recall and holding in custody.