Clare’s Law: More lives at risk due to police delays, warns daughter

There were 45,344 Clare’s Law applications made in England and Wales in 2022/23, a rise of 300% in five years, according to figures provided by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS.)

That total comprises 27,419 “right to ask” requests – in which a person asks police about their partner – and 17,925 “right to know” applications, in which a force makes the proactive decision to warn someone about their partner’s history to protect them from potential abuse.

However, thousands of applications were declined and some did not receive a police response for months.

Forces released information in 38% of cases last year, a drop from 48% in 2018/19.

In Freedom of Information requests, the BBC asked 44 police forces about the Clare’s Law applications they had received since the scheme was launched.

Thirty-eight forces responded with data, of which 17 were able to provide more detailed figures about disclosure rates and response times.

Every force which provided relevant data had taken longer than the 28-day limit to respond to some applications. Some took more than a year to respond to members of the public who had asked for disclosures about their partner.

All the forces which supplied data on disclosure rates rejected the majority of requests for information under Clare’s Law last year, figures show.

Cleveland Police made disclosures in only 32% of cases and North Yorkshire Police released information in only 34%.