Saskatchewan introduces 'Clare's Law' to prevent domestic violence

Saskatchewan has introduced new legislation that would allow police to warn people if their partners have violent criminal records, and allow people to request that information.

If passed, it will become the first Canadian province to provide that kind of disclosure.

But it’s still unclear exactly how much information police will be able to release, and who will be able to read it.

Currently, if someone suspects their partner might have a violent past, they can look up their past charges, convictions, peace bonds or civil actions in court databases, or ask the Parole Board of Canada for its decisions. However, that information can be difficult and time consuming to access, and they would not be able to see other relevant information, such as calls to police, police reports, previous arrests or dropped charges.

The Saskatchewan government says the new legislation, called the Interpersonal Violence Disclosure Protocol, or Clare’s Law, would allow police services to disclose “relevant information” about a partner’s history of violence to people at risk through the “right to know” process, and to applicants through a “right to ask” process.

People who feel they are at risk of partner violence can ask police for background information about that partner, and police can proactively disclose it. But it’s not clear yet what information would be released.

“The Act provides clarity on the ability to ask for information and the ability to disclose information,” government spokesperson Jennifer Graham told VICE News. “Right now, there’s no clear statutory authority for that to occur and it becomes a matter of discretion for the police to do so.

“We are continuing to work on who can apply for the information, what information can be released and how it can be used,” Graham said. “The protocol for disclosure of information is currently being developed in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police. The shelter community will also be consulted.”

Clare’s Law was first introduced in the United Kingdom, and is named after Clare Wood, a woman who was unaware of her ex-partner’s violent past. Her ex-boyfriend, George Appleton, murdered her by strangling her and setting her on fire. Before her death, she repeatedly called the Greater Manchester Police to say he had harassed and threatened her, and attempted to rape her. Police arrested him a week before her death after he broke down her front door, according to the BBC.

What Wood didn’t know was that Appleton had spent three years in jail for harassing another woman, and another six months in jail for breaching a restraining order. Soon after killing Wood, he committed suicide.

During a public inquest, Wood’s father said his daughter “didn’t get the protection she needed,” and if he had known Appleton had a violent past, he could have done more to save her.

The Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS) welcomed the news Tuesday. Crystal Giesbrecht, director of research and communications for PATHS, called it “a really positive step and certainly one of the pieces of the puzzle.”

“It does and it doesn’t go far enough,” she told VICE News. The legislation will help people access information when they’re getting into a relationship, or help them decide whether to leave a partner.

Right now, she said, “there’s really no way to know” if an individual has had police complaints, dropped charges, arrests, or police called on them in the past. During the development of the protocol that will go along with the law, PATHS will be advocating for the disclosure of that information, she said.

Giesbrecht wants to extend the ability to request that information to shelters, working on behalf of their clients. Past history of violence plays heavily into risk assessments that shelters do for their clients, she said.

But she also warned that not all information requests will be granted under the new legislation.

“Not everyone who makes the request automatically gets the information. In the UK there were about 4,000 requests made to police, but only about a third of requests were granted.”

She said it would be best if decisions about disclosures could be made by committee, and if domestic violence workers could sit on those committees to aid release of the most relevant information.

Saskatchewan has the highest rate of intimate partner violence in Canada, with nearly 6,000 cases reported to police in 2015.

Giesbrecht said it’s not clear why the rate is so high there. “It’s complicated,” she said. But she said the rural nature of Saskatchewan communities can make it difficult for people to leave domestic abuse situations.

“We have seen too many cases of interpersonal, domestic and sexual violence in our province,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan said in a statement Tuesday. “If we are able to identify risk and inform those at risk, we hope to help to protect people in Saskatchewan from violent and abusive behaviour by a partner.”

Photo of Clare Wood