Domestic abusers to be added to violent and sex offender register in new crackdown
When animal abuse is taken seriously, people are safer.
We therefore welcome the news in England and Wales today that coercive control within domestic abuse will be taken more seriously by adding some perpetrators to the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) for violent and dangerous offenders.
Protect Animals. Protect People.
Our campaign, and the training we have been doing around the world, is about recognising the part that animals play within families and communities.
We train police officers and others engaged in public protection to see the way violence against animals and people is interlinked and how abusers use animals to inflict harm onto people.
In England and Wales, we would like to see serious animal abusers placed on ViSOR anyway, but definitely when that cruelty is part of domestic abuse.
As a former police detective, I saw how violence within the home tragically ends but I know how many opportunities were missed to help people because animal welfare, and understanding the animal-human bond, was often minimalised.
With Naturewatch Foundation, I’ve had the opportunity to present in many countries on this subject, this weekend speaking at a Ukrainian-based international conference.
Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (DARA)
When police attend cases of domestic abuse, they complete DARA forms that ask about whether the abuser hurts animals – yet our recent investigations show that websites of police forces don’t offer advice to human victims of animal cruelty. We would like that to change. There’s also no mandatory training of police officers in England and Wales to know what animal abuse and, therefore, animal welfare looks like within a domestic abuse crime scene.
Our campaign this year is about changing that.
Prevention is better than cure
The UK Prime Minister, in announcing the news today, stated this was about “Preventing more of these crimes from happening in the first place and bringing more perpetrators to justice.”
Exactly that. When animals are protected, people are protected.
Read more about our campaign to Protect Animals. Protect People.
