Clare's Law showing early successes say police and social services agencies
In the five months since Clare's Law was enacted in Alberta, more than 200 applications were made to the province for information and support.
The law allows people living in violent or abusive relationships to fill out an online application asking police to share any violent criminal history of their domestic partners. It also puts the applicants in touch with social services that can point them towards the best supports and counselling.
"You can have a friend or family member fill it out for you or with you," said Carrie McManus, director of programs at Sagesse, an agency that helps abused women in the next steps after emergency shelters. "So I think that ease of access of "I'm not really sure what's going on, I'm not really sure if this is violence, I'm not really sure what I need for support" and the ability to fill that out and get the disclosure and the ability to get connected to social services."
According to the office of the minister of Community and Social Services, there were 226 applications in the first five months of the law being in effect. Of those, there were 102 disclosures and 127 people were referred for more help.
Some of that includes identifying abusive behaviours or making plans to reach safety or signal a need for immediate help.
Calgary Police said the law has been effective from their experience as well. Staff Sgt. Vincent Hancott heads the Domestic Conflict Unit which falls under the Major Crimes Unit. He said the disclosure of violent criminal history is important, but only one element in protecting families.
"The education, prevention, intervention," said Hancott. "That is probably the biggest underlying thing that I see as a benefit from Clare's Law."
He said as of his most recent data, a total of 57 applications have come from Calgary. Each of the 30,000 calls his unit fields each year are channeled to different investigators based on the assessed risk, from low to high.
"(To) go to these kinds of calls and be able to get help immediately for individuals that are experiencing violence in their relationship," Hancot said. "That's very rewarding."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.