:01:27. > :01:30.In the West: Should the police tell you if the
:01:30. > :01:40.man you are dating has a history of domestic violence? The scheme's
:01:40. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :30:11.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1710 seconds
:30:11. > :30:14.being tried out in Wiltshire - In Sunday Politics in the West:
:30:14. > :30:18.Should you know the police history of the man you are thinking about
:30:19. > :30:23.living with? It is called Claire's law and is going to be tried out in
:30:23. > :30:28.Wiltshire this summer. Some charities say it is a gimmick. We
:30:28. > :30:32.will be discussing that shortly. Our guests are two West Country
:30:32. > :30:37.politicians. To keep us in order is a Conservative MP who is a
:30:37. > :30:41.barrister and a judge, and to keep as environmentally friendly, and
:30:41. > :30:47.Green councillor in Bristol. Coppola, none of the political
:30:47. > :30:49.arguments this Sunday will be recycled! -- hopefully. Your
:30:49. > :30:53.thoughts on the jubilee celebrations which were
:30:54. > :30:57.extraordinary. Were you surprised at the scale of the response?
:30:57. > :31:02.think encouraged is a better word. It was good to see the Union flag
:31:02. > :31:06.being used for its proper purpose, to celebrate a major national event
:31:06. > :31:11.and thanked the Queen for 60 years of outstanding public service. And
:31:11. > :31:14.to remind ourselves about how far we have come as a nation.
:31:14. > :31:19.Republicans in the audience - and there were not many - would be
:31:19. > :31:23.rather glum after this weekend. Talking of Republicans, it is not a
:31:23. > :31:29.great time to be on that side of the argument, is it? A we had a
:31:29. > :31:35.great Republican barbecue at the same time! I think it was just one
:31:35. > :31:39.great distraction. These are very harsh times we are facing but the
:31:40. > :31:43.weakest in about society are being targeted. It is not a time for
:31:43. > :31:48.celebration but for commiseration. I do not think we should celebrate
:31:48. > :31:51.where we are going as a country now. Wiltshire is to be one of the first
:31:51. > :31:57.places to try out a new system for warning women that their partner
:31:57. > :32:01.way be violent. It is named after a woman he was murdered by her ex-
:32:01. > :32:08.boyfriend, but there has been criticism from some campaigners who
:32:08. > :32:12.say the money could be better spent. Ball has been to meet one victim.
:32:12. > :32:18.A I was an absolute wreck, scared to death. Not speaking, couldn't
:32:18. > :32:23.function. I was being held down, restricted, having things thrown at
:32:23. > :32:31.me. Anything that was a row and you could have thrown at you or it was
:32:31. > :32:36.to the extremes, as well, like... Sorry. Towards the end, it was
:32:36. > :32:42.horrific. On the last occasion, I thought I was going to die. I
:32:42. > :32:45.called out for my mum and was just thinking that I was going to die.
:32:45. > :32:52.It is thought domestic violence leads to the death of two women
:32:52. > :32:56.every week. Stella looked for help. Her farmer -- former partner was
:32:56. > :32:59.successfully prosecuted. After the trial, she was told he had earlier
:32:59. > :33:04.criminal convictions. If she had known that at the start, things
:33:04. > :33:07.might have been different. I did not associate with any of his
:33:07. > :33:11.friends because they were not the type of people I would associate
:33:11. > :33:16.with. It was easy for him to keep everything is secret but if I knew,
:33:16. > :33:20.I would that have been with him. She has been getting help from a
:33:20. > :33:27.charity who works alongside Wiltshire police, he will soon have
:33:27. > :33:31.new powers to warn women who ask for information. They write down
:33:31. > :33:39.sides - if people have never been committed to -- convicted for
:33:39. > :33:44.domestic violence. One of the big issues is that people do not talk
:33:44. > :33:49.about it so only a small minority ends in prosecution. I think this
:33:49. > :33:53.could have a limited impact. Wiltshire is one of four places
:33:53. > :33:57.where the scheme will be trial. Officially, they ate say they are
:33:57. > :34:00.waiting to hear how it should be run but unofficially, there is some
:34:00. > :34:05.frustration but a Home Office have not given them the guidance they
:34:05. > :34:11.need. And in some places, it is an extra financial burden at a time
:34:11. > :34:17.when budgets are being cut. Some experts think that is foolish. The
:34:17. > :34:26.charity Refuge warned it is untried, untested and costly. The majority
:34:26. > :34:29.of domestic violence incidents are not reported to the police. We are
:34:29. > :34:31.concerned the government is spending precious resources on
:34:31. > :34:36.introducing new legislation when the legislative framework is
:34:36. > :34:42.already in place. Police already have the powers to disclose.
:34:42. > :34:46.when and how those powers are used varies from force to force. It is
:34:46. > :34:50.quite difficult ground. We do have the ability, at the moment, to tell
:34:50. > :34:55.people about the offending history of a partner if we think that they
:34:55. > :34:59.are significantly at risk. We can share that information with the
:34:59. > :35:04.right level of authority, in cases where we think there is a serious
:35:04. > :35:08.risk of violence. For Stella, the future looks better. She is
:35:08. > :35:13.rebuilding her life and hopes that by going to the police, other women
:35:14. > :35:19.may be protected. With me today is his senior law
:35:19. > :35:25.lecturer from the University of the West of England. Nice to see you.
:35:25. > :35:29.Is this practical? It as a pilot - we have to remember it as a pilot
:35:29. > :35:32.to start with. We will find out information from that pilot. When
:35:32. > :35:36.we talk about whether it is practical, we have to work out
:35:36. > :35:41.whether there is a cost-benefit, whether or not people are actually
:35:41. > :35:45.going to be helped by this. We could say that there are some
:35:45. > :35:53.reservations about the scheme. sort of information could the
:35:53. > :35:56.police actually hand out? That is yet to be decided. The coroner, in
:35:56. > :36:01.the case of the lady who died, talked about previous convictions
:36:01. > :36:06.of that type. It looked like she was talking about domestic violence
:36:06. > :36:09.related offences. The problem we have is that there is no actual
:36:09. > :36:15.offence of domestic violence, so we are talking about convictions for
:36:15. > :36:21.different things. For example, as salt, harassment. There is no
:36:21. > :36:25.actual offence. -- assault. Somebody has to make a decision
:36:25. > :36:28.about what it is we are going to disclose. What checks would the
:36:28. > :36:33.police have to make before they decided to give the person turning
:36:33. > :36:38.up at the station that information? The pilot will determine that. We
:36:38. > :36:41.don't yet know. It is quite likely that it will follow the public
:36:41. > :36:45.disclosure scheme for child sex offenders. There is quite a
:36:45. > :36:49.rigorous process there. You cannot just simply turn up at a police
:36:49. > :36:53.station and say, "I would like to know some information because my
:36:53. > :37:00.child has a relationship with an adult about which I wanted a
:37:01. > :37:05.information". It is a very rigorous process. Let's bring in the
:37:05. > :37:10.politicians. It does all sound a bit vague. It is a pilot, as Rachel
:37:10. > :37:14.says. It is based upon two principles - the right to know and
:37:14. > :37:18.the right to ask. There is a subtle difference between the two. The
:37:19. > :37:22.right to know would involve the police being proactive and
:37:22. > :37:27.releasing information with the sort of safeguards that Rachel suggested.
:37:27. > :37:31.The other would be the right of the individual to go in and, subject to
:37:31. > :37:36.those safeguards, obtain information. In the real world, you
:37:36. > :37:40.go out, you have a couple of mistakes, you get to know each
:37:40. > :37:44.other and then one of you pops into the police station and asks
:37:44. > :37:48.questions. That would kill any romance stone dead! I don't think
:37:48. > :37:52.you can interfere with the natural process of human relationships but
:37:52. > :37:56.in all the cases we have just seen, there are people out there who
:37:56. > :38:00.would have benefited from more information and he would have
:38:00. > :38:06.changed their pattern of behaviour or lifestyle if they had known
:38:06. > :38:10.Stirton important facts about a partner. -- certain important facts.
:38:10. > :38:13.Did dismiss it before the pilot comes of age would be wrong. It is
:38:13. > :38:17.not perfect but two women a week being killed as a result of
:38:18. > :38:22.domestic violence - we have got to do something. If that would tackle
:38:23. > :38:26.it completely, I would be behind at 100%. I think we are going in the
:38:26. > :38:30.wrong direction. What would happen if a woman would go in and find out
:38:30. > :38:40.that their partner has not committed any crime, a debt they
:38:40. > :38:41.
:38:41. > :38:46.are actually in danger? -- yet they are all. It will not stop the
:38:46. > :38:51.offences entirely. I think we should be putting our funds into
:38:51. > :38:54.centres that tell women who have been abused. After it has happened?
:38:54. > :38:58.I agree that is after it has happened to, but also to have a lot
:38:58. > :39:01.more councillors so that someone feels threatened, they do not go to
:39:01. > :39:05.the police to see whether their partner has a prior conviction, but
:39:05. > :39:12.to a counsellor. It is whether you feel threatened that you should act
:39:12. > :39:19.upon. It is never easy. We need to make sure they're all resources for
:39:19. > :39:23.places to women to go to. You have reservations about who should be
:39:23. > :39:27.told this information. What is your solution to that? Having the sort
:39:27. > :39:31.of safeguards in place, such as having a multi-agency assessment so
:39:31. > :39:36.the police, social services and other concerned agencies make a
:39:36. > :39:39.decision. So, someone turns up at a police station and you want a
:39:39. > :39:43.multi-agency risk assessment conference before they get told any
:39:43. > :39:46.information? You would involve social workers and police of the
:39:46. > :39:52.streets to sit down and have a chat about whether this person should
:39:52. > :39:56.know. There should be safeguards in place. A have you got the resources
:39:57. > :40:00.for that? It happens already, as has been described in the case of
:40:00. > :40:03.Sarah's law, in relation to be defiled as closure. There needs to
:40:03. > :40:11.be a safeguard system so that the right information is disclosed to
:40:11. > :40:16.the right people. I would be against a system that allows people
:40:16. > :40:21.to turn up to the police station and get information just like that.
:40:21. > :40:24.I do reassured? We have to wait and see what the terms of the pilot
:40:24. > :40:29.half. I am confident it will not be a system where anyone can just turn
:40:29. > :40:34.up and get information. It needs to be fairly simple, otherwise it is
:40:34. > :40:38.just going to get bogged down. have to be extremely careful about
:40:38. > :40:43.who we disclose information to. There has to be a risk and there
:40:43. > :40:47.has to be risk assessment. Why is this information secret anyway?
:40:47. > :40:50.the film pointed out, there is already power of common law to
:40:50. > :40:54.disclose the information but there is no consistent approach across
:40:54. > :41:02.the country, which is why the government is looking at ways of
:41:02. > :41:06.existing laws to improve the system. Thank you.
:41:06. > :41:10.The English Defence League is planning a march in Bristol in July.
:41:10. > :41:15.The EDL claims it is a human rights group that campaigns against
:41:15. > :41:19.extremist Islam. Its critics say it is a racist organisation that whips
:41:19. > :41:25.up the against Muslims. The march is happening on the same day as the
:41:25. > :41:29.Gay pride festival in Bristol, much to the distress of the organisers.
:41:29. > :41:34.This is one of Bristol's most colourful events, the City's Gay
:41:34. > :41:39.pride festival, which has been growing for the past few years. But
:41:39. > :41:41.a political storm is brewing ahead of this year's Festival, as the
:41:41. > :41:46.far-right group the EDL are planning a demonstration on the
:41:46. > :41:51.same day. They have held marches in other parts of the country but this
:41:51. > :41:56.is the first ever in the West. Avon and Somerset Police say it will
:41:56. > :41:59.cost �500,000 to make sure the event run smoothly. They are also
:41:59. > :42:04.bringing in 700 officers from other police forces to help maintain
:42:04. > :42:08.public safety. But a spokesperson for the group says they have a
:42:08. > :42:11.right to demonstrate. The union demonstrations have cost �68
:42:12. > :42:15.million already this year but no one talks about that. The only time
:42:15. > :42:19.anyone ever talks about how much it cost the taxpayers is when
:42:19. > :42:23.taxpayers like us are actually protesting. It is the first time
:42:23. > :42:27.taxpayers have protested for 20 years. Usually it is students,
:42:27. > :42:32.immigrants or people who do not work. There is no price you can put
:42:32. > :42:37.on democracy and expressing yourself. But Labour politicians
:42:37. > :42:43.are worried the march will put off visitors to the pride festival.
:42:43. > :42:47.entire EDL ethos seems to be about inciting, rather than communities
:42:48. > :42:52.working together. It is about trying to tear communities apart.
:42:52. > :42:57.This is the exact opposite of what we stand for as the City and what
:42:57. > :43:02.Pride stands for, as well. It is impossible to tell how many people
:43:02. > :43:12.will join the EDL Marg but it is thought rival groups like Unite
:43:12. > :43:15.
:43:15. > :43:18.Begins Criticism -- against fascism could be organising an event.
:43:19. > :43:22.Joining this is the organiser of the Gay pride festival. How
:43:22. > :43:26.concerned argued? I am not concerned about the numbers of EDL
:43:26. > :43:32.in Bristol. I don't think they have much support down here and if we
:43:32. > :43:36.look at ways in demonstrations in Brighton, we had 100 people turn up,
:43:36. > :43:40.whereas Pride attracts about 20,000 people. I don't think numbers are a
:43:40. > :43:46.problem but I am accept that they are trying to hijack the pride
:43:46. > :43:50.festival -- upset. They are trying to get extra support where there is
:43:50. > :43:55.no support for them and they are actually making 14th July, which
:43:55. > :43:58.should be a shining beacon of quality, a bit tarnished. One of
:43:58. > :44:03.the things the English Defence League claims is that it is
:44:03. > :44:08.fighting against, Fabia within the Muslim community. They go on to say
:44:08. > :44:14.that gay people have more to fear from Islam than they do from the
:44:14. > :44:18.EDL. I personally have not met any gay people that support be EDL or
:44:18. > :44:24.feel that they are concerned by Islam infringing upon them and
:44:24. > :44:29.causing homophobia. It is not Islamic institutions that are
:44:29. > :44:33.breeding homophobia, and homophobia exists across the board. We only
:44:33. > :44:38.have to look at our own Christian churches which have been purveyors
:44:39. > :44:42.of homophobia for many years, and we have had to fight against that.
:44:42. > :44:46.Homophobia finds Abed within religion and people used religion
:44:46. > :44:51.to hide behind, but the real challenge is stamping out
:44:51. > :44:56.homophobia across the board. have found that working with Muslim
:44:56. > :45:01.communities that you have been accepted as you might do? The best
:45:01. > :45:06.thing about Bristol is that it is communities that work together.
:45:06. > :45:10.Pride is about social cohesion and we go into communities and invite
:45:10. > :45:16.them along. The best thing about Right is that it is for everyone -
:45:16. > :45:22.you do not have to be gay to club. We just stand up for equality.
:45:22. > :45:26.don't think we should ban any march. We have worked very hard with the
:45:26. > :45:30.police and I think the council and the local police force need a large
:45:30. > :45:34.round of applause for how they have handled this. They have moved the
:45:34. > :45:37.EDL march, which was going to end up on College Green, where the
:45:37. > :45:43.pride celebration is going to be happening, to an earlier time so
:45:43. > :45:46.that they will not conflict now. Groups like EDL grow, don't they,
:45:46. > :45:50.because they perhaps address some of the issues that politicians are
:45:50. > :45:56.too frightened to talk about? Immigration, forced marriage and so
:45:56. > :45:59.on. I don't agree at all. I think all of us, whether we are in
:45:59. > :46:02.mainstream parties or fringe parties, have a responsibility in
:46:02. > :46:06.terms of the language we use and the way we portray our politics and
:46:06. > :46:11.should be positive, not about drawing divisions between
:46:11. > :46:15.communities, as one of the speakers suggested. I find the EDL's
:46:15. > :46:19.language and approach to be hostile and based upon divisions rather
:46:19. > :46:23.than watching to bring people together. If there is evidence of a
:46:23. > :46:26.potential breach of the piece, the Home Secretary has a power to ban
:46:26. > :46:30.marches and I am glad to hear that in Bristol, attempts have been
:46:30. > :46:34.made... Is it sensible to have it on the same day as the Gay pride
:46:34. > :46:39.festival? Attest needs to be applied as to whether a breach of
:46:39. > :46:44.the piece is present. If it can be arranged so that there is no threat
:46:44. > :46:47.to the public, all well and good. What is lined up for Gay pride this
:46:47. > :46:54.year? It is going to be a massive celebration. It is on College Green
:46:54. > :47:00.and it is free. We have over 40 acts, including five stages of
:47:00. > :47:04.performance and a massive party in the evening. Amass a family area -
:47:04. > :47:09.we invite everyone to come along. Thanks for coming along to tell us
:47:09. > :47:16.about it. Nowt it is time to take a look at
:47:16. > :47:20.the other political stories making the headlines this week.
:47:20. > :47:26.The family of a two-year-old savaged by a dog have called for
:47:26. > :47:29.laws on owning dangerous dogs to be tightened. The boys suffered facial
:47:29. > :47:32.injuries in the attack in a neighbour's back garden.
:47:32. > :47:37.The Bristol and tat and Labour supporter Tony Robinson was in town
:47:37. > :47:41.this week chairing a meeting of candidates hoping to stand for
:47:41. > :47:44.crystal meth. There are five Labour hopefuls seeking the former party
:47:44. > :47:48.nomination. They will find out next week who has won.
:47:48. > :47:53.The wheels of justice at the Crown Court in Bristol are grinding to a
:47:53. > :47:57.halt because there is not a bit -- enough money to pay the judges.
:47:57. > :48:04.People accused of crimes are left waiting for their day in court.
:48:04. > :48:06.Cuts in the Ministry of dentists it -- justice budget are being blamed.
:48:06. > :48:12.There are claims that some unemployed people from the West
:48:12. > :48:21.were hired as unemployed stewards for the Diamond Jubilee and ended
:48:21. > :48:26.up having to sit under London Bridge. -- unpaid stewards.
:48:26. > :48:29.That Was the Week in 60 seconds! To pick up a one of those stories,
:48:29. > :48:34.about the work experience people being bussed to London to act as
:48:34. > :48:39.stewards at the Jubilee and then ended up sleeping rough. Is that
:48:39. > :48:42.work-experience valuable? It is being called work-experience but
:48:42. > :48:46.what it really is is free employment and it is generally
:48:46. > :48:51.exploited by corporations and large festivals. They are taking paid
:48:51. > :48:57.work away from other people. The workfare system, as it is known,
:48:57. > :49:04.must end. If it helps get people into employment, is it worth it?
:49:04. > :49:10.Not a greedy, no. I think are paid internship as the best way. Robert,
:49:10. > :49:13.is their exportation going on? not think it is the way of the
:49:13. > :49:18.world but I think it is an important element in encouraging
:49:18. > :49:22.young people into work. A lot of young people themselves say to me
:49:22. > :49:26.that they value work experience, as long as it is properly managed. In
:49:26. > :49:30.this case, we saw that there were two hours where people were not
:49:30. > :49:33.properly managed and that should not happen. To use this as an
:49:33. > :49:37.excuse to slam the whole system of work experience is entirely wrong
:49:37. > :49:45.and misguided. We must keep it as an element of helping people into
:49:45. > :49:50.work. That is all we have time for today.
:49:50. > :49:53.Thank you to our guests. Sunday Politics continues in London but if