George Tyndale : the domestic abuse register will never work

By George Tyndale on Mar 12, 09 11:54 AM

The Home Office is rapidly becoming the home of the idiotic idea.

Last week it was the new plan to report crime by text message.

Now it's the register for men linked to domestic abuse.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith claims the scheme would mean that women who are starting a new relationship would be alerted if the new love interest had in the past been associated with violence in the home.

So how will that work exactly?

Will women all over Britain be calling into their local police stations (those that still have one that is) and saying to the desk sergeant: "I met this cracking new bloke in the pub last night. Can you tell me what he would be like in the home?"

Will thousands of them be ringing on a weekly or monthly basis?

And what about the men? Would they only be placed on the abuse register if they had a conviction?

One of the major problems with this issue is the failure to get perpetrators into court and punish them.

If a man has a history of abuse but no convictions the register could totally mislead.

So could it also include those suspected of violence? And if it did, how could the cops justify the dishing out of potentially libellous details about an individual based entirely on suspicion?

But why stop at domestic violence?

While a woman is at it she could also check if the new bloke she fancies is on the paedophile register as well. That dumb idea is already being tested.

And if she's checking for his inclination to violence and depravity why shouldn't she be also asking for details of other crimes such as drug-related offences.

Or speeding fines for that matter?

This would not only open up a mare's nest of issues relating to the Data Protection Act and human rights but would also turn the coppers into the next best thing to a character reference agency for lovelorn females.

It's as outrageous as it is unworkable.

And next week?
What's the betting on a new scheme under which women can ask the police about the desirability of a bloke they've just met while they're still in the pub......by text?