A SOLICITOR has raised concerns about a new law which will enable people to find out if their partner has previous convictions for domestic violence.

Earlier this year the Government announced year-long trials of Clare’s Law in Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire and Gwent. If successful the scheme will be rolled out across the country.

But a Worcestershire solicitor has warned the law could lead to information ending up in the wrong hands.

Thursfields solicitor’s family law expert Hollie Styles said: “There should be very stringent measures to ensure that safeguarding is in place for who the information is released to.

“Although Clare’s Law is aimed at reducing the number of vulnerable people embarking in these types of relationships, the reality is that most domestic violence goes unreported and it would be unrealistic to expect any such information from a database could be treated as evidence of past or future behaviour.”

The leading domestic violence charity Refuge has already warned the cost of setting up the pilot schemes could outweigh the benefits. It says most abusers are not known to police and when they are, legislation is already in place to give police powers to disclose information about previous convictions or charges to prevent further crimes from taking place.

Clare’s Law was introduced after the father of Clare Wood, who was brutally attacked and killed by a man she met online, campaigned for a change so people in a relationship or thinking of starting a relationship can check whether their partners have a history of domestic violence.

West Mercia Women’s Aid say domestic abuse is a considerable problem in Worcestershire and in 2010 to 2011, their 24-hour Domestic Abuse Helpline took about 2,000 calls from victims (almost exclusively women) experiencing domestic abuse.

Chief executive Jan Frances said: “Clare’s Law may help to reduce domestic violence a little but, given most perpetrators are not known to the police, it is unlikely to have a significant effect.

“Domestic violence is rarely a one-off occurrence, but it is mostly a hidden crime. The most useful way to help domestic abuse victims at ground level would be to continue to improve police responses to victims and to invest in specialist services that save and change the lives of victims.”