The Ministry of the Interior has submitted amendments to the Law “On the Police” to the Cabinet of Ministers. It will stipulate that in the future the police will have the right to separate a perpetrator without the application of the protected person. In cases where there is a risk that a person in or near the dwelling may harm the life, liberty, or health of the protected person, the police will ensure the separation of the person causing danger from the protected person without a written application.
"Often we have heard stories about families where the violence continues for a long time because the victim lives in fear that it will get worse after the application to the police. The police return to these homes countless times - but without the victim's or threatened person's application, their options are limited. Unfortunately, the victim's relatives and friends are often powerless, watching the violence endlessly. Such amendments to the law will allow the police to take action and break this cycle of violence, ”noted the Minister for the Interior Marija Golubeva.
Amendments to the Civil Procedure Law, the Law on the Police, the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child, and the Law on Orphan Courts have entered into force on 31 March 2014. These amendments introduced a temporary institute of protection against violence, providing for the possibility for victims of violence and persecution to turn to court on their initiative, including through the police, and to ask the court to impose restrictions on the violent person.
These amendments will add to the right of the police officer to decide on the separation by imposing an obligation on the person causing the threat to leave the dwelling where the protected person is resident. A police officer will have the right to decide on the separation based on the risk of violence without a written application from the protected person.
Additional resources will not be needed to implement this framework and won't increase the burden on police officers, nor will it have a financial impact on public and local government budgets.
Prepared by Linda Curika
Deputy to the Minister for the Interior
for Strategic Communications
Email: linda.curika@iem.gov.lv