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For more information about our Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPO) services
Contact Our TeamDomestic Abuse Protection Orders are newly available and are only available if the defendant/respondent resides in the following areas;
- London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, and Bromley
- Greater Manchester
- The British Transport Police are also able to apply for a DAPO
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Redcar
- Cleveland
- Stockton-on-Tees
- North Wales (Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham)
DAPO’s can be granted in either the Criminal Courts or the Family Court.
A DAPO can be applied for by the police or within ongoing criminal proceedings.
If it applied for by the police a Domestic Abuse Protection Notice would be served and an application for a DAPO must be made within 48 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays).
A complainant can report domestic abuse and ask the police to apply on their behalf or, if a complainant is not supportive, the Police can apply and support the application with call out information and previous convictions.
Even without a complainant, if a pattern of police involvement can be demonstrated the application would likely be successful.
A defendant can contest the application and the matter would then proceed to a trial to determine if the contents of the application are accurate and/or if the DAPO is necessary and proportionate.
If DAPO is made without the complainant’s support, they can also make an application to the Court for the Order to be removed.
A DAPO can be applied for by the protected person or by a third party such as a family member, friend, social worker or domestic abuse support worker.
They can be applied for without notice which means the application would be submitted, the Court would grant the Order and the DAPO would be served on the respondent with a return hearing date.
The process in both Courts is similar.
The Order can be agreed, amended or contested.
- You will be required to comply with all of the prohibitions for as long as the Order states
- You will be subject mandatory notification requirements. This means that you must tell the police your name and address and any changes to these during the operational period. The initial notification must be within 3 days of the Order being made and any changes must be within 3 days.
- Some DAPO’s can also include electronic monitoring requirements (tag) or positive requirements such as behaviour change programmes.
- You would be required to attend the hearing date you are given and notify the applicant (this could be the police, protected person or other third party) and court that you do intend to agree but wish to discuss the terms.
- You must set out which conditions you take issue with, the reason for this and potential alternatives if removal isn’t agreeable.
- Most of the time conditions can be agreed outside of the court room. If the other party does not agree then the matter would be set down for a contested hearing where a Judge or Magistrates’ would hear arguments from both sides before making the final order.
- The original Order would remain in place until a final decision is made.
In the criminal court:
- A court hearing will take place within 48 hours and you would be required to attend to notify the applicant and court that you do not agree and wish to contest.
- A trial date would be set and the Police would be required to serve all evidence that they wish to rely on by a date set by the Court.
- The trial would take place and would involved the police presenting their case to the Court and you giving evidence.
- The burden of proof is less than the usual criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt in these applications and is instead on the balance of probabilities. It is more likely than not that the behaviour has occurred.
- The Court will first consider the burden of proof before then deciding if the DAPO is necessary and proportionate depending on their previous verdict and the evidence they have heard.
In the family court:
- A court hearing will likely take place without notice where the DAPO would be granted on the basis of the contents of the application alone.
- The DAPO and application would be served along with a return hearing date.
- You would be required to comply with the prohibitions and notification requirements in the meantime.
- You would attend on the return hearing date to notify the applicant and court that you do not agree and wish to contest.
- The Court would set a timetable roughly as follows;
- Applicant to serve statement, exhibits and any witness statements
- Respondent to serve statement, exhibits and any witness statements
- Contested hearing/trial
- The Court would consider the evidence of both parties and first decide on the balance of probabilities if the behaviour has occurred. It is more likely than not that it has.
- The Court will then decide if the DAPO is necessary and proportionate depending on their previous verdict and the evidence they have heard.
Due to the nature of the cases that find themselves before the Court for DAPO proceedings, the parties will not be able to cross examine each other during the trial.
- You can instruct a solicitor
- The court may instruct a solicitor for the purpose of cross-examination
- You may be required to prepare a list of questions, send these to the Court to review and a pre-trial hearing would be required to consider them. The Legal Advisor would then ask your questions on your behalf during the trial.
In criminal proceedings, a Legal Aid application could be made should the matter proceed to trial however it is still subject to the usual means and merits tests.
It would vary application to application if the Legal Aid Agency felt it was in the interests of justice to provide funding to contest the application given it’s civil nature.
In family proceedings, the protected person would likely be granted Legal Aid however if the applicant is a third party this may cause some difficulty.
A respondent however would not pass the merit’s test as they are not the person requiring protection.
If you were not eligible for Legal Aid you could privately instruct a solicitor however there are not set rates as each case varies in workload.
Alternatively you could represent yourself and in some cases the Court may instruct a solicitor to cross-examine on your behalf.
It is a criminal offence to breach a DAPO, specifically:
- Breach a prohibition of a DAPO without reasonable excuse,
- Fail to comply with the notification requirements without reasonable excuse or give false information to the police,
- Fail to comply with the electronic monitoring or positive requirements
- Fail to keep in contact with the person responsible for monitoring compliance with the conditions
This is an either-way offence that can be dealt with in the Magistrates Court or the Crown Court. If convicted of the offence the penalty ranges from a fine to a term of imprisonment. If the breach is particularly serious and the case is sent to the Crown Court, a sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment can be imposed.
If you require any further information or would like to discuss representation, please contact Ashley Hunter and Charlotte Cooper.
Our Criminal Law Specialists
Our Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPO) department is composed of dedicated specialists committed to providing advice and representation.
