Domestic abusers to face lie detector tests after release from jail

DOMESTIC abuse offenders are to face lie detector tests when they are released from prison, as part of a new law to prevent them contacting their victims.

Ministers will announce today the launch of a three-year pilot with 600 “high-risk” offenders to establish if polygraphs can reveal whether they are breaching the terms of their licences, which bar them from trying to contact their partners or families after their release from jail.

They will be tested three months after their release to see if they are lying when asked questions about whether they have made any attempts to contact their victims or to approach their homes, work, relatives or friends. They will be tested every six months after that, unless they fail the first test.

If successful, compulsory lie detector tests will be used for all high-risk domestic abusers. Polygraph tests have been used for sex offenders since 2013. They work by measuring heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and sweat to determine if a person is lying.

It is one of a series of measures that will be confirmed today when Theresa May’s domestic abuse bill is introduced to Parliament following a nationwide consultation.

Courts will be able to issue orders to ensure offenders stay away from “exclusion zones” around victims of their abuse. Councils, police, social workers and victims will be able to apply for the new court orders requiring an abusive partner to reform or face up to five years in jail.

The bill will also introduce the first legal government definition of domestic abuse, which would include economic abuse and non-physical controlling and manipulative behaviour.

Perpetrators of abuse will also be banned from cross-examining their victims in person in the family courts.

The Government estimates there are two million victims of domestic abuse a year, costing the economy £66 billion.