Abuse court gets status (From Stourbridge News)
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Abuse court gets status
12:14pm Monday 5th February 2007 in Local
Legal court advisor Davinder Birk, domestic abuse officer Andrea Forrester, witness service co-ordinator Elaine Homer, domestic abuse co-ordinator Anne Bowden and senior crown prosecutor Barry Sealeaf celebrate the special domestic violence status receive
DUDLEY and Halesowen Magistrates Courts have had their work with victims of domestic abuse receive government backing.
The borough has achieved specialist domestic abuse status after the Crown Prosecution Service met 11 components to achieve accreditation.
These factors included magistrates being fully trained in dealing with domestic abuse and court facilities providing separate entrances and exits and separate waiting facilities available in or outside the court.
Specialist domestic abuse courts were introduced at Dudley and Halesowen Magistrates in February 2005 and have dealt with 3,339 incidents of domestic abuse since.
