Essex Police have now helped secure the safety of 100 women and men by using new legislation to protect them from the risk of domestic violence.

Superintendents in the force have authorised the use of Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPN) in 116 cases where reports have been received of domestic related incidents.

There has been insufficient evidence to charge suspects in these incidents with a crime but officers have still had enough concern about the safety of the victims that they have put in place DVPNs.

The notices can order the suspects to leave the premises where the incidents occurred, prevent them from entering the homes of the alleged victims and stop them from making any further contact with them, as well as further provisions.

A total of 109 of these applications have then gone to court, within 48 hours, where Magistrates have also approved the imposition of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) in 105 cases.

These DVPOs then endorse the initial restrictions for a further 14 or 28 days.

Adam Hunt, head of Legal Services at Essex Police, said: "Very early on we realised we would need a special team of legal officers to handle all of these cases and it is testament to their expertise and knowledge that we have succeeded in getting 105 out of the 109 DVPO applications we have taken to court approved.

"We will continue to put together the best possible case in support of our officers who are making use of this new legislation to protect vulnerable women and men.”