Latvia has regulations that provide for separating violent people from families. Correctional facilities have to psychologically work with the “brains” of violent people, says Saeima Legal Affairs Committee’s chairman Andrejs Judins.
When asked about the possibility of detaining and imprisoning a person already separated from a family for repeated attempts to contact victims of violence, Judins said there are regulations for that in the law. However, the problem is that neither then law nor the regulations can stop a person from committing murder after being released from prison.
“What happens when he leaves prison?” Judins rhetorically asks, noting that it is important to find a long-term solution. The head of the Legal Affairs Committee also said: people who support the method of imprisonment suggest violent people should be given life sentence immediately after being separated from their families. The Saeima deputy said such a measure would be disproportionate.
The politician explained that there are sections of the law that are meant to protect people from violence.
Last year courts reviewed around 450 cases on separation of families.
Additionally, there are more than 45 causes regarding non-compliance with restraining orders, which is punished with a short prison sentence, probation, public service or fine.
“People think that if we add some other section to the law, families will be safe from violence,” said Judins, adding that people who think the addition of a new section to the law will keep women safe, are simply wrong. “Sections and articles of the law are not enough – these people need correctional programmes,” said the politician.
Judins also explained that though some may think “totalitarian control” is the way to go, but not all people would want to live in a society in which “everyone is excessively controlled”. This means the problem needs to be resolved by working with aggressive people’s “brains”. This means getting help from psychologists and social workers. Probation officers are prepared to work with such people. However, expansion of existing programmes requires a great deal of funding, said the politician.
But in a situation when it is necessary to decide on allocation of funding to other programmes,
no funding is provided – it goes to other priorities,
said the deputy.
When asked who is responsible for allowing repeated acts of violence, Judins said it is possible “police may have done their duties insufficiently”. He also added that it cannot be said the system outlined in the law is incorrect. It is necessary to work with such people psychologically in order to reduce the risk of them acting violently – specialists are needed for this, because police officers are not experts when it comes to psychological problems and their solutions, said the head of the committee.
When asked if the minister or other officials of the interior sector should take responsibility for a recent violent murder of a woman, Judins said he does not believe it would be the right thing to request responsibility form a minister. The politician said one solution would be providing funding to expand the correctional programme. However, right now there are other sectors in dire need of funding, including teachers, medical workers and other sectors.
As previously reported, police in Latvia failed to prevent a recent murder of a woman who, prior to her death, made numerous complaints about persecution and terror from her former spouse despite the restraining order imposed on him. The man in question – Leons Rusiņš – in involved in 19 ongoing criminal procedures. 18 of them are for non-compliance with restraining orders.
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