Police barring increasing numbers of people from households due to domestic violence

Police are barring increasing numbers of people from their households due to domestic violence. According to a report from the support group Bílého kruhu bezpečí, police confiscated keys in 1430 cases in 2011, about a third more than in the previous year. That number has risen steadily since 2008, when 679 people were barred from their homes. Experts for the group say the trend is due not to rising aggressiveness but to the fact that the Czech police are much more experienced in utilising this option today. Domestic violence has only been a criminal act in the Czech Republic since 2004 and police have been able to bar people from their households since 2007.