(a) a police
officer investigating the incident concerned suspects or believes that--
(i) a
domestic violence offence or an offence against section 13 has recently been
or is being committed, or is imminent, or is likely to be committed, against
the person for whose protection an order would be made, or
(ii) an offence
under section 227 (Child and young person abuse) of the
Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (but only in
relation to a child) has recently been or is being committed, or is imminent,
or is likely to be committed, against the person for whose protection an order
would be made, or
(iii) proceedings have been commenced against a person for
an offence referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) committed against the
person for whose protection an order would be made, and
(b) the police
officer has good reason to believe an order needs to be made immediately to
ensure the safety and protection of the person who would be protected by the
order or to prevent substantial damage to any property of that person.
(2)
The application may be made by any police officer.
(3) An application need
not be made in the circumstances referred to in subsection (1) if an
apprehended violence order is already in force against the defendant for the
protection of the person concerned.
(3A) However, subsection (3) does not
prevent an application being made.
(4) An application need not be made in the
circumstances referred to in subsection (1) if the person for whose protection
an order would be made is at least 16 years of age at the time of the incident
and a police officer investigating the incident believes--
(b) that
there is good reason not to make the application.
(5) However, if the police
officer investigating the incident believes that there is good reason not to
make the application, the police officer must make a written record of the
reason.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (4), the reluctance of the person
to make an application does not, on its own, constitute a good reason for a
police officer not to make an application if the police officer reasonably
believes that--
(a) the person has been the victim of violence or there is a
significant threat of violence to the person, or
(b) the person has an
intellectual disability and has no guardian.