Police piloting new powers to legally ban people accused of domestic violence from their own homes – even if they are never charged with any offence – have issued their 100th order.

Wiltshire police are one of just three forces in the country piloting DVPOs – Domestic Violence Protection Orders – which gives magistrates the power to ban alleged perpetrators from contacting their victims, which means they are banned from their own homes, for between 14 and 28 days.

Police say the new powers give the chance for victims to have ‘breathing space’ and assess whether to continue in the apparently abusive relationship.

The orders are used when police and prosecutors may not have enough evidence to press charges against the alleged perpetrator but, ‘on the balance of probabilities’, a police superintendent concludes that the victim has suffered violence or is at risk of violence.

The orders are controversial – one defence solicitor in Chippenham branded them unfair and said the police were acting as ‘judge and jury’ on allegations of domestic violence. And the Somerset-based national support group for male victims of domestic violence criticised Wiltshire police after statistics emerged which said that although one in six cases of domestic violence reported to police involved male victims, their alleged attackers were 30 times less likely to be the subject of a DVPO.

But the granting of the 100th order, exactly seven months into the year-long pilot scheme, was hailed by Wiltshire police, who are currently using the powers around once every two days in the county.

In almost every case, the perpetrator made the subject of a DVPO cannot be named to protect the anonymity of alleged victim and any children. The 100th person given a DVPO was male, from Swindon and his domestic situation included children.

The alleged victim went to Gablecross police station in Swindon last Wednesday to report that she had been suffering physical and psychological abuse inflicted by her partner. She told officers she had been hit on the head by him in December after he had verbally abused her. The woman said she needed support to end their long-term relationship.

A police spokesman said: “She did not feel strong enough to cope with supporting a criminal prosecution, but was emotionally and physically tired of his verbal abuse and controlling behaviour.

“The woman did, however, welcome the idea of Wiltshire police applying to magistrates for a DVPO,” he added.

“She told officers that she wanted to seek advice from a solicitor about the children and civil orders to protect her. She also wanted to engage with domestic abuse support agencies.

The woman recognised that the DVPO would give her the necessary breathing space to get the advice she needed. Her partner was arrested on the same day and given a DVPO the following day.

Police Constable Chloe Smith, who successfully made the application to magistrates in the town, said: “When the victim was updated she was very pleased that the DVPO had been granted. She expressed relief that she had the next 28 days on her own with her children to engage with other agencies and a solicitor without pressure or abuse from him. She spoke of how much safer she felt and how she now had control of where she lived and who came in. She thanked Wiltshire Police for all the support she had been given,” she added.

Wiltshire’s lead officer on the pilot, Detective Inspector Matt Stone, added: “This milestone shows the commitment by all parties involved in reducing domestic abuse in all its forms in our county.

“There have been few breaches of DVPOs, showing how effective the measure is in providing space to the victims of abuse to seek support and longer term solutions.

“The breaches have been dealt with robustly by the criminal justice system, including custodial sentences, to reinforce how seriously such behaviour is viewed.

“As well as providing space for the victims of abuse, it has helped some perpetrators to recognise the cycle of abuse and the impact of their actions and to seek to break this pattern of behaviour.

“We remain committed to the development of effective methods and will continue to challenge domestic abuse with the support of our partner agencies to help maintain Wiltshire as the safest county in the country,” he added.