Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd (left) is pictured with Sarah Taylor Domestic Abuse Programme Manager at the Community Safety Unit and Detective Superintendent Michael Hanlon.

Clare’s Law - also known as the Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme will be introduced in Hertfordshire on Tuesday.

The scheme offers people a formal mechanism to make enquiries about an individual who they are in a relationship with, or who is in a relationship with someone they know, who has a violent or abusive past.

This information may be disclosed via a request from a member of the public, who has a "right to ask", or by an agency where a proactive decision is made to consider disclosing the information in order to protect a potential victim, which has a "right to know".

If police checks show that a person may be at risk of domestic abuse from their partner, the police will consider disclosing the information.

Detective Superintendent Michael Hanlon, head of the County Community Safety Unit, said: "This scheme is about prevention and exploring new ways of protecting victims of domestic abuse.

"It helps individuals make an informed decision on whether or not to continue a relationship and will provide help and support to them when making that choice.

" It will enable police to act in the best interests of those people who believe they are at risk of violence by sharing information of a partners’ violent past."

Calls for the introduction of a national disclosure scheme gained momentum following the case of Clare Wood, who was murdered by her former partner in Greater Manchester in 2009. Her partner had three previous convictions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.