A MAN hid a recording device in his home near Helensburgh in a controlling attempt to monitor his partner’s behaviour.

Scott Clark secretly installed the recording device in the living room of the property in Rhu so that he could listen to phone calls his partner was making.

The 53-year-old appeared for sentencing at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Tuesday, December 14.

He had previously pleaded guilty to behaving in a manner likely to cause a person fear or alarm by hiding a recording device in the property.

The offence was made more serious in the eyes of the law because the victim of the crime was a partner or former partner.

Clark’s defence solicitor told Sheriff William Gallacher that his client, now living at Sutherland Close in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, had been in a relationship with the victim of the controlling behaviour for more than 30 years.

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The solicitor said Clark was willing to seek help to repair the damage caused by his behaviour, which took place between September 17 and 25, 2020.

“There is a desire for some sort of remediation to take place,” the lawyer told last week’s hearing.

“He sees the benefit in some sort of programme.”

The court heard a suggestion that Clark might be suitable for the Caledonia programme, an integrated approach to addressing domestic abuse which combines a court-ordered programme for the perpetrator, aimed at changing his or her behaviour, with support services for the victims and for children.

The Caledonia programme is only available in six council areas in Scotland, but one of them is Glasgow, meaning Clark is eligible – and Sheriff Gallacher agreed to defer sentence for an assessment of whether he would be suitable for a place.

The sheriff told Clark: “I don’t know yet whether you are [suitable], but this is the right thing to do.”

Clark was ordered to return to court on January 20 to be sentenced.

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