Domestic abusers were known to police in 80pc of fatal cases

DOMESTIC abusers who went on to kill their partners were known to police in 80 per cent of cases, a police report says.

The figures revealed that in the year to the end of March 2023, 60 per cent of those had been reported to police specifically for domestic abuse.

The annual report is the third of its kind published as part of the national domestic homicide project, a Home Office-funded research project led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). A third of offenders were known to other agencies, which the NPCC said highlighted the need for a “multi-agency approach to effectively safeguard victims”.

Across the three years of data recorded by the project, about one in 10 offenders were recorded as either currently or previously having been managed by police or probation.

The report also found that in 2022-23, for the first time, domestic abuserelated deaths classed as suspected suicide were more common than killings by a current or ex-partner.

There were 242 domestic abuserelated deaths in England and Wales that year, including 93 cases where victims were thought to have taken their own life. Eighty cases were killings by intimate partners and 31 by an adult family member, with 11 child deaths.

For the year to the end of March 2022, there were 72 cases where the victim took their own life out of a total of 259 domestic-abuse related deaths, while in the previous year it was 51 out of a total of 222. The report said the increase was probably as a result of better record-keeping by police, but that an actual rise could not be ruled out.

Dr Katie Hoeger and Dr Lis Bates, the lead academic researchers, said: “Our report lays bare the scale of deaths following domestic abuse, with at least one victim suicide every four days and murder by a partner or family member every three days. This demands urgent collective action and not only from police – these victims and perpetrators are known to many other agencies.”

Asst Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said: “Every single one of these deaths represents an unfathomable loss.”

“Perpetrators should always be held to account for their abhorrent actions and this should be no different when a victim has sadly taken their own life.

“It is important that we continue to develop our work with partner agencies, such as the Crown Prosecution Service, to improve posthumous charges and convictions in cases of suspected victim suicide.”

242 Number of domestic abuse-related deaths in England and Wales in 2022-23, including 93 suspected suicides