Victims reporting thousands of cases of domestic abuse to police

A case of domestic abuse was reported to police in Leicestershire every 29 minutes on average last year.

There were 18,316 domestic abuse-related offences and incidents reported to Leicestershire Police in the year ending March 2018, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

That equates to one every 28.7 minutes.

The number of reports has risen by 14.7% in a year, up from 15,970 in the year ending March 2017 - this is the highest number of reports since published records began in 2016.

There were 17 incidents or offences being recorded for every 1,000 people in the area, compared to 20 per 1,000 people nationwide.

In the year ending March 2018, Leicestershire Police recorded 62% of the domestic abuse related incidents and offences reported to it as crimes.

Some 8,527 of the domestic abuse-related offences were classed as violent crimes, while 1,739 were cases of stalking and harassment.

Overall, 39% of all violent crimes recorded in the police force area are related to domestic abuse, one of the biggest proportions in England and Wales.

In Leicestershire, there were 1,360 domestic abuse related prosecutions in the year ending March 2018, leading to a total of

1,060 convictions. That is a conviction rate of 78%.

Overall, domestic abuse related prosecutions made up 16% of all prosecutions last year.

As well as criminal proceedings, police in Leicestershire made 4,108 child protection referrals in the year ending March 2018 while dealing with domestic abuse incidents.

The police were also responsible for 77% of referrals made to Domestic Violence MultiAgency Risk Assessment Conferences ( MARACs) last year, which are meetings where agencies talk about the risk of future harm to people experiencing domestic abuse, and, if necessary, their children, and draw up an action plan to help manage that risk.

In the year to March 2018, there were 38 cases discussed at MARACs for every 10,000 adult women in Leicestershire. Of these, 35% were repeat cases.

Domestic abuse charity SafeLives says MARACs should expect see 40 cases per 10,000 women, based on work it has carried out combined with police reporting rates and the likelihood of high-risk victims of domestic abuse reporting to the police.

The police also applied for 120 domestic violence protection orders (DVPN). A DVPN is an emergency non-molestation and eviction notice which can be issued by the police to a perpetrator, when attending to a domestic abuse incident.

Last year, 120 were granted by a superintendent.

Within 48 hours of the DVPN being served on the perpetrator, an application by police to a magistrates’ court for a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) must be heard. A DVPO can prevent the perpetrator from returning to a residence and from having contact with the victim for up to 28 days.

In the year ending March 2018, 115 applications were granted. There were 25 breaches of DVPOs last year.

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (known as Clare’s Law) is another measure aimed at trying to protect potential victims of domestic abuse.

It allows someone to ask the police about a partner’s previous history of domestic violence or violent acts, and allows police to proactively disclose information in some circumstances.

Last year, Leicestershire police made 45 proactive disclosures, making up 54% of all applications for disclosure through this route, and made 40 disclosures in response to questions from individuals about their partners, 41% of all applications.

The latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales show little change in the prevalence of domestic abuse in recent years.

In the year ending March 2018, an estimated 2.0 million adults across England and Wales aged 16 to 59 years experienced domestic abuse in the last year (1.3 million women, 695,000 men).

However, the number crimes recorded by police increasing.

Police in England and Wales recorded 599,549 domestic abuse-related crimes in the year ending March 2018. This was an increase of 23% from the previous year.

According to the ONS, this in part reflects police forces improving their identification and recording of domestic abuse incidents as crimes and an increased willingness by victims to come forward.

The police made 225,714 arrests for domestic abuse-related offences.

This equates to 38 arrests per 100 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded.

As well as this, the percentage of convictions secured for domestic abuse-related prosecutions is at its highest level since the year ending March 2010. In the year ending March 2018, 76% of prosecutions resulted in a conviction. of is