Abuse in the home at a record high

165 incidents occur every day

DOMESTIC abuse in Scotland has reached record levels, with an average of 165 incidents every day.

Police recorded 60,080 cases in 2012-13, up from 59,847 in the previous year, at a time when the problem is described as the service’s ‘top priority’.

The number is up by nearly 46 per cent from 41,235 in 2003-04 and of the total last year, 61 per cent involved repeat victims of abuse.

Some 2,592 people had reported 11 or more incidents to police in the past year, while more than 100 people have been killed by spouses or partners in the past decade.

Last night, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: ‘If someone is being physically abused within the

‘Targeting repeat and serial offenders’

walls of their own home, it is down to us as a society to provide help and support to ensure it stops.’

But she warned that proposals unveiled last week to close nearly a third of police front desk services would worsen victims’ plight.

There were 248 domestic abuserelated sex offences in 2012-13, the highest on record, up from 223 the previous year. This includes 159 rapes and attempted rapes linked to domestic abuse last year – also an all-time high.

Last year there were 11 domestic abuse ‘homicides’ – murders and culpable homicides – down from 12 the previous year. Since 2003-04 there have been a total of 107 homicides related to domestic abuse.

The numbers reflect complaints made to police about domestic abuse. Half of all incidents – 30,259 – led to the recording of a crime or offence, down from 54 per cent in the previous year, the figures show.

Of those, common assault accounted for 42 per cent and threatening or abusive behaviour accounted for 19 per cent. Women were victims of men in 80 per cent of incidents, one per cent lower than the previous year.

In the most prominent recent cases, former Nationalist MSP Bill Walker was jailed for a year for domestic abuse stretching back to the 1960s.

Lily Greenan, manager of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: ‘The development of an effective, robust criminal justice response is crucial to the long-term prevention of domestic abuse.’

Police Scotland chief superintendent Bob Hamilton said: ‘In the last few years we have dedicated significant resources towards tackling domestic abuse. As well as supporting victims, we have placed a much greater emphasis on targeting repeat and serial offenders.

‘The figures have increased and this is in part, we believe, due to increased levels of confidence that members of the public who experienced abuse of this nature have in coming forward and reporting to the police.’

Funding to tackle the problem increased by 62 per cent since 2007 to £34.5million between 2012 and 2015.

Equalities Minister Shona Robison said a strategy targeting violence against women will be published next year. She added: ‘No one should doubt our determination and commitment to tackle domestic abuse.

‘Advances i n technology have created new means for some people to abuse and exploit others.

‘That is why we are taking action to help victims of such attacks and are delivering substantial f i nancial support to help victims and prevent abuse from happening.’