Fall in domestic abuse cases recorded by police

The number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by police has fallen for the first time in eight years, though the Justice Secretary has warned they are just the "tip of the iceberg".

The latest figures show police recorded 64,807 incidents of domestic abuse in 2021-22, a decreaseof1percentcompared to the previous year.

Itisthefirsttimethefigurehas dropped since 2015-16.

Common assault was the most frequently-recorded type of offence at 32 per cent, followed by threatening and abusive behaviour at 21 per cent.

Some 81 per cent of incidents hadafemalevictim,anincrease of 1 per cent from the previous year.

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act, which came into effect in April 2019, introduced newtypesofoffencesincluding coercive or controlling behaviour.

These types of offences made up 4 per cent of cases in the most recent figures.

Justicesecretarykeithbrown encouraged people experiencingdomesticabusetoseekhelp and report incidents to police where necessary.

Mr Brown said: "Behind each of these numbers is a story in itself, of months or even years of abuse and control, which is why the Scottish Government legislated to give police, prosecutors and the courts greater powers to tackle such crimes.

"While the small drop in the number of domestic abuse incidents reported to the police may be welcome, the reality has always been that figures drawn from police reports represent only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the true extent of violence against women and girls."