Rising statistics show that men, women and children suffer domestic abuse

Following a recommendation from the Committee in the Board’s thematic review of domestic abuse policing, the PSNI now provides statistics on the characteristics of victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse.

Committee Vice Chair Ryan Feeney said: “As part of the Board’s thematic review of domestic abuse, 14 recommendations were made for the PSNI in relation to how they deal with domestic abuse incidents. PSNI already publish quarterly statistics on the levels and geographical distribution of domestic abuse incidents and crimes. However, in order to assist with assessing the scale and true nature of the problem, the Board recommended that the PSNI also collate statistics on the gender and ethnicity of perpetrators and victims, the relationship of the victims to the perpetrator and whether the victim is an adult or child.

The figures considered by the Committee revealed that during 2011/12 there were a total of 10,387 domestic abuse crimes recorded by PSNI: an increase on the 9,546 domestic abuse crimes recorded in 2010/2011. While the majority of these crimes involved female victims, a significant number were against males. Findings also show that although the majority of crimes were committed by partners or ex-partners a notable number of cases involved parents and children.

Domestic abuse is a damaging crime and this information demonstrates that it is widespread in our community. The Board will continue to work with the PSNI to ensure it is tackled most effectively. The Committee particularly welcomes recent comments from the judiciary that tougher sentences will be given for attacks – even where victims withdraw complaints.”