West Lothian domestic abuse case reports highest in…

West Lothian domestic abuse case reports highest in Lothians

Police in West Lothian recorded the fifth highest number of domestic abuse cases in Scotland - and the highest in the Lothians - during the lockdown.

More 65,000 incidents were reported across Scotland in the year 2020/21. The figures compiled by Police Scotland only record reported incidents.

And while more than 80% of victims are women there has been an increase in the number of men reporting domestic abuse.

Figures released to the Public and Community Safety Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) showed that figures for the year showed 146 recorded incidents per 10,000 population. The Scottish average was 119.

The West Lothian figure was the highest in the Lothians. Edinburgh recorded 112, East Lothian 111 and Midlothian 130.

The area with the highest number of recorded cases was Dundee city with 177 followed by West Dunbartonshire 168; Clackmannanshire 158 and Glasgow 148.

Overall, across 13 divisions in Scotland, the police recorded 65,251 incidents of domestic abuse in 2020-21, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.

This is the fifth year in a row this figure has shown an increase.

In 2020-21, 40% of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland included the recording of at least one crime or offence.

The type of crime or offence that was most frequently recorded as part of a domestic abuse incident in 2020-21 was Common assault, accounting for 32% of all crimes and offences recorded.

The statistics revealed to the PDSP also show where gender information was recorded, four-in-five (80%) incidents involved a female victim and a male accused. This decreased slightly from 82% in 2019-20.

In 2020-21, 16% of domestic abuse incidents involved a male victim and a female accused (where gender information was recorded). This increased slightly from 15% in 2019-20.

The 31 to 35 years old age group had the highest incident rate for both victims (282 incidents recorded per 10,000 population) and for the accused (260 incidents recorded per 10,000 population).

A little over a third of reported incidents occurred at the weekend. This is a slight decrease from 34% in 2019-20. And more than 90% of all incidents occurred in a home or dwelling.

Councillor Maria MacAulay asked Pauline Cochrane, senior manager, Justice and Looked After Children, who delivered the figures: “I just wanted to ask, there’s an increase in male victims. Do you have information for reasons for the increase? Is it because it's easier to report, and what can we do to support our male victims?”

Ms Cochrane said: “It's a very marginal increase noted.” She added that the increase in referrals showed that awareness of the specialist services provided by West Lothian was rising. Also the council has forged links with voluntary and Third Sector agencies working with victims of domestic abuse, as well as the police.

West Lothian is one of the few Scottish Local Authorities which core funds a specialist domestic abuse and sexual assault team.

“It shows people do know about our specialised services,” she added.

Superintendent Alan Carson agreed that officers had seen an increase in male victims coming forward: “Right across the board the ability and ease to come forward and report applies equally to male victims as it does to female victims. The male side is absolutely not neglected or overlooked.”