Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many domestic violence incidents have been reported to the police in the last 12 months; and in how many such cases the police (a) took no further action, (b) charged perpetrators with a criminal offence and (c) secured a prosecution.

In 2012-13, the most recent year for which we have this information, there were 838,026 incidents of domestic abuse, which covers both physical and
non-physical abuse, recorded by the police. Data for incidents in which the police took no further action are not collected by the Home Office.

The latest data from the Crown Prosecution Service show that the volume of domestic violence referrals from the police rose to 103,569 in 2013-14 from 2012-13 which is the highest level since CPS recording began. 72,905 (70.4% of these referrals) were charged, the highest volumes and proportions since CPS recording began in 2007-8. The volume of prosecutions completed in 2013-14 rose to 78,071 - a rise of 7,369 prosecutions(10.4%) from 2012-13. The volume of convictions reached 58,276 - a rise of 5,727 convictions (10.9%) since 2012-13.

In September 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic violence and abuse because she was concerned that the response is inadequate.

Their report, published in March 2013, exposed significant failings, including unacceptable variations in charging perpetrators of domestic abuse with
criminal offences. In response to that report, the Home Secretary established a National Oversight Group, which she is chairing, to drive delivery against HMIC’s recommendations. The Home Secretary also wrote to chief constables making it clear that every police force must have a domestic abuse action plan in place by September 2014.