The office of National Statistics has just published their most recent statistics on domestic abuse.
With the numbers only reaching up to the end of March 2020 and a national lockdown that subsequently increased concerns, they have also published various reports on COVID and DA.
One such additional publication relates to police tools from April to June 2020 (so it covers part of the first lockdown):
Domestic Violence Protection Notices/Orders
This shows that over this first quarter, police in England & Wales applied for 1873 DVPOs to Magistrates of which 1657 (88%) were accepted and issued.
- It equated to 57 of a total of 63 (90%) applied for within the Thames Valley.
- Devon & Cornwall did not provide data.
Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare’s Law)
Right to Know applications come from professionals who have concerns about a relationship with a potential abuser. There were 2,618 applications of which 1,375 (53%) led to a disclosure in England & wales. Of these:
- Thames Valley Police received 33 applications of which only 6 (18%) led to a disclosure.
- Devon & Cornwall Police received 15 applications which led to only 4 (26%) leading to a disclosure.
Right to Ask applications come from people within a relationship or others who are worried about them. There were a national total of 3377 applications of which 1,285 (38%) led to disclosures across England & Wales. Of these:
- Thames Valley Police received 98 applications and disclosed in 15 (15%) of these.
- Devon & Cornwall Police received 26 of applications with 12 (46%) disclosures being made.