Domestic abuse: statistics recorded by the Police in Scotland - 2020/21

Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2020-21

This bulletin presents statistics on domestic abuse, based on details of incidents and crimes recorded by Police Scotland in 2020-21. Domestic abuse recorded by the police does not reveal the incidence of all domestic abuse committed in Scotland, as not all incidents are reported to the police. These figures are used to inform policy and, in conjunction with findings on partner abuse from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (see Chapter 3), are used to assess the extent and nature of domestic abuse in Scotland.

The definition of domestic abuse used by Police Scotland^[1] is:

'Any form of physical, verbal, sexual, psychological or financial abuse which might amount to criminal conduct and which takes place within the context of a relationship. The relationship will be between partners (married, cohabiting, civil partnership or otherwise) or ex-partners. The abuse can be committed in the home or elsewhere including online'.