Repeat offences of domestic abuse in Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

Any statistics it holds on the number of repeat offences of domestic abuse in Scotland. Please provide any details for the last three years on domestic abuse incidents where the offenders have been involved in multiple incidents. This information should include - but not be limited to - the percentage of incidents where the offender has been involved in a domestic abuse incident before, the total number of incidents where a repeat offence has been catalogued, and any information in government briefings or briefings for a Cabinet Secretary that include information on repeat incidents of domestic abuse. Please also include any information on repeat victimisation. 

Response

I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested.

 The Scottish Government publishes annual official statistics on Domestic Abuse recorded by the police in Scotland. This includes analysis of where either the victim or suspected perpetrator in an incident of domestic abuse had previously been recorded against an earlier incident of domestic abuse.

Where sufficient information had been recorded to allow repeat analysis, around two-thirds of domestic abuse incidents in 2022-23 involved a victim and suspected perpetrator who had previously been recorded in a domestic abuse incident. Further information is available on this measure, and earlier years, through the Domestic Abuse official statistics webpage. Domestic abuse: statistics recorded by the police in Scotland, 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Domestic abuse in Scotland statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

It should be noted that the above analysis only measures where a person was previously entered on the system. The Scottish Government does not hold information on whether previous entries related to a person being with the same or a different partner, whether they were a victim across all incidents, or whether they were a suspected perpetrator across all incidents.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of crimes and offences committed by those perpetrating multiple incidents of domestic abuse. Information is however available on the number of crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. This makes it an offence for a person to engage in a course of behaviour which is abusive of their partner or ex-partner, and defines a course of behaviour as covering at least two occasions. There were 1,781 crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse Act in 2022-23, compared to 1,760 in 2021-22 and 1,641 in 2020-21. Further information is available from the Recorded Crime in Scotland statistics webpage. Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In terms of repeat victimisation, information is also available from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS). It’s latest findings for 2018/20 found that partner abuse is often experienced on multiple occasions. Around two-thirds (67%) of those who experienced an incident of partner abuse in the 12 months prior to interview also experienced at least one incident prior to this period. Further information is available from the survey webpage. Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2019/20: main findings - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Finally in relation to the request for any information in government briefings or briefings for the Cabinet Secretary that included information on repeat incidents of domestic abuse, I attach a copy off a letter that the Minister for Victims and Community Safety sent to Pam Gosal MSP on 16 February 2024. I have included the entirety of the response for context, but the key text is within the penultimate paragraph. This is the only specific piece of correspondence/briefing focussed on repeat incidents of domestic abuse within the timeframe outlined.

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FOI - 202400412236 - Information released - Annex

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