According to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in five offences recorded by the Police during the first national lockdown in England and Wales involved domestic violence.
The data revealed that Police recorded more than a quarter of a million (259,324) offences flagged as domestic abuse-related from April to June, representing a 7 per cent increase from the same period in 2019, and an 18 per cent increase on 2018.
The ONS said the number of offences flagged as involving domestic incidents had been increasing over recent years so it could not be determined whether the rise was due directly to the pandemic.
In April, May and June roughly a fifth (21 per cent, 20 per cent and 19 per cent) of offences recorded by police were flagged as involving domestic violence. That number rose each month, with the biggest rise between April and May (9 per cent).
The proportion of offences that were domestic-related fell slightly as the lockdown restrictions were eased, most likely due to an increase in other crimes being committed.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates that 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 – 1.6 million women and 757,000 men – experienced domestic abuse over the past 12 months.
The police recorded 758,941 domestic abuse-related crimes during the year ending March 2020, a 9 per cent rise from the previous year, with more than three-quarters of domestic abuse-related CPS prosecutions successful in securing a conviction (78 per cent), a similar level to the previous year.
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