Big rise in Domestic abuse reports to police in Wales

There has been an 83% rise in domestic abuse-related crimes recorded in Wales over the past four years, official figures have shown.

North Wales Police has seen the biggest rise, with 11,327 crimes recorded last year, up from 4,798 in 2015-16.

The force said the rise was partly due to efficient crime recording and better promotion of victim support services.

Across all four Welsh forces, domestic abuse reports rose from 18,960 in 2015-16 to 41,532 in 2018-19.

South Wales Police had the highest number of domestic abuse related crimes, recording 17,389 in 2018-19, with a 53% increase over four years, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

A force spokesperson said: “Provided the recorded increase of offences demonstrates that people are increasingly confident in reporting crime to us, and in our ability to respond to it, then the increased trend is positive – but we remain committed to preventing such abuse in the first place.”

Source: (BBC News)