Topic: Police

The police are a key 24 hour agency for women experiencing domestic violence, and the first port of call in emergency.  However, only a minority of victims report domestic violence to the police.

• Only a minority of incidents of domestic violence are reported to the police, varying between 23% (Walby and Allen, 2004) and 35% (Home Office, 2002; see also British Crime Survey, 1998; Dodd, et al., 2004).
• The police in the UK receive one call from the public every minute for assistance for domestic violence - an estimated 1,300 calls each day or over 570,000 each year (Stanko, 2000) - the vast majority of which are from women.
• 89% of the 1300 calls to the police were from women being assaulted by men. However, according to the government National Delivery Plan, less than 24% of domestic violence crime is reported to the police (Walby and Allen, 2004).
• On average, there will have been 35 assaults before the police are called (Jaffe 1982)*
• Domestic violence accounts for 16% of recorded violent crime (Source: Crime in England and Wales 04/05 report ) 
  

View the Domestic Violence Bibliography (pdf) for full references.
View the Domestic Violence FAQs (PDF) for more information and statistics.

 Related articles

• Police powers under the law
  
  
• Prosecution of domestic abuse - why women find it difficult
  
  
• Police responses to domestic violence prior to 1980s
  
  
• Police responses to domestic violence - 1980s onwards
  

* This statistic is often quoted but please note that since its creation there has been over twenty years of progress in police policies, reporting process and domestic violence support systems in general. For more information on domestic violence statistics please visit our designated statistics page.