Police get call every 15 minutes from domestic violence victims

The number of reports of domestic abuse has increased over the last three years.

Experts fear this is just the tip of the iceberg because crimes of this nature often go unreported.

More than 37,300 reports of domestic violence have been recorded by the force in the past year – more than a third of victims are from Leeds.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Griffin, who leads the city’s Safeguarding Unit, which investigate incidents of domestic violence across Leeds, said: “Sadly the Christmas and New Year period remains a time when we see a rise in the number of domestic crime related incidents.

“In Leeds and across West Yorkshire we have dedicated teams of officers who specialise in investigating this type of crime.

“This places us in the best position to support and protect victims while securing convictions against those who believe domestic violence is acceptable.

“We appreciate the extremely difficult circumstances victims can find themselves in and we will do everything in our power to stop the abuse and provide a long-term solution.”

Police receive on average between 30 and 50 reports of domestic violence every day in the city and some of those calls come from the same victims.

At least one in four women across the country will suffer from domestic abuse in their life time and one in six men will become victims, according to figures released from the British Crime Survey 2010/11.

More than 11,350 reports of domestic violence were reported to West Yorkshire Police in Leeds between April 2009 and March 2010.

But they received at least 13,970 reports between April 2011 and March 2012.

More than 34,742 reports of domestic violence were made to police from across West Yorkshire between April 2010 and March 2011.

But that number increased to 37,333 reports of domestic violence in the county between April 2011 and March 2012.

Over the last year 1,750 reports of domestic violence in Leeds have come from male victims and police say that the majority of those reports are from same sex partnerships.

The police say that they work closely with organisations and charities who support male victims of domestic violence including Broken Rainbow and Mankind.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman told the Yorkshire Post that they receive more than one report of domestic abuse every 15 minutes.

DCI Griffin said: “It can be very difficult to report an incident of domestic violence but I would urge anyone who believes they are in a vulnerable position to come forward and speak to us at the earliest opportunity.

“The rise in the number of domestic violence cases we deal with each year shows that more people have confidence in reporting incidents to the police.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to domestic violence and will always aim to prosecute those responsible as well as providing practical support and guidance to anyone affected by this crime.”

DCI Griffin said there are many types of domestic violence and abuse and they can range from people arguing right through to high levels of sustained abuse.

He added: “I think people are reluctant full stop to talk about it and it is a very sensitive topic.

“We’re trying to work closely with partner agencies but the big thing for us is we would urge people to report it.

“It helps to give us a clearer picture of what’s going on and we can focus our resources in the right area.”

For more information and support about domestic violence contact the 24hr National Domestic Violence helpline on 0808 2000 247 or Leeds Domestic Violence Services on 0113 246 0401.