Fall in number of domestic violence cases passed to prosecutors by police

Police forces in Yorkshire and the Humber have seen falls for referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of between 11.8 per cent and 15.7 per cent between 2010-11 and 2012-13, according to figures obtained by Labour.

No like-for-like figures exist for the number of reports of domestic violence made to police in this period, but between 2010-11 and 2011-12 the level rose slightly for three of Yorkshire’s four forces.

In West Yorkshire the number of cases passed by police to the CPS dropped from 5,164 in 2010-11 to 4,405 in 2012-13, a fall of 14.7 per cent.

Reports of domestic violence rose by 5.7 per cent in the county for the first year of this period, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act, though police say there was a drop of 12.6 per cent in 2012/13.

Labour says that across the country there has been sharp decrease in the number of domestic violence cases referred to the CPS by the police despite the number of incidents reported increasing.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This big drop in referrals has all happened since cuts to front line policing started. Referrals and prosecutions were going up before the election. But now, fewer police officers are referring fewer domestic violence cases for prosecution and victims are being let down as a result.”

Chief Superintendent Simon Willsher, head of force performance improvement at West Yorkshire Police, said the drop in referrals to the CPS was in line with a fall in reports last year.

He said: “Response officers who are on the front line of policing attend the majority of calls and have a positive arrest approach. This commitment and our response times have not lessened.

“Later this month we will begin an examination of all our processes relating to domestic violence. Our commitment to taking all reported cases seriously and protecting the vulnerable will never diminish.”