Domestic abuse: statistics recorded by the police in Scotland, 2024-25

Domestic abuse in context

There are a number of data sources which collect information on domestic abuse in Scotland. These include:

• Police Scotland, who report the number of domestic abuse aggravated crimes recorded (presented in this publication as Official Statistics, and as Administrative Data in their Quarterly Management Information reports)
• The Scottish Government Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), which provides information on partner abuse
• The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), who have information on Procurator Fiscal markings and how many charges are reported to courts
• The Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics, which provides information on proceedings and convictions which take place in the Scottish courts

The relationship between these sources is summarised in the following diagram.

Police Scotland Quarterly Management Information reports: Background

Police Scotland publish management information on the number of domestic abuse aggravated crimes recorded by the police.

The Quarterly Management Information reports make clear to users that the data they contain on domestic abuse aggravated crimes is based on the Administrative Data available to Police Scotland at that time and is not presented as Official Statistics. The annual Official Statistics on domestic abuse published within this bulletin are based on management information which has undergone further quality assurance work, including additional dialogue with Police Scotland, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The Quarterly Management Information reports are available from the ‘How we are performing’ section of Police Scotland website.

These reports are produced to demonstrate Police Scotland’s commitment to transparency (alongside other regular reporting activity to the Scottish Police Authority). The information within these reports is presented on a cumulative quarterly basis, with the first quarter of a reporting year containing three months of data (from April to June), the second containing six months of data (from April to September) etc. The reports are typically published within two months of the period to which they refer. From April 2024 (Q1 2024-25) data presented by Police Scotland is on Domestic Abuse aggravated crimes rather than domestic abuse incidents. This information is taken from a different source and is not comparable with previous quarters.

Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Background

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is a large-scale social survey run by the Scottish Government, which asks people about their experiences and perceptions of crime. The survey is based on a representative sample of adults (aged 16 and over), living in private households in Scotland.

The SCJS also provides results on the prevalence and nature of partner abuse. This data is collected through a self-completion module of the survey. The most recent results on partner abuse were published in March 2021, including findings on partner abuse for the period 2018/20 (results for 2018-19 and 2019-20 have been combined to carry out the analysis). These results are described in the 2019/20 Main Findings Report. The SCJS is completed face-to-face in the homes of respondents, with sections on more sensitive topics, including questions on partner abuse, completed by the respondent themselves using the interviewer’s laptop or tablet.

It should be noted that whilst the SCJS uses a definition of partner abuse consistent with that adopted by Police Scotland in recording domestic abuse incidents, there are several differences that affect the comparability of the data. These include the fact that:

• most incidents of domestic abuse go unreported to the police. The 2018/20 SCJS found that just under a sixth (16%) of those who experienced partner abuse in the 12 months prior to interview said that the police came to know about the most recent (or only) incident. The SCJS also found that when asked the reasons for not reporting the most recent (or only) incident of partner abuse to the police, the most common reasons given were that those involved dealt with the incident themselves (36%), that the abuse was too trivial/not worth reporting (31%), or that the abuse was a private, personal or family matter (30%). This is a consistent finding with previous years
• the SCJS is a sample of those aged 16 and over living in private households. As such, adults living in other circumstances (for example tourists and those staying in institutions or communal residences, such as prisons or hospitals, military bases and student accommodation) or those aged under 16 are not included in the SCJS estimates
• the SCJS captures the victim’s self-reported experience of partner abuse. Although this part of the survey is completed in private, some respondents may choose not to disclose information on particular incidents

The SCJS found that between 2008/09 and 2018/20 the proportion of respondents who had a partner, or contact with an ex-partner, in the 12 months prior to interview who experienced any partner abuse decreased from 4.2% to 3.2%. There has been no statistically significant change between 2016/18 and 2018/20 in the proportion of respondents experiencing any partner abuse in the 12 months prior to interview. A higher proportion of women than men experienced partner abuse in the 12 months prior to interview, at 3.7% and 2.6% respectively. SCJS results for 2016-17 and 2017-18 have been combined to carry out the analysis.

The next set of findings on partner abuse for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 combined years is due to be published later in 2026.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service: Background

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) publish management information on the number of charges reported to COPFS with a domestic abuse aggravator recorded against them. These figures also include the number taken forward to court, dealt with by direct measures (such as a fine), or where no action was taken.

More detailed information, along with explanatory notes, is available in the statistics section of the COPFS’ Domestic Abuse and Stalking Charges 2024-25 Statistics.

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics: Background

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics cover people prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts. These statistics use data held on the Criminal History System (CHS). This is a Police Scotland database. It is used to record information on people suspected of, or convicted of, committing a crime. Alongside other types of crimes, the publication presents data on people convicted of domestic abuse. This includes convictions under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, those with a statutory aggravation for domestic abuse and those with a domestic abuse identifier. Aggravations need to be proved in court and are taken into account during sentencing, which may result in a higher penalty being given.

The most recent available data are from Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2023-2024. Data from 2020-2021 onwards were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including: court closures, reduced court capacities due to physical distancing measures, delays to cases where key participants were forced to self-isolate following a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent reprioritisation of cases to deal with the resulting backlog. Some caution is urged in interpreting these data as indicative of longer-term trends.

The first Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 (DASA) convictions appeared in Scottish courts in 2019-2020 (212 convictions, where main charge). DASA came into effect at the start of 2019-20 and the full course of conduct had to have taken place on or after 1 April 2019. Thus, there will have been a time lag before such crimes could be reported, prosecuted and concluded in court. Therefore 2019-20 does not cover a full year under the Act. Since then, convictions for a main charge of DASA have risen every year, from 381 in 2020-2021, to 690 in 2021-2022, to 756 in 2022-2023 and to 897 in 2023-2024. These correspond to 252, 418, 812, 897 and 1,039 prosecutions, respectively. This gives conviction rates for a main charge of DASA of 84%, 91%, 85%, 84% and 86%, respectively.

Most people convicted under the Act (62% in 2019-2020, 56% in 2020-2021, 61% in 2021-2022, 66% in 2022-2023 and 60% in 2023-2024) received a community sentence. Around one-fifth to one-sixth (18% in 2019-2020, 19% in 2020-2021, 16% in 2021-2022, 15% in 2022-2023, 21% in 2023-2024) received a custodial sentence. Of these, the average custodial sentence length has risen each year, from 363 days in 2019-2020, to 438 in 2020-2021, to 482 in 2021-2022, to 611 in 2022-2023, to 1,000 in 2023-2024.

A statutory aggravation for domestic abuse involving a child can be applied to crimes under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. There were 62 convictions for this aggravation in 2019-2020, 159 in 2020-2021, 235 in 2021-2022, 196 in 2022-2023 and 177 in 2023-2024. As stated above, as the Act came into effect for a course of conduct committed on or after 1 April 2019 the 2019-20 data does not effectively cover a full year.

The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 created a statutory aggravation of domestic abuse which came into force in April 2017. This can be applied to any relevant crime or offence (for example to Common assault). Where this aggravation was proven against the main charge 8,213 people were convicted in 2019-2020, 6,597 in 2020-2021, 7,918 in 2021-2022, 7,936 in 2022-2023 and 7,640 in 2023-2024. The main charge is the one receiving the most severe penalty.

The CHS also includes some codes that are not statutory but are used as identifiers to highlight cases to the police, COPFS, or Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. This includes an identifier for domestic abuse, which identifies domestic abuse related charges for operational purposes, whether or not the statutory domestic abuse aggravation applies to them. There were 9,367 convictions where a domestic abuse identifier was recorded against the main charge in 2019-2020, 7,511 in 2020-2021, 9,372 in 2021-2022, 9,567 in 2022-2023, 9,488 in 2023-2024.

Note that the introduction of the new domestic abuse crime under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 in 2019-2020 may have affected the number of convictions with a domestic abuse identifier or statutory aggravation. This crime covers a course of conduct. Before the introduction of the crime this may have resulted in multiple convictions for different offences at different times, each with the statutory aggravation and/or identifier applied, whereas now they may result in a single conviction (with a more severe penalty).