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

Future developments

Review of adminstrative data source

As outlined within this bulletin, the 2024-25 statistics on domestic abuse aggravated crimes and offences are now being sourced from Police Scotland’s recorded crime management system. In previous years this information came from the iVPD. This means the same administrative system is now being used by Police Scotland to provide us with data on both total recorded crime and domestic abuse aggravated crimes and offences. Given this, we are considering whether the annual recorded crime statistical bulletin we publish every June could be expanded to include a dedicated chapter on domestic abuse incidents and aggravated crimes and offences in Scotland (with the information on incidents continuing to be sourced from the iVPD, as at present).

Producing such a chapter could replace the current approach of having two separate bulletins, and would support our strategic priorities of streamlining what we do and adding value for users. This is because findings on recorded domestic abuse in Scotland could then be published at a much earlier stage than at present, with the June recorded crime bulletin released within three months of the associated reporting period ending, compared to the recorded domestic abuse bulletin usually taking up to one year or beyond.

We will consult with users on this potential change towards the end of 2026, through publishing how this dedicated chapter on recorded domestic abuse would look using data for the 2025-26 reporting year, and inviting their feedback. If there is support for the change outlined above, the 2026-27 recorded domestic abuse statistics will then be provided within the recorded crime bulletin in June 2027, with this process then repeated for the following years. Users can register for updates on the above work through the ScotStat network.

We will also keep under review the completeness of the information we receive from the iVPD. As outlined in Characteristics of domestic abuse incidents , the proportion of incidents where an ‘Unknown’ relationship has been recorded within the iVPD had been gradually increasing since 2016-17, reaching 21% in 2024-25. Similarly the proportion of locations classed as other dwelling has been increasing.

In previous years these Official Statistics have included data on when incidents occurred (day of week and month of year). It wasn’t possible to incorporate this information into the 2024-25 bulletin without delaying its release beyond publication on 9th June 2026. As such the data has been omitted on this occasion. Going forward and as outlined above, we will be reviewing the full range of information we publish on recorded domestic abuse, with a view to consulting users on potential changes towards the end of 2026.

Users of these statistics

These statistics are used by a range of stakeholders within central government, the police and other public bodies for a variety of purposes.

Domestic abuse statistics are also used by a variety of external stakeholders, including victim support groups, national and local journalism, academics and students and school pupils writing dissertations and carrying out projects.

Official statistics are a tool used in decision making both inside and outside government, and for this tool to be effective it has to be designed to meet the needs of users. We always welcome feedback on the content and the uses made of our statistical bulletins and users are invited to submit their comments and any suggestions for improvement to: Justice_Analysts@gov.scot.