§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask police forces in England and Wales to provide his Department with regular information regarding the number of reported domestic assaults each year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John Patten[holding answer 7 December 1988]: Information on recorded offences of domestic violence is published in the annual reports of some police forces, for example the annual reports of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. Information for England and Wales on domestic violence was published in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" in 1979 and 1980. However, this was judged to be incomplete because not all police forces recorded domestic violence separately. An ad hoc survey of violent crime (including domestic assaults) recorded by the police is currently being undertaken and the results will be evaluated in 1989.