§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were reported to the police alleging domestic violence in (a) Cleveland, (b) Northern Region and (c) the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and how many in each category resulted in a conviction. [109461]
§ Mr. Boateng"Domestic violence" is not a specific offence, but a means of describing a number of offences when committed in particular circumstances. This means that the available information is derived not from the usual recorded crime statistics but from specific returns
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Domestic Violence—Incidents Domestic Violence—Persons Arrested 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Avon and Somerset 2,058 2,483 4,791 741 873 1995 Bedfordshire 4,470 n/a 4,923 210 n/a 269 Cambridgeshire 700 995 1,113 213 834 929 Cheshire 7,516 8,997 9,503 1,609 1,593 1,481 City of London 12 33 83 1 n/a 2 Cleveland 4,566 4,580 4,818 1,028 870 843 Cumbria 2,845 2,875 3,268 634 885 921 Derbyshire 10,672 11,574 12,585 1,433 1,751 1,666 Devon and Cornwall 2,796 3,278 3,453 1,143 1,405 1,423 Dorset 1,637 1,716 2,116 319 286 362 Durham 2,190 2,174 1,930 676 687 587 Dyfed-Powys 1,507 1,524 2,106 431 515 662 Essex 7,635 8,780 10,850 1,817 1,957 2,262 Gloucestershire 6,278 1,309 1,421 726 685 990 Greater Manchester 50,792 56,762 56,203 5,830 6,577 6,752 Gwent 7,000 4,458 4,250 514 901 889 Hampshire 5,791 7,424 3,128 690 1,162 1,765 Hertfordshire 4,676 4,258 6,363 604 418 809 Humberside 1,111 1,187 1,148 982 1054 1,009 Kent 7,155 7,966 9,605 1,995 2,762 2,902 Lancashire 6,216 5,760 6,778 1,847 1,615 1,922 Leicestershire 6,015 2,632 7,246 1,027 573 1,591 Lincolnshire n/a n/a 1,519 n/a n/a 331 Merseyside 18,112 16,864 20,612 2,297 2,315 2,497 Metropolitan police 15,650 14,403 41,531 1,743 0 5,310 Norfolk n/a 4,517 4,973 n/a n/a 1,041 North Wales 5,802 5,387 4,305 864 996 3,916 North Yorkshire n/a 399 4,024 n/a 243 551 Northamptonshire 2,638 2,401 2,620 623 582 611 Northumbria 12,749 13,154 14,442 2,361 2,253 2,082 Nottinghamshire 3,248 3,397 3,803 1,471 1,432 1,473 South Wales 6,759 9,791 7,252 1,412 1,989 1,963 South Yorkshire 950 168 12,209 108 154 999 Staffordshire 1,744 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Suffolk 1,225 1,683 1,962 517 608 640 Surrey 1,217 1,308 1,653 460 400 463 Sussex 5,795 6,910 8,174 1,480 1,491 1,749 Thames Valley n/a 9,904 10,885 n/a 2,082 2,340 Warwickshire 493 485 2,500 389 388 500 West Mercia 1,867 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a West Midlands 14,011 16,538 20,217 2,280 3,615 5,409 West Yorkshire 18,304 22,191 23,658 4,567 5,986 6,469 Wiltshire 423 5,952 7,563 366 1,244 1,307 Provincial Total 238,975 263,514 310,052 43,665 53,181 66,372 England and Wales Total 254,625 277,917 351,583 45,408 53,181 71,682 NE Region 19,505 19,908 21,290 4,065 3810 3,512 submitted by police forces in England and Wales to Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary. The figures are set out in the table.
The definition of domestic violence used for these returns was:
Any form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse which takes place within the context of a close relationship. In most cases, the relationship will be between partners, married, co-habiting or otherwise; or ex-partners".Unfortunately, this definition was interpreted in differing ways by different police forces, for instance because some forces included child abuse. This prevented proper statistical comparisons or a clear understanding of what the returns indicated. From 1 April 1999, the definition of domestic violence for the purpose of statistical returns to Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary has been:The term 'domestic violence' shall be understood to mean any violence between current or former partners in an intimate relationship, wherever and whenever the violence occurs. The violence may include physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse".