Parliament Workbench
Data: Motions & questions to 19 Nov 2026

Written Question · S6W-05490 · Session 6

How many incidents of domestic abuse were (a) reported and (b) prosecuted between 1 January and 30 June 2021.

Answered Asked by Richard Leonard Lab Lodged 24 Dec 2021

The question

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of domestic abuse were (a) reported and (b) prosecuted between 1 January and 30 June 2021.

The answer

Answered by Keith Brown on 24 Jan 2022 · 31 days after it was lodged, on time

The latest published Official Statistics on the number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland are for the year to 31 March 2021. In the period from 1 January to 31 March 2021, the Police recorded 14,782 incidents of domestic abuse.
Figures showing police recorded domestic abuse incidents are also published in the monthly data reports on how the pandemic has affected the Justice system in Scotland. In the period from 1 April to 30 June 2021 the police recorded 15,749 incidents of domestic abuse. This data is based on management information provided each month by Police Scotland, based on their administrative data available at that time and will in due course be incorporated into the 2021-22 Official Statistics.
In the period 1 January to 30 June 2021, 16,395 domestic abuse charges were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). These are reported charges with a domestic abuse identifier. During the same period, 15,096 domestic abuse charges were prosecuted.
It should be noted that information on police recorded incidents of domestic abuse and cases prosecuted by COPFS are not strictly comparable as there is no direct relationship between the number of incidents (and the crimes they involve) recorded by the police and the number of follow-up actions taken by other agencies within the criminal justice system. For example, some incidents of domestic abuse do not involve any crimes or offences being recorded, whereas others may involve multiple crimes which lead to more than one prosecution. There are other comparability issues in that incidents recorded by the police may not be processed by COPFS or the courts in the same period they were recorded.

In the Official Report

No contribution in the Official Report cites S6W-05490 by reference.