Three arrests for domestic violence every hour in West Yorkshire

Dec 16 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

POLICE in West Yorkshire are dealing with three incidents of domestic abuse every hour – a staggering 80 offences each day.

And they fear it will get worse over the so-called “festive” season.

Between April and September this year, officers dealt with 14,449 incidents of domestic abuse.

Some 40% were verbal disputes, but 34% were violent crimes and 44% were repeat incidents.

Figures for the same period show that a quarter of all violent crime across the county was domestic abuse related.

Now the force has committed more resources to the problem and a hard-hitting campaign has been launched aimed at tackling it.

The initiative aims to encourage victims to report incidents so that positive action can be taken which could reduce the risk of them becoming a repeat victim as well as highlighting the help and support available to them.

Police also promised firm action will be taken against the perpetrators.

A short film, which contains messages such as ‘How much more can you take?’ and ‘Domestic Violence – It’s time to speak out’ has been released, aimed at encouraging victims to come forward.

A victim of domestic violence has also given an interview as part of the campaign to speak out about their experience.