One in ten offences recorded by the Met involve domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is on the rise in London. In 2011, there were 46,000 domestic abuse offences recorded by the Met, compared to just over 85,000 in 2018: approximately ten per cent of all recorded offences that year ^[1].

At the end of 2019, there were 90,000 domestic abuse offences recorded by the Met. It is widely acknowledged that domestic abuse is an underreported crime, and that the true number of offences is likely to be far higher than this.

The London Assembly has published a report on domestic abuse in London which makes a number of recommendations including:

• The Committee calls on the Mayor and Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime (MOPAC) to continue to support the Assembly’s work in lobbying for the introduction of a Domestic Abusers Register and consider options for piloting a register in London.
• MOPAC should report back to this Committee, by May 2020, on how it intends to increase awareness and the use of DVPOs, DVPNs and Clare’s Law disclosures.
• The Mayor should provide ringfenced funding to ensure dedicated domestic abuse services for children and young people.
• The Mayor should set out how he intends to meet his equalities obligations and support all victims of domestic abuse, including refuge provision for male victims and those in same-sex relationships.

Once the immediate Covid-19 crisis has ended, the Met and Mayors Office for Policing and Crime need to ensure that the domestic abuse services that are in place provide quality London-wide support for victims and bring people to justice for these crimes.