Tens of thousands of domestic abuse crimes recorded in South Yorkshire, ONS data shows

It comes as new domestic abuse protection notices and orders, introduced by the previous Government, are set to be trialled in parts of England and Wales before being rolled out across the country.

Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said the new changes will ensure more victims receive the "robust protection they deserve".

Home Office figures show 23,738 domestic abuse-related crimes were recorded by South Yorkshire Police in the year to March – down from 24,808 the year before.

Of these crimes, nine per cent resulted in a charge or summons.

Police forces across England and Wales recorded 851,062 domestic abuse-related crimes, a fall from 911,248 the previous year.

However, the Office for National Statistics' crime survey estimated 2.3 million people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the past year.

Sarika Seshadi, head of research and evaluation at Women’s Aid, said: "It is notable that while police recording of domestic abuse-related crimes has decreased over the past year, this is likely due to changes in their recording practices.

"Consistency and accuracy in recording across police forces will also be critical in measuring progress of cases through the criminal justice system, and the wider Government pledge to halve violence against women and girls."

She added: "With over one in four women over 16 experiencing domestic abuse in their lifetime, and at least one woman being killed by her current or former male partner a week, it is clear that urgent action towards domestic abuse needs to be taken as part of this commitment."

The figures also show there have been 353 domestic homicide victims between the years ending March 2021 and March 2023, including 10 recorded by South Yorkshire Police.

Of the victims, 231 were women (65 per cent).

Ms Phillips said the number of people estimated to be victims of domestic abuse is "appalling" and "frightening".

She added: "That’s why one of our first acts against our ambitious manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade is to launch new, strengthened domestic abuse protection orders.

"By bringing together the strongest elements of existing orders into a flexible order that covers all forms of domestic abuse and has no time limit, we’ll ensure more victims receive the robust protection they deserve."

The new DAPNs and DAPOs are intended to cover all forms of domestic abuse and, unlike some orders that only last for 28 days, will have no time restrictions.

The orders can include exclusion zones and can require abusers to attend behaviour change programmes. Breaching the requirement could result in up to five years in prison.

The changes will also now allow victims’ friends and family to apply for an order on their behalf.

The new orders will be trialled in Greater Manchester, three London boroughs and by the British Transport Police, with further pilots in Cleveland and North Wales early in 2025 prior to a national rollout.