Panic alarms for victims of domestic violence

Published on Wednesday 2 July 2008 10:27

VICTIMS of domestic abuse are being issued with panic alarms as new figures show that nearly 30 people report attacks to the police every day in the Lothians.

A pilot scheme has now been launched in north Edinburgh aimed at protecting victims from further attacks.

Women and men in the Leith and Drylaw areas are being asked to complete a questionnaire to assess the threats they face.

Police officers use their electronic notebooks to fill in the 21 questions, which are used to carry out a risk assessment.

Victims with a high risk of being attacked again can be issued with alarms to put in their homes, with cords to be pulled in emergencies.

Others can get "priority" labels on their phone numbers so a call is taken immediately if they dial police. A number of agencies are alerted to each incident to give possible support and advice to victims.

Detective Sergeant Debbie Black is from the force's crime policy unit, which deals with public protection. "Research has shown that a person will be the victim of domestic abuse 35 times before they first contact police," she said. "In Lothian and Borders we get a call on average every 50 minutes.

"These questionnaires allow our officers to gather information. The questions ask how often the abuse happens, the type of abuse, whether there are children in the relationship and, if so, if there are access disputes.

"It covers a lot of ground and allows us to make a risk assessment. We can then decide on an appropriate course of action based on the response we get.

"All victims are contacted again by phone or personal visit to check how things are going.

"The scheme has been running for six weeks and we'll take a look at the results in a three-month review. If successful, it could be rolled out across the force area."

Police now routinely ask for bail conditions against those accused of domestic abuse, often in a bid to ban them from contact with a victim, their home or children.

Research has shown that 22 per cent of the incidents involve minor assaults, another 15 per cent breach of the peace, while other offences include making malicious calls. For attempted murder, 11.5 per cent of all incidents are domestic.

The number of domestic abuse incidents in Lothian and Borders fell between April last year and March 2008 to 9325, against 9758 for the year before.

Figures show that around 60 per cent of victims have been repeatedly abused.

Jenny Kemp, of the Edinburgh-based Zero Tolerance Charitable Trust, which works to tackle the root causes of male violence against women and children, welcomed the new scheme.

She said: "I'm pleased the police are using a risk assessment tool to deal with domestic abuse.

"It shows they are taking the issue seriously, as they should. I hope it's part of a wider move to promote the message that domestic abuse is unacceptable.

"We're always sceptical about figures because domestic violence is an under-reported crime.

"In a way, we would welcome an increase because it would show that people feel confident about contacting the police and considering it a crime, as opposed to a private matter."