MORE THAN 2300 identified perpetrators of domestic abuse crimes or offences in Tayside had no further action taken against them by police last year.

The shock figure was four times the total for the rest of Scotland, yet the head of the region’s public protection unit was unable to explain why so many people appeared to be going unpunished.

It also emerged that the rate of domestic abuse crimes and offences in Tayside—927 per 100,000 population during 2007/08—was the highest in the country.

Detective Chief Inspector John Caughey, of the Tayside Police public protection unit, said of the disparity in the no further action figures, “Quite obviously it is concerning.

“It might be the case that it is because we are being very precise in what we record—our threshold for recording domestic abuse incidents is very low.

“There is no reason to think that domestic abuse is any more prevalent here than in any other part of the country.”

Mr Caughey said agencies in the three council areas in Tayside provided good support to victims of domestic abuse, which he described as a “complicated issue.”

“There are all sorts of reasons why someone, having reported it, might look for support but not seek legal repercussions,” he added.

According to yesterday’s report from Scotland’s chief statistician, incidents of domestic abuse across the country are on the rise.

There were 49,655 incidents recorded in 2007/08, up nearly 2% on the previous 12 months.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said, “Domestic abuse must not be tolerated in any form.

“We know the effects of domestic abuse can be devastating, including on children and young people, and we are determined to tackle it, wherever and whenever it occurs.

“That is why the Scottish Government has announced funding of nearly £44 million to address violence against women and domestic abuse. This is more than double the investment made between 2005-2008.

“The rise in the reporting of incidents shows that while we have made progress in changing attitudes and encouraging people to report domestic abuse, there is still a lot more work to do in tackling this problem.”

Half of the Scottish incidents led to the recording of a crime or offence.

However, police practices across the country differ, and almost every case in Tayside was marked as a crime or offence.

Of the 3655 crimes and offences last year, 1144 were reported to the procurator fiscal.

Three were given a warning, four resulted in other action, 129 were not recorded—while 2375 resulted in “no further action.”

In Fife there were 1776 crimes and offences (from 3926 total incidents).

Some 1413 were referred to the PF, eight resulted in a police warning, 308 in other action, 33 in no further action and 14 were not recorded.

The report notes that Tayside Police launched a joint initiative with Barnado’s Scotland “which is believed to have encouraged victims of domestic abuse to report incidents.”

Around one in every three cases in Tayside, and more than two in every three in Fife, involved repeat victimisation.

The report also revealed that crimes and offences in Tayside included seven serious assaults, two sexual assaults, 249 minor assaults and 535 breaches of the peace.

In Fife there were three serious assaults and two sexual assaults recorded.

Minor assaults accounted for 229 cases, and breach of the peace 105.

Alarmingly, the report notes that the statistics are only those incidents recorded by the police—not all incidents are reported to police.