Some police show outdated views on domestic abuse – watchdog

Some police officers lack empathy and show “outdated attitudes” in domestic abuse cases, a watchdog has said.

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary reported there is a lack of consistency in the quality of responses from officers called to incidents.

Craig Naylor praised the national force for making progress on the issue but called for more training.

Police Scotland said it is committed to improving its response to domestic abuse.

Last year there were 64,807 domestic incidents recorded in Scotland with just over half resulting in reports to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, which decides whether there should be prosecutions.

Homicide figures show that 56% of women killed last year in Scotland died at the hands of a partner or ex-partner.

Mr Naylor, of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland (HMICS), highlighted a series of recent convictions secured by the domestic abuse task force in his latest report.

Sentences totalling 215 years have been imposed on 32 men.

Mr Naylor said “a great deal” has been done by Police Scotland and the organisation is committed to further improvements.

But he warned that domestic abuse is under reported and it could get worse because of the cost of living crisis.

He added Police Scotland was dealing with a challenging budget settlement and a reduction in police numbers.

The HMICS report said: “The victim experience is that the attitudes and behaviours of some officers lack empathy and understanding and some victims report that remarks made by officers reflect outdated attitudes.”

It also said there was still “a lack of knowledge and confidence” among some officers over the Scottish government’s Domestic Abuse bill, which outlawed psychological domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.

Mr Naylor said: “Good quality service to victims at the first point of contact and beyond is crucial. If having taken the bold step to report domestic abuse, a victim has a poor experience, they are far less likely to report any further abuse.”

“The risks associated with this area of policing, which are of significant public concern, determine that the improvements we identify in this report must be prioritised.”

He called for more trauma informed training, drawing on the experiences of victims.

HMICS consulted a small number of domestic violence victims during its review of the force’s work.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Bex Smith said: “We are grateful to His Majesty’s Inspector for underlining the successes of our proactive approach, partnership working and the significant progress in this critically important area.

“While we do not always get everything right, we listen carefully to a range of voices, including victims groups, and take action.

“We are resolute in our commitment to continually improve our response to domestic abuse and we will consider how this report can support us in doing so.”