North Wales Police dealt with more than 14,000 incidents of domestic abuse in 2012

POLICE in North Wales dealt with more than 14,000 reported incidents of domestic abuse last year – over 1,200 of which involved children.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed a total of 14,239 incidents were reported to the force between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 and 5,244 were flagged up between April 1 and autumn this year.

In 2012/13, a total of 1,273 cases involved children aged 0-17 and there have been 165 so far this year.

During the entire period from April 2012 to date, there have been 34 reported cases involving babies under a year old, 304 involved children aged 1-10 years and 1,100 involving youngsters aged 11-17.

Alyn and Deeside AM Carl Sargeant, who requested the figures as part of his long-running campaign to clamp down on domestic violence ahead of White Ribbon Day on November 25, said:

“Domestic abuse is defined as any incidents or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between partners of family members.

“This can include physical, psychological, sexual, financial and emotional abuse and is intended to make a person dependent or subordinate or to harm, punish or frighten them.

“It is totally unacceptable and last year’s figures make for shocking reading. I am encouraged to see that the number of incidents in total, as well as those involving children and teenagers, appears to have decreased so far this year, but obviously we will not have the final figures until the end of March 2014.

“The Welsh Government is committed to clamping down on domestic abuse against men, women and children and is continually striving to improve support for victims, enabling them to rebuild their lives.

“I would urge anyone who feels strongly about this issue to show their support for White Ribbon Day on November 25 – as I will be doing both in Alyn and Deeside and at the Senedd.”

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