Domestic abuse in Doncaster is "area of concern" following sharp rise in number of reported cases

New figures seen by councillors also show reported crime was rising before the national lockdown in March but fell dramatically by the end of April.

When comparing 2019 to 2020 on a month to month basis, crime fell in every month bar January February and September.

Crime in Doncaster fell by nearly six per cent on the previous year. In 2019, there were 37,911 reported crimes compared to 35,850 during 2020.

But both Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire Police are increasingly concerned around a relatively sharp rise in the number of domestic abuse cases.

Stats show an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year. In 2019, there 8,463 incidents and 9,852 reports in 2020.

Bill Hotchkiss, head of service safer communities at DMBC, said: “The Covid-19 emergency and a series of restrictions on the public have seen an impact on crime and anti-social behaviour.

“Our areas of concern remain domestic abuse, where like other areas, we have seen an increase in reports and referrals.

“A dashboard has been developed to map domestic abuse across Doncaster and highlight incidents linked to serial perpetrators and victims.

“The dashboard provides information on the current numbers of referrals received by the domestic abuse service.

“Operation Encompass is an early warning system – schools only need to take action if they find the child or young person in distress.

“Across the borough 86 out of 99 primary schools, 15 out of 19 secondary schools and six out of seven special schools are signed up. Our goal is that all schools will be part of the scheme.”

The launch of the Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) unit in March, prompted an increase in the number of orders being applied for by the force.

In 2020, SYP ran the #CutTheStrings campaign and launched an online portal to encourage and reduce the barriers of reporting domestic abuse.

The force has also launched Operation Encompass to increase the sharing of information between the police and schools around domestic abuse.

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