Domestic abuse: Over half of cases resulted in convictions
The figures relate to the last two financial years in Northern Ireland
Last updated 7th Jan 2025
Over 50 percent of domestic abuse cases in the last two financial years in Northern Ireland have resulted in convictions.
The figures from the Department of Justice were published in its first official bulletin since new laws were introduced in February 2022.
The new legislation extends to both physical violence and non-physical abuse.
Overall, over 4000 cases of domestic abuse were reported in Northern Ireland in the last two financial years.
In 2023/24 almost 56 percent (1515) and in 2022/23 nearly 52 percent (840) of those ended in a successful prosecution.
During both years the majority of perpetrators were men aged in their 30s.
Justice Minister Naomi Long welcomed the publication of the new figures and said the data will help show how well the new laws are working.
She said: "The implementation of the domestic abuse offence and associated aggravators, in February 2022, was a landmark moment in tackling domestic abuse.
"The new offences sent out a clear message that all forms of domestic abuse, physical and non-physical, are wrong and won’t be tolerated.
"I am pleased that we are now starting to see some data coming through which will enable us to analyse the effectiveness of the new legislation and identify any areas for improvement."
She added: "In the coming months I intend to publish a report which will include statistics on police recorded offences as well as feedback from witnesses on their experiences at court.
"This additional data will provide a fuller picture and allow us to further analyse how effectively the legislation is operating."