Police crackdown on domestic violence at Christmas in East Yorkshire
Rates of domestic violence are expected to rise at Christmas.
Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison has said the force will step up its fight against domestic violence as incidents are expected to increase over the Christmas period.
Domestic violence charity Refuge are running a Christmas appeal to donate a parcel for a woman or child fleeing an abuser this Christmas - which can be one of the hardest times of the year.
Jonathan Evison said: "During times of celebration where larger amounts of alcohol are consumed and people are getting together, domestic abuse and violence against women and girls increases so there'll be a focus on that."
In the year ending March 2023, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated 2.1 million people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse that year. Police recorded 889,918 domestic abuse-related crimes in the year ending March 2023.
Jonathan Evison said: "The focus has very much been on protecting victims - we're not changing that but we also need to concentrate on perpetrators, because they can move onto another victim, so we have to educate and make it clear that's not something we do."
Although rates of domestic abuse-related crimes were similar to the previous year, there were 51,228 proescutions for the year ending March 2023, down from 53,207 in the year ending March 2022.