Incidents of domestic violence and abuse peak on New Year’s Day four years in a row

New Year’s Day has seen the most domestic violence and abuse incidents for the last four years in the South Wales Police force area.

Many of these incidents happened in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

The highest number was on 1st January 2019 and 1st January 2020, with 162 reports of domestic violence and abuse incidents on both days.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lewis said: “Whilst we know Christmas and New Year is a time to relax and enjoy ourselves, it can also be a difficult time for many. Around this time of year, we see a large increase in the number of domestic violence and abuse incidents reported to us which can be exacerbated by an increase in alcohol consumption.

Any type of violence, abuse, and harassment towards a partner, former partner or family member is unacceptable. We take reports of this kind seriously and understand that anyone can experience this.”

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Gilmer said: “We recognise that anyone can be a victim and all victims who report incidents to us will be responded to. Anyone that contacts us will be treated sensitively and with respect.  We are always looking at how we can improve our responses to addressing the needs of victims and focus on interventions for women who we know are more likely to be victims, in terms of frequency and severity of violence and abuse.”

The South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner is funding work with GP surgeries to provide training under the IRIS programme (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety) to help staff spot the signs of domestic violence and abuse and encourage them to ask patients if everything is okay. 

South Wales Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner Emma Wools said: “Tackling violence against women and girls is a key priority for policing in Wales and we are committed to working in partnership to address these issues. Whilst we have made progress, we know that more needs to be done; we must be relentless in our collective efforts to reduce the intimidation, harassment and violence experienced by women and girls.”

We encourage people to come forward to report incidents to us Contact us | South Wales Police (south-wales.police.uk)

Help and support is available: Support organisations for victims of domestic violence | South Wales Police (south-wales.police.uk)