Derbyshire has the highest number of domestic abuse crime in the East Midlands - as charities issue a stark warning

The study was published alongside warnings from charities about the severe impact of the cost of living crisis on domestic abuse services.

An investigation by Personal Injury Claims UK found that Derbyshire has the highest domestic abuse crime figures in the East Midlands, with a staggering 18,290 incidents reported last year. This figure represents 20 percent of all crimes reported in the county.

Around 50 domestic abuse crimes happened every day in Derbyshire between November 2022 and October 2023.

According to Derbyshire Police, 67 percent of victims were female and 31 per cent were male, while two percent of victims had a different gender definition or the gender was unknown.

Detective Superintendent Darren De’Ath, head of public protection at Derbyshire Police, said: “Domestic abuse historically tends to be under reported so any increase in reports to the force, while understandably concerning, is actually a positive development and shows the increased confidence in the force’s response to these types of offences.”

The data was gathered from Freedom of Information requests sent to every police force in the UK.

With a total of 17,074 domestic abuse offences last year — 16 percent of all crimes recorded— Nottinghamshire was second in the region.

Charities are now warning of the devastating impacts on domestic abuse services as the cost of living crisis continues to severely impact the sector.

Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: “Survivors and the services that support them are continuing to feel the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and budgetary cuts which have seen life-saving specialist support services struggle to meet demand, while plugging the gaps from under-investment in vital public services.

“This is felt most sharply by those supporting minoritised women, particularly migrant survivors who face ongoing legislative assaults on their rights to safety.”

Detective Superintendent Darren De’Ath added: “We have been completing significant work to increase public awareness about domestic abuse and highlighting how to get help. This has included recently restarting our Facebook Live events where we have discussed the many forms domestic abuse can take, invited charities in to highlight the support on offer and encouraged people to submit questions for our officers.

“We have also worked hard to ensure that officers and staff are trained to understand domestic abuse better and that means that officers will often, through speaking with victims about completely different incidents, uncover domestic abuse crimes.”

If you're a victim of domestic abuse or know someone who is, you can report your concerns to Derbyshire police.

Several organisations can help those who are not ready to report to the police, including, Womens Aid.org, Crossroads Derbyshire and the Derbyshire domestic abuse helpline on 0800 0198 668.

The Detective Superintendent said: “Anyone who reports crimes to us is actively supported and we use a range of orders such as domestic violence protection orders and sexual harm prevention orders as well as bail to help provide further safeguarding for victims.”