CAMPAIGNERS against domestic violence have said it is “extremely worrying” that police have moved to water down a zero tolerance approach to offenders.

Scottish Women’s Aid (SWA) said the change to the previous hardline policy – which has already taken place – was a sign Police Scotland still did not understand the nature of most domestic abuse.

Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid said: “Domestic abuse is a pattern of behaviour that involves fear, coercion, control and sometimes physical assault.

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“If police cannot distinguish between a temporary problem in a relationship and domestic abuse, we think this is a training issue rather than cause for shifting to a “proportionate” policy response.”

Her comments came after it was revealed that hundreds of people accused of domestic violence were released between March and August, after giving written undertakings to the police. Police Scotland had previously pledged to detain the alleged perpetrator in every case where there was evidence of domestic abuse.

In an apparent dilution of the approach, a new joint protocol agreed between the Crown Office and the force in March changed the policy. According to figures obtained by BBC Scotland the change has seen nearly 1400 people released on special conditions.

The zero tolerance approach to domestic violence cases was introduced by former Police Scotland chief constable Stephen House at Strathclyde Police, before the formation of the single force.

Subsequently extended to cover the whole of Scotland it saw all those accused of domestic abuse held until they could appear at a court hearing. Alleged perpetrators were detained and taken into police custody, whether the victim wished to make a complaint or not. Victims were not allowed to seek to have charges “dropped”.

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However under the new protocol, any accused who are judged to pose no risk to the victim can sign an undertaking and return to the community. Special conditions can include measures such as being forced to leave a family home or barred from approaching the victim as well as an undertaking to turn up at court.

The change is believed to affect around 20 per cent of cases, and is thought to have been influenced by concerns that domestic abuse cases were overloading the court system.

However the Crown Office had previously rejected the use of written pledges in return for freeing alleged abusers, telling the Herald in 2013: “The use of undertakings in domestic abuse cases would only ever be introduced after a full evaluation and risk assessment had been carried out with the police and support agencies”

Last night a spokesman for Police Scotland insisted this had been done and said it was inaccurate to suggest the policy change had not been advertised. Partner agencies were fully aware, he said.

However Ms Scott said SWA were concerned at the change: “Scottish Women’s Aid has long supported Police Scotland’s “zero tolerance” approach to domestic abuse, and we would find a shift away from that stance extremely worrying,” she said.

“We have never considered “a fractious relationship” domestic abuse. Indeed, the phrase is a worrying echo of the “it’s just a domestic,” the attitude that was so prevalent in policing not so very long ago.”

She said there should have been no change to the policy unless the safety of alleged victims could be guaranteed.

“The safety of those experiencing domestic abuse is the measure—and outcome—that must drive policy and practice. Keeping victims/survivors safe is the highest priority of the domestic abuse protocol between Police Scotland and the Crown Office, and a zero tolerance approach reflects and enables this priority.”

Speaking to the BBC, psychologist Mairead Tagg, a specialist in domestic violence, said the zero tolerance strategy had been a victim of its own success. “Unfortunately, it is not always easy to ensure that the resulting criminal process is going to be as fast or as easily expedited as the police response,” Ms Tagg said.

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She added: “It can be very disconcerting and frightening for people affected by violence in the home to discover that the perpetrator has been set free, because it feels like they have not been believed or nobody is thinking about their safety.”

The new protocol was announced in a joint statement issued by the Crown Office and Police Scotland in March. It described the possibility of release following undertakings and said; “Police officers must take every precaution to ensure that a person is not unreasonably or unnecessarily held in police custody.” However this was not mentioned in a statement at the time, which quoted Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams as saying: “The latest protocol highlights the absolute commitment of Police Scotland and prosecutors to work together and to do everything possible to bring those responsible for domestic abuse to justice.”