THE Scots police force watchdog has told Police Scotland  to prioritise training to address "problematic and outdated attidudes" in domestic abuse cases.

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary reported there is a lack of consistency in the quality of responses from officers called to incidents and said there were significant challenges still exist in preventing and understanding the scale of domestic abuse.

He acknowledged many positives in the tactics and methods currently used by Police Scotland but said more training was needed.

Police Scotland said it did not always get it right and was seeking to improve responses.

In 2021/22 there were 64,807 recorded incidents of domestic abuse - 1900 more than before than in 2019/20.

Homicide figures show that 56% of women killed last year in Scotland died at the hands of a partner or ex-partner.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Craig Naylor, highlighted convictions secured by the domestic abuse task force in his latest report.  Sentences totalling 215 years have been imposed on 32 men.

The Herald: Three officers will work to tackle issues including violence, drugs and anti-social behaviour (Image: Police Scotland)

The enactment of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 (DASA) made it a criminal offence for a person to engage in a course of behaviour that is abusive of their partner or ex-partner. 

The inspectorate says that this marked a significant step in modernising the understanding of domestic abuse and, recognising the many forms this can take, including the use of coercive controlling behaviour.

But the watchdog found that there was still a lack of knowledge and confidence among some officers in recognising and applying the domestic abuse legislation.

The inspectorate has made  14 recommendations including the need to ensure there is an adequate cadre of suitably trained sexual offence liaison officers (SOLOs) and the prioritisation of a robust system for progressing domestic abuse inquiries which will improve the service to victims.

Progress in the provision and promotion of third party reporting sites, the use of diary appointments, greater opportunities for the capture of digital evidence including the need to ensure and save victims from having to trawl through their own devices, enhanced response at the first point of contact and the requirement to offer the preferred gender of attending officer to victims are also reflected in the recommendations.

The HMICS report said: "The victim experience is that the attitudes and behaviours of some officers lack empathy and understanding and some victims report that remarks made by officers reflect outdated attitudes."

It also said there was still "a lack of knowledge and confidence" among some officers over the Scottish government's Domestic Abuse bill, which outlawed psychological domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.

Mr Naylor said: "Good quality service to victims at the first point of contact and beyond is crucial. If having taken the bold step to report domestic abuse, a victim has a poor experience, they are far less likely to report any further abuse."

"The risks associated with this area of policing, which are of significant public concern, determine that the improvements we identify in this report must be prioritised."

Assistant Chief Constable Bex Smith said: “This legislation was a significant step change in how Scotland’s criminal justice system deals with the full range of abusive behaviour.

“Every officer in our service has been trained, and new recruits are trained, to identify these behaviours and to apply DASA.

“Every instance of domestic abuse is unique and we seek to tailor our response to the needs of the victims, including children who often witness abuse.

“We know we don’t always get it right, but we are listening and we recognise how crucial hearing the experience of victims is in helping us improve our response and deliver a service that meets their needs.”