Statistics on Domestic Abuse

Summary

The requester asked for annual domestic abuse statistics for 2016 and 2017 broken down by the sex of the victim and offender. The Isle of Man Constabulary disclosed the full data, providing incident counts for both years along with methodological notes on how the data was recorded.

Key Facts

• The request was made under the Freedom of Information Act 2015 and received on 9 April 2018.
• The Constabulary released all requested information regarding domestic abuse incidents for 2016 and 2017.
• Data includes counts of incidents where the offender and victim were male or female.
• The statistics capture incidents involving family members, not just partners, and cases where both parties were violent.
• Over 95% of recorded incidents were reported within two weeks of occurring.

Data Disclosed

• 2016 total incidents: 460
• 2016 male offenders: 91
• 2016 female offenders: 369
• 2016 male victims: 370
• 2016 female victims: 90
• 2017 total incidents: 515
• 2017 male offenders: 100
• 2017 female offenders: 415
• 2017 male victims: 420
• 2017 female victims: 95
• Case reference: 416237
• Date received: 2018-04-09
• Outcome date: 2018-04-19

Original Request

To whom it may concern Under the FOIA 2015, I am requesting the figures on incidents of domestic abuse reported to the Isle of Man constabulary. The scope of my request concerns the annual statistics from 2016 and 2017 and includes counts against men and counts against women. In anticipation, Regards Aaron

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Department of Home Affairs Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas Isle of Man, IM2 5PA Tel: +44(0)1624631394 Email: Mark.Britton@gov.im Our ref: 416237 19 April 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 9 April 2018 and which states:

"To whom it may concern Under the FOIA 2015, I am requesting the figures on incidents of domestic abuse reported to the Isle of Man constabulary. The scope of my request concerns the annual statistics from 2016 and 2017 and includes counts against men and counts against women. In anticipation, Regards Aaron"

Our response to your request is as follows: I have enclosed copies of the information that is being released to you.

Please quote the reference number 416237 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to us at Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Department of Home Affairs Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas Isle of Man, IM2 5PA Tel: +44(0)1624631394 Email: Mark.Britton@gov.im

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper

version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

Detail of Request: The figures on incidents of domestic abuse reported to the Isle of Man constabulary. The scope of my request concerns the annual statistics from 2016 and 2017 and includes counts against men and counts against women. Response:

The source of this data was the reporting of domestic violence incidents, which records every occasion an incident is reported, and the sex of both victim and offender. It should be noted that this captures some incidents: • where persons involved are family (e.g. parents and children), rather than partners/ex-partners • where both parties have been violent, and the attribution of victim and offender is not easy to establish – there are some persons recorded as a victim in one incident and offender in another. • as the figures relate to number of incidents reported in each year, they do include very rarely a few reported historically, occurring in a different year than the one reported (over half of incidents recorded are within 24 hours of incident occurring, and over 95% within two weeks). 2016 Offender Sex Victim Sex Male Female Total Male 21 70 91 Female 349 20 369 Total 370 90 460 2017 Offender Sex Victim Sex Male Female Total Male 31 69 100 Female 389 26 415 Total 420 95 515