Domestic abuse rates in Plymouth nearly 40 per cent higher than rest of Devon and Cornwall
More victims are seeking help since a new integrated service launched in April
Recorded domestic abuse rates in Plymouth are nearly 40 per cent higher than the rest of Devon and Cornwall, a report has found.
The report says domestic abuse accounts for around one in five recorded crimes in the city.
It was presented to Plymouth City Council's cabinet and sets out the scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) in Plymouth.
It also details the progress made through a multi-agency approach since 2022.
The scale of the problem
From 2022/23 to 2025/26, an annual average of 5,080 domestic abuse crimes were reported in Plymouth.
That is around 21 per cent of all recorded crime.
An annual average of 3,000 stalking and harassment crimes and 1,000 sexual offences were also reported.
Of identified domestic abuse victims, 74 per cent were women.
Of those causing harm, 88 per cent were men.
The report says that, based on Office for National Statistics and census data, it is estimated one in eight women over the age of 16 in the city will experience some form of VAWG every year.
That is approximately 14,375 women.
Prevalence estimates indicate approximately 18,000 adults and 10,000 children will experience domestic abuse in Plymouth each year.
Hotspots in the city
Stonehouse has a recorded rate of 72.6 domestic abuse crimes per 1,000 population.
Local police analysis shows it as the highest-rate neighbourhood in Devon and Cornwall, and more than five times the force average.
Three of the force area's leading domestic abuse hotspots are within Plymouth.
Reaction to the report
Labour councillor Chris Penberthy, who represents St Peter and the Waterfront and is cabinet member for cooperative and community development, said the report was harrowing reading.
He said progress had been made over the last three years and there was much to be proud of, but the scale of the challenge remains.
How the city has responded
The Plymouth Violence Against Women and Girls Commission was set up following the murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod and the Keyham shootings in 2021.
It made recommendations for the city to become a safer place.
A strategy was later developed, bringing together police, the council, health, family services, specialist services, education and the voluntary sector for a coordinated community response.
Mr Penberthy said the recommendations had been turned into actions which made VAWG everyone's responsibility.
He said partnership arrangements had been strengthened, domestic abuse services had been transformed and support for victims and survivors had expanded.
He also pointed to investment in community-led prevention and a much more coordinated response across the city.
New domestic abuse service
Meghan Field, strategic lead for VAWG, said the new integrated domestic abuse service, launched in April, had seen a 34 per cent increase in referrals and a 60 per cent increase in engagement with survivors.
She said sexual violence therapeutic services had increased and the quality of the workforce development programme had been nationally recognised.
She said there were new measures to identify and manage repeat and high-harm perpetrators of domestic abuse.
There was also more prevention and culture change work with schools and Man Culture, and more high-risk victims were being brought into multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
A refreshed strategy and action plan will be brought to councillors early next year, focusing on prevention, survivor outcomes, perpetrator accountability and wider system change.
Ms Field said: "We have spent the last three years building a stronger system, the next three years must be about demonstrating that fewer people are being harmed because of this."
Funding and resources
Lyn Gooding, chair of Plymouth Domestic and Sexual Violence Partnership and chief executive of the charity First Light, said demand continued to outstrip the resources available.
She said short-term funding and uncertainty made it difficult to retain specialist expertise and provide continuity.
Ms Gooding said partnership work needed more than goodwill, and that leadership, accountability and resources were needed to make meaningful change.
Labour council leader Tudor Evans, who represents Ham, said he was blown away by what was being done.
He said he would like to know how much it saved the public purse, and that it would be good to show how a little money goes a long way in the hands of the people working on this.
Mr Evans said the council could lobby the government for funding if it had a better understanding of what was at stake.
He added that the council was still really worried about the sexual assault referral centre (SARC) being relocated from Plymouth to St Austell.
He said the council would continue to lobby on the issue because it believed it was not the right decision.