Domestic abuse: police have targeted violence after Old Firm games
Strathclyde Police have said there has been a fall in the number of domestic abuse cases following the last two Old Firm games.
The figure was revealed as the force published the results of its Break the Cycle of Violence campaign, which saw the force arrest more than 1,700 people between December and January.
Officers were keen to stress that over the past five Old Firm games - from March last year to Rangers’ recent victory on February 28 - figures for domestic abuse, attempted murders, serious assaults and breaches of the peace have all dropped on average.
For domestic abuse, figures varied between 152 cases following the May 9 game - which Rangers won 1-0 to take them to the top of the league - to 102 cases after the latest game in February. Later, police revealed this figure is slightly higher than a non-Old Firm Sunday, which ranged between 80 and 97 in the three weeks prior to the latest game between Celtic and Rangers.
It was reported in March last year by Assistant Chief Constable John Neilson that domestic abuse cases increased by as much as 88% after Celtic’s victory over Rangers in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final that month, revealing a damming side show to the celebrated football fixture.
During the recent campaign, officers attended 3,961 incidents of domestic abuse - a 24 per cent reduction in comparison to the same period last year. However, the force did reveal that year-on-year, they have attended 7,000 more cases of domestic abuse (27,593) in 2008/09 than they did in 2004/2005.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter McPike commented: "We are now placing a much greater emphasis on challenging offending behaviour and focusing on the perpetrators of this crime.
"What we are seeking to achieve is a reduction in the number of victims of this type of crime by focusing our efforts towards targeting repeat offenders and serial offenders and making our position absolutely clear that this type of behaviour is unacceptable.
"Our ultimate goal is to impact upon the levels of domestic abuse we have seen in recent years and to achieve a positive outcome for victims and their families."
The campaign had been backed by the family of 17-year-old Ayrshire schoolgirl Michelle Stewart, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend John Wilson in front of her friends after she refused to talk to him. In April last year, Wilson was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the crime.
