New figures have revealed that 1,090 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded by the police in the Scottish Borders in 2017-18. The figure is up 20% since 2014-15.
It means there are now 3 incidents each day within the local council area.
The rise comes at a time when the SNP are planning to abolish jail sentences of less than a year – risking domestic abusers being let off the hook.
Across Scotland, the number of domestic abuse cases rose 1% for the second year in a row to 59,541.
Around four in every five cases involved a female victim and male perpetrator, and the vast majority occurred in a home setting.
In her Programme for Government in 2017, Nicola Sturgeon said she wanted to abolish prison sentences of less than 12 months.
That provoked a furious response from domestic abuse charities, who warned most offences that resulted in jail time tended to involve sentences of that length.
Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire said:
‘I am very worried that domestic abuse in the Borders appears to be on the rise. This is especially case as in the vast majority of cases, women are the victims of the incidents’
‘As domestic abuse charities have pointed out, Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to abolish short prison sentences could result in abusers not being put in jail which could be a risk to the safety of women’
‘The Police do a great job protecting us but with ever tightening budgets it is hard to see how they can keep up with these increases.’