POLICE in Worcestershire are charging more people with domestic violence offences, bucking the national trend which is seeing fewer cases brought to court.

West Mercia Police charged 14 per cent more people with domestic violence offences over a six month period than they did over the same period the previous year.

This goes against the national trend where, in some force areas, the number of people charged with these offences has dropped dramatically.

West Mercia charged 1,815 people with domestic violence offences between December 29 last year and June 30 this year.

This means 223 more people were charged with these offences than over the same six month period the year before when the force charged 1,592 people.

In contrast other forces recorded big drops in the number of people charged with domestic violence offences including Greater Manchester (down 30 per cent), Hampshire (down 42 per cent) and Suffolk (down 37 per cent).

The figures, obtained by law firm Simpson Millar through Freedom of Information requests, show significant variations across forces.

Northamptonshire saw the biggest increase in the number of people charged (52 per cent) with West Mercia also among the frontrunners.

Detective Inspector Lesley Williams from West Mercia Police said: "We take domestic abuse seriously and the increase in charged offenders reinforces our commitment to bringing them to justice.

"Domestic abuse will not be tolerated and we would urge anyone who is a victim to speak out.

"It's important to break the silence and talk to someone - friend, family, GP, colleague or neighbour, as many abusers rely on silence to continue the abuse.

"Alongside our community partners, we are continuing to work hard to encourage reporting of domestic abuse, this has led to the growing confidence of victims to come forward to report incidents.

"Please report it, if you are experiencing domestic abuse, or are worried about a friend or family member, always dial 999 in an emergency."

The figures from 30 police forces across England and Wales show that, overall, 2,588 fewer people were charged with domestic violence offences in the first half of 2016 compared with that same period in 2015 – reversing previous years’ trends.

Emma Pearmaine, director of family services at Simpson Millar has actively campaigned on the issue of domestic violence since 2012.

She is concerned that the fall in charges might be a symptom of a cash-strapped support system, including legal aid cuts.

“For several years we have seen a steady rise in domestic violence charges which was largely attributed to an increase in public awareness and a change in the attitude within police forces to pro-actively tackle these cases," she said.

"It is rather idealistic or hopeful to assume that we are witnessing a society-wide fall in instances of domestic violence, regardless of how much I wish that was true."