DOMESTIC abuse is declining in Inverclyde despite fears there would be a spike in cases during the pandemic.

Fresh statistics show a total of 609 incidents were recorded between the start of April and the end of November, which represents a decrease of 4.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

There was also a 7.2 per cent fall seen in domestic crimes and offences, with 349 recorded during the eight-month spell.

Chief Superintendent Alan Murray, outgoing divisional commander for Inverclyde, admitted there had been genuine concern domestic violence would rise as people were forced to stay in their homes under Covid-19 restrictions.

But ahead of his retirement at the end of this week, he said he was delighted the figures had gone in the opposite direction.

Ch Supt Murray said: “We have been really encouraged by these figures.

“There was a fear that, because of lockdown, domestic abuse would increase in Inverclyde, but we are delighted we have not seen that.

“This is not a trend which is being seen everywhere in Scotland, so it’s very encouraging.

“I am proud of the work my team in public protection, together with our partners at Inverclyde Council, have done.

"There’s been a significant investment made to ensure we provide the necessary level of support to victims and do everything we can to prevent abuse from happening in the first place.

“Since the start of lockdown, we have been a bit concerned there may be a backlog of cases that have not come to light because of the lack of face-to-face contact authorities have had with children and vulnerable people.

“However, when lockdown was lifted last summer, we did not see a spike in reports and we are hopeful that the current decrease can be maintained.”

Reports of sexual crimes also decreased in the April to November period, going down by more than a third compared to the previous year, with 72 recorded.

Nearly three-quarters of them occurred in private homes, while almost a quarter were against people who were under-16 at the time of the offence.

Police say at least 21 per cent of sexual crimes were 'cyber-enabled' during the eight-month spell.

The detection rate for sexual crimes is now at 61.1 per cent, up from 49 per cent in 2019.