Plans to deal with some domestic abuse cases outside of court are concerning, a women’s charity has said.
Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House has suggested some abusers should go on counselling or relationship guidance courses to change their behaviour rather than all cases being sent to court.
Scottish Women’s Aid said the risks in pre-court diversion are “too high” and that support networks and risk assessments for victims are not robust enough to make it work.
The charity’s manager, Lily Greenan, said attempts to deal with domestic abuse outside courts in the 1980s and 1990s failed, with charities successfully lobbying for them to be stopped.
She added: “If a crime has been committed then court is what we have and why should domestic abuse as a crime be dealt with any differently than any other crime?”
