London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Domestic abusers ‘weaponised’ Covid in England and Wales, study finds

Domestic abusers ‘weaponised’ Covid in England and Wales, study finds

Police forces urged to stay alert to ‘Covid blaming’ as an excuse or defence by suspects
Coronavirus was “weaponised” by domestic abusers during the pandemic and police forces should remain alert to “Covid blaming” as an excuse or defence by suspects, a study has found.

The Domestic Homicide Project, established by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing, revealed that domestic homicides in England and Wales had not increased dramatically during the pandemic but still remained at about three a week, with 163 recorded in the 12 months to March. This was similar to the previous year’s figure of 152 and in line with the 15-year average.

The project also found 38 suspected suicides of victims with a known history of domestic abuse, an average of three a month, although this figure could not be compared with previous years as it was the first time the data had been recorded.

The report concluded Covid had not caused domestic homicide but it had been “weaponised” by some abusers both as a new tool of control over victims and – in some cases – as an excuse or defence for abuse or homicide of the victim.

Police and relevant agencies should be prepared for an increased risk of domestic homicides and potentially domestic suicides, particularly intimate partner homicide and victim suicides, as some abusers’ control is taken away by the easing of Covid restrictions, and other abusers regain access to victims, the report said.

Likewise, police and other agencies should remain alert to “Covid blaming” as an excuse or defence by suspects.

The first-of-its-kind study found the proportion of “intimate partner” homicide suspects previously known to police in the year to March was 58%.

It found 48% of suspects of all types of domestic homicide, including killing parents and children, were previously reported to police as suspects for domestic abuse.

In 57% of all cases, either the victim or suspect, or both, were previously known to an agency other than police, such as children’s social services, adult social services, or mental health services.

The report concluded this suggests that potential domestic homicide suspects are more visible to police than previous studies have shown.

The NPCC’s lead for domestic abuse, assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said: “Domestic homicide and suspected victim suicides are not something that only the police can try to prevent and we’re grateful for all the collaboration happening across the entire sector.

“However, as the report highlights, there are still areas where we can improve, both separately and by working together, and this is especially important now that lockdown is over.”

The evidence gathered by the project showed victims of domestic homicide were mostly female (73%), aged between 25 and 54 years old, with the vast majority of deaths occurring in urban areas (90%) and the most common cause of death being by a sharp instrument (29%).

Most suspects were male (80%) and this was across all homicide types, except for child deaths where more than half the suspects were female (59%).

In addition to the 48% of suspects previously reported to police as suspects for domestic abuse, a further 10% were known to police for non-domestic abuse offending, and a further 10% were previously known to police as a victim of domestic abuse or vulnerable person.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×