A TRAINING scheme costing £825,000 will help police officers north of the border deal with some of the more “insidious and damaging” forms of domestic abuse, the Scottish government will announce today.

Police Scotland has begun preparing more than 14,000 officers and staff for the introduction in 2019 of new legislation banning controlling and coercive behaviour.

At the same time the force is launching its annual campaign against domestic abuse over the festive period. While officers typically respond to a call about this every nine minutes, the number increases over Christmas and New Year.

Assistant Chief Constable Gillian MacDonald said: “Our new campaign is a warning to offenders. We do not tolerate domestic abuse.

“Any criminal behaviour will be actively investigated by police, including the coercive and controlling behaviours used to exert control over victims. We also want to encourage victims to come forward and report all forms of domestic abuse.”

A total of 59,541 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded in 2017-18, an increase of 1 per cent on the previous year.

The new training programme has been developed by Police Scotland and SafeLives, a British charity committed to eradicating domestic abuse.

Over the next 18 months, more than 14,000 officers and staff will complete a day-long face-to-face training session, as well as an online e-learning course.

Ms MacDonald said: “Coercive and controlling behaviours are a significant factor in most, if not all, cases of domestic abuse.”