POLICE are fighting back against thugs who beat, sexually attack, or mentally abuse their partners.

New figures show 20% fewer domestic crimes have been recorded in Glasgow since April last year, compared to the previous year.

City police are leading the way in the attempts to curb violence in the home.

Officers are now focusing on "preventing" domestic abuse, as well as reacting to incidents once they have occurred.

And the latest figures prove the approach is working.

In 2011/12, 382 domestic abuse crimes were ­recorded in Glasgow city centre. They included ­assaults, breaches of the peace - and on rare occasions sexual assaults.

However, in 2012/13, the total had fallen to 305.

Area commander for Glasgow city centre, Chief Inspector Alan Porte, said police are treating domestic abuse as a top priority.

"Our approach is aimed at preventing people from becoming victims of ­domestic abuse, rather than reacting to reports of incidents," he said.

"However, I don't want to see a reduction in the figures caused by people stopping reporting it.

"I want this reduction in the number of domestic incidents to continue to fall because we and our partner agencies are preventing them from happening in the first place.

"It is vital that anyone who is experiencing ­domestic abuse, comes forward and reports it to police."

The focus for the ­police is now on trying to prevent domestic abuse as well as reacting to it.

Officers use a proactive approach to catch people who commit domestic abuse by working with city centre staff - from bar workers to bouncers and taxi stewards.

The idea is to encourage people who see something they are unhappy with to act on it - or ­report it to police.

Senior officers say the theory behind the new approach is to reduce tension within pubs, clubs and restaurants, which will hopefully lead to reduced tension at home.

Reducing alcohol ­consumption can also reduce the risk of becoming a victim - or perpetrator - of domestic abuse, police believe.

Mr Porte, who is in charge of policing the city centre, added: "Every incident of domestic abuse is robustly investigated.

"This is a necessity because an argument in a pub, nightclub, or taxi queue in the city centre could progress into an assault - or worse - later on in the evening."

An elite team of detectives was launched five years ago to form the Domestic Abuse Taskforce.

Since then, police have continued to work with the help of agencies, ­including charities and support services.

rebecca.gray@eveningtimes.co.uk