But although this increase appears shocking, the force today said this was a step in the right direction ... because more people were reporting the crime to police.

In 2011/12, 23,395 domestic abuse crimes were recorded. They included three murders, 11 attempted murders, 59 rapes and 862 indecent assaults.

In 2006/07 the total recorded was 14,958.

Chief Superintendent Val Thomson, who heads the force's Glasgow City Centre And West division, said the force wants more victims to come forward.

She said: "Tackling domestic abuse is a priority. The impact domestic abuse can have on the community is phenomenal.

"I would love to see a stage where we are preventing people from becoming victims of it, but I don't want to see a reduction in the figures that is caused by people stopping reporting it.

"It's very important that any person coming in to report domestic abuse is dealt with as thoroughly as we can because we have to make sure every victim is feeling safe and coming forward."

Between 2011/12 the Strathclyde Police area with the highest recorded number of domestic abuse crimes was North East Glasgow And East Dunbartonshire, with 3896 offences.

The police area with the lowest recorded offences was Argyll, Bute And West Dunbartonshire with 2008.

Detective Inspector Dougie McKinlay is in charge of the family protection and domestic abuse Unit for the force's Glasgow Central And West area, which recorded 2421 domestic abuse crimes and offences in 2011/12.

He said investigating the crime can take a great deal of time, but added: "It is a necessity because you have a victim and we do not know what the next incident is going to be.

"It might be a phone call, it might be a slap to the face, it might be a serious assault, they might slash them, it might progress to an attempted murder. So every domestic abuse inquiry is robustly looked at."

Strathclyde Police is leading the way in the attempts to curb violence in the home.

An elite team of CID officers was launched three years ago to form the Domestic Abuse Taskforce.

Police work with the help of agencies, including Women's Aid and the Glasgow-based Advocacy, Support, Services, Information Together (ASSIST).

Mr McKinlay said times had changed. He added: "Years ago this would go unnoticed, but there are now different methods and channels of reporting. People can report it online, by phone, they can speak to social workers, while third party reporting is also what we want to see more of.

"It could be a victim's mother, it could be their father, it could be their next door neighbour, the doctor, or the nurse who reports it.

"If anyone has any concerns about someone all they need to do is contact us and we will carry out inquiries."

Domestic abuse is changing as technology advances. Perpetrators, as well as using violence, now stalk victims through internet social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

But police are determined to catch these people on any charge they can. Mr McKinlay added: "We will use everything at our disposal to make sure we get the perpetrators.

"If this person is involved in other crimes, we will get him or her on that."

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

Detective Constable Kenny McDonald, a divisional Domestic Abuse Unit member, said: "In a lot of inner city areas you get umpteen generation institutionalised behaviour and children are exposed to it. Our biggest problem is trying to impact on that, properly identify it and prevent it."

Councillor Philip Braat, convener of the Strathclyde Police Authority, said domestic crime had an "enormous financial cost to the community and policing budget".

He added: "Strathclyde's campaign is supported wholeheartedly by the Police Authority, but I would like to see tougher sanctions and stricter bail conditions for those convicted of this crime."

rachel.loxton@heraldandtimes.co.uk