ALMOST 9,000 domestic abuse incidents were recorded by police in Glasgow last year.

The number has remained steady for the last four years but is a drop from six years ago when the figure was higher than 11,000.

Across Scotland there were almost 60,000 incidents reported in 2017/18.

The Government has broken the statistics down into cases where the reported incident involved a crime or offence.

In Glasgow almost half (45%) included a crime or offence.

The city had the third highest rate of reported incidents in Scotland.

Only Clackmannanshire, which was the highest with 162 incidents per 100,000 of population and West Dunbartonshire at 153 had a higher rate than the city.

Glasgow’s per 100,000 population rate was 143 incidents.

Police said every report will be taken seriously and it’s not only physical violence that is a crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Gillian MacDonald, said "Domestic abuse is not just physical abuse, it can include verbal, sexual, psychological or financial abuse. It is often about power and control, with abusers using controlling behaviours to establish control over their victims.

"Anyone reporting abuse to the police will be taken seriously, they will be listened to and their report will be investigated.

The Scottish Government said the message has to get through domestic abuse is not acceptable.

Humza Yousaf, Justice Secretary, said: “It is sobering to see the level of domestic abuse cases in Scotland remaining unchanged from previous years. As a society we must work collectively to reduce this number – making clear that such behaviour is unacceptable.

“This includes educating young people about healthy, positive relationships and challenging those who minimise the impact of abuse or gender-based violence.”