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There is a dichotomy: we can analyse statistical data and take a view on that, but the anecdotal evidence, of which we have taken a lot, is equally important to us. I refer to a recent Women’s Aid blog, in which it is made clear that survivors of domestic abuse express

“significant concern that the investigation, prosecution and sentencing for domestic abuse offences, did not take account of the sustained level, severity, or impact of abuse they had experienced.”

It is very clear to many of us, through case work that we do, evidence that we hear in private and public and from the organisations that work with survivors, that many people in Scotland still feel really let down by the whole system. That is not to disparage the officers who deal with tier 1 reports, the advocates who pick up the cases or the judges considering the evidence before them—or indeed the juries if it comes to that. It is clear that the whole system is letting people down and they are not being supported. How do you respond to that criticism?

We look forward to that.

We have covered a lot of ground, but I want to pick up some issues that have not been touched on, one of which is the regional disparity that exists in the prevalence of domestic abuse in Scotland. According to our papers, areas such as Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow city have a much higher rate per 10,000 of the population than other parts of the country. What more could be done from the point of view of education or policing, for example? Where do the problems lie? That might be a question for our academic friends in the room. I am slightly concerned that the west of Scotland, which I represent, is disproportionately affected. Why is there such regional disparity in the prevalence of domestic abuse cases?

Marsha, as you are online, I will come to you first, if that is all right.

Especially when people have had the guts to come forward, pick up the phone and make the call to the police, possibly for the first time, after years, only to find, at the end of a torturous three-year journey, that the perpetrator is given a community sentence or a fine, it is no wonder that so many feel let down by the system.

Is there a palpable sense of frustration in the police when officers are called out to households where there are repeat offenders whom they have seen before? Is there frustration that not enough is being done to support victims?

So, who would give the authorisation?

That is what I was trying to unearth: how successful the scheme here has been in comparison. We know that there is a sex offender register, but there is not a centralised domestic offender register, as such. However, there are other data sets that people can access through the scheme, which might be helpful.

So, that helpful safeguard exists.

While you are on the line, as it were, you will be aware that I asked the previous panel about male survivors of domestic abuse. What is your gut feeling about how Police Scotland deals with reports of domestic abuse? I know that you will say lots of positive things about the good work that is done on the front line, but is there any sense at all that different officers deal with such reports differently? Are you comfortable that everyone is fully trained to deal with a man reporting domestic abuse and that he will be dealt with in the same way as anybody else would be dealt with?

Absolutely. It is evident that many of the social services that local authorities, NHS boards or integration joint boards provide are very 9 to 5, Monday to Friday and, outside of that, there is little scope to support people. That is why other emergency services are sucked into that vacuum and have to respond.

There was some discussion of, and a lot of interest in, some of the pilots in which, when the police attended situations in which there was perhaps no crime being committed but there was a suspicion that someone was vulnerable or a danger to themselves or others for the reasons that you mentioned, they would be supported by other bodies or agencies to provide an on-the-spot triage system that identified the best place to take that person. At the moment, a lot of those people seem to end up in police cells for their own safety as opposed to the safety of the public. That does not sound like an ideal place to be taking people in that situation.

Good morning, Professor. I want to focus on some of your comments in your opening statement around the role of policing and the role of police as first responders. You are certainly right to echo comments by the departing chief constable on his concerns about the increasing use of the police as a first port of call for incidents where there is clearly a mental health element—or where that is the substantive element of the situation—how police deal with those situations, how they are prepared to deal with those situations and what happens thereafter when someone has to be removed from that location to another place and where they go. There has been a lot of discussion about that over the years but it seems to me, certainly anecdotally if not evidentially, that it is increasing substantially.

Will you talk for a few moments about the work? It is a big report and there is a lot in it—chapter 9, for example, went into some of the issues—but will you sum up what the problem is and what the Government should be thinking about?

I have one more question, which is about prisons. It is evident that there is a worrying trend in the statistics about those in the prison population who have long-term mental health conditions or a history of self-harm, depression, anxiety or the abuse of alcohol and drugs. There are some interesting statistics in your report, which shows rates that are in some cases almost double those for people who are not in the prison population.

We also know that there is a disparity in the provision of mental health care and mental health nurses across the prison estate. The report includes statistical data showing that the figure varies from one nurse per 53 inmates to one nurse per 177, depending which prison someone is held in, which is a postcode lottery. The sad outcome of that is an unfortunately high rate of prison suicide, often among remand prisoners who have not even been convicted and do not have long-term sentences.

Did anything come out of your investigation that the Scottish Prison Service should take note of or that the Government should address?