Two of Scotland's worst serial domestic abusers from Lanarkshire have been jailed for total of 27 years.
Christopher James and William Sproul are among five of the country's most heinous offenders who were snared by the specialist Police Scotland’s Domestic Abuse Task Force.
More than 200 police investigations were launched into Scotland’s worst serial domestic abusers in the past year.
In the last two weeks alone five of the violent abusers were sentenced to a total of 61 years in prison.
The thugs were responsible for raping, beating and torturing at least 21 women between them.
James, 39, was sentenced to 13 years extended sentence and 15 year non-harassment order for numerous offences against two women including sexual offences and assault to injury and danger to life.
Sproul, 61, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on May 6 and received a 20 year non-harassment order for numerous sexual offences, assaults and Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 against six women including two children over a 30 year period.
Scots police take a domestic abuse call every nine minutes.
In 2021/22, Police Scotland officers responded to 63,093 calls about domestic abuse, 43 per cent of which resulted in a crime being recorded. Of those, 1,760 crimes were recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 (DASA).
Over the same period, there was a 12.4 per cent increase in applications to the Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse in Scotland (DSDAS). This includes a 30 per cent increase in Right to Ask applications, where people can ask whether their current partner has a history of abuse.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sam Faulds, Head of Public Protection at Police Scotland, said: “Domestic abuse remains a significant priority for Police Scotland. We take a call every nine minutes on average and our officers are highly trained to respond professionally and effectively.
“Domestic abuse takes many forms. It can be physical and sexual but also psychological, emotional and financial. An abuser’s intent is to control and coerce their victim.
“Every case is traumatic for the victim, the effects are long-lasting for them and for their families, and especially so for children. No child should have to witness to domestic abuse.
“Preventing domestic abuse is our ultimate aim. We work closely with our partners, not only to improve our own response but also to educate against and to prevent domestic abuse. A key part of prevention is the disclosure scheme which has helped thousands of people make an informed choice about whether to continue or end an abusive relationship.”
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