Stamping out domestic abuse is a priority for Cheshire Police and the force's aim is to prevent anyone becoming a future victim, a top officer said.

One in four women are likely to be a victim of domestic abuse and the number of reported cases in Cheshire East increased during lockdown.

Superintendent Peter Crowcroft said police were pulling out all the stops to protect victims including making use of Clare's Law, which allows them to disclose someone's previous history of domestic abuse to a partner.

The force works closely with My CWA (formerly Cheshire Without Abuse) which provides a service to local families affected by domestic abuse.

"My CWA has placed workers into police custody, so when we arrest domestic abuse perpetrators they're able to work quickly with, often the males, to refer them to perpetrator programmes and since we've had them in custody that programme has had more referrals than it's ever had so that's been a great success," said Supt Crowcroft, who is the commander responsible for policing across Cheshire East.

The police boss was speaking at a meeting of Cheshire East Council's scrutiny committee where he said one of the force's top priorities was targeting those who are violent towards and intimidate women.

"Anyone who's suspected of domestic abuse is a priority to the force so we are turning out both covert and overt resources to make sure that we get perpetrators in as soon as we can," said the superintendent.

"And we'll also use the full power of civil law as well, so that's protection orders to make sure that we try and keep people safe."

He said police will always work with repeat offenders but added: "What we very clearly say to repeat offenders is, if you do keep offending you will be staying in our cells and we can keep you up to 36 hours and we will impose strict conditions on your liberty and freedom to move around."

Crewe councillor Connor Naismith (Lab) asked whether had been a rise in reported incidents during lockdown and how police had dealt with it.

Supt Crowcroft told him: "You've almost got the perfect recipe for domestic abuse [during lockdown].

"You've got financial questions, maybe from job loss and furlough, you can't go out so there's no sanctuary in going out shopping etc, and a lot of the frontline services you're unable to go after or  visit. I know all those pressures, as well as being in the house together, led to an increase in reporting.

"But, sadly, a lot of the abuse that does go on is behind closed doors."

He said very few people will report an incident of initial abuse.

"So actually we want to see more reports. Our destination is we want to see less and less repeats, so if someone has the confidence to come forward and report it and we do something together as a partnership, it stops happening.

"And we use Clare's Law to disclose more to prevent future victims ."

He said the police had worked with MY CWA to maintain a service throughout lockdown.

"Right in the first tranche of lockdown we knocked on some doors to arrest domestic abuse perpetrators and they honestly told us that we weren't able to lock them up because of lockdown and Covid," said Supt Crowcroft, adding they were promptly arrested.

He said the police also worked with council officers to identify households where they believed there might be issues so they could do a follow-up 'so the partnership working was essential in that'.

The police boss added although there was an increase in domestic abuse in Cheshire East during lockdown it was not as high as in other areas.

Crowcroft's words come ahead of the festive period, where historically domestic abuse cases rise with families staying indoors, a fact anchored by another Christmas coming up possibly facing COVID-restrictions.

According to the BBC, calls to national domestic abuse charity First Light rose by almost 50% last Christmas.

If you are in immediate danger, please call 999 and ask for the police. But you can also call a domestic abuse hotline. A full list can be found here.

If you would prefer to speak anonymously to someone local, getting help from domestic abuse in Macclesfield can start by ringing the 24 hour Cheshire East helpline on 0300 123 5101.

Violence and sexual offences is the most common crime in Macclesfield Central, according to figures release last week.

There were 79 crimes of this category in October 2021 alone, say police.uk figures.

You can read here to find out more info on what constitutes domestic abuse.

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