Dumfries and Galloway domestic abuse scheme plea issued

The Scottish government has been urged to extend to Dumfries and Galloway a scheme which has brought dozens of domestic abuse offenders to justice.

The task force operates in Strathclyde, where it has led to 105 arrests.

Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray and local MP Russell Brown have called for the scheme to be extended.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said any extension of the project would be an operational matter for chief constables across the country.

Mr Brown said he believed it was imperative the scheme was taken nationwide.

"We should be looking at what works and rolling it out to other areas - Strathclyde's scheme is innovative and catching hundreds of violent domestic abusers, and I want to see a similar scheme here," he said.

"We must send the strongest message to those committing acts of domestic abuse that it will never, ever be tolerated."