KEY POINTS:
Police and family groups are at odds as to why family violence statistics have risen.
The figures show an increase of more than 6000 violent offences last year. Most of these were family violence reports which were up 31.5 per cent on the 2006 total.
Assistant Police Commissioner Grant Nicholls said the increase showed more women were reporting violence.
"This is not surprising when we take into account that there has been a huge focus on family violence with publicity and media campaigns designed to reduce tolerance to domestic violence."
Police Minister Annette King said it was encouraging to see more women coming forward.
She hoped the current "It's not OK" and similar campaigns would encourage them to continue doing so.
"We are now living in a society in which women in particular feel police will take them seriously if they ask for help and protection."
But Family First national director Bob McCoskrie said the Government and the police needed to stop pretending the anti-violence message was working.
"The argument that the domestic violence awareness campaign has contributed to the increase in reported violent crime is simply masking the increasing level of violent crime that has existed years before this latest campaign.
"It is time that the real causes of violent crime were tackled - including gang involvement, family breakdown and dysfunction, drug and alcohol abuse, and the lack of sufficient police resourcing."
