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WA's youngest domestic violence offender aged just 7-years old, report reveals

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WA's youngest domestic violence perpetrator was a seven-year-old boy, a report commissioned by WA Police has revealed.

The Cambridge Centre for Evidence-based Policing report, released by WA Police on Thursday, showed of the 214,814 domestic incidents reported to police between July 2010 and July 2015, nearly half the harm related to the top two per cent of offenders, referred to as the 'power few'.

Of the 707 identified in this group, 35 were aged under 15 at the time of their offences.

Just 26 of the group were in jail in January 2016, despite 79 attempting to murder, or murdering their spouse during the five year period.  

The report found most of the remaining 98 percent of offenders caused no physical injuries to their victims, and recommended testing prevention strategies on the 'power few'.

WA Police deputy commissioner Stephen Brown said there were also some important findings about being able to predict the most serious offences.

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"While most of the harm committed is usually the first reported offence, we now know prior suicide attempts or threats can be predictors for homicidal behaviour in some cases," he said.

"This tells us more data sharing is required on mental health if we hope to save more lives."

The worst of the 36,000 offenders was a 21-year-old man who was named in 113 domestic incidents in a three month period from February to May 2014 in Perth's southern suburbs.

The man, who is now in jail, was alleged to have victimised four people, all Caucasian, during that time.

According to the crime harm index referenced in the Cambridge report, the reported offences could have attracted 110 years in prison under sentencing guidelines in England.

The least serious offender in the top two per cent 'power few' was a 12-year-old boy who allegedly had one Caucasian victim, while the youngest person on record was a seven-year-old boy.

The report recommended eight prevention strategies that could be tested on the 'power few'.

They included making sure a state-wide top two per cent of offenders list was updated regularly to allow police to easily identify offenders in their district during callouts, tracking the 'power few' to determine their whereabouts and living arrangements, and giving offenders the opportunity to participate in a cognitive behavioural therapy pilot program on a voluntary basis.

If you are experiencing family and domestic violence or concerned about becoming violent or abusive contact the state-wide 24 hour helplines.

Women's Domestic Violence Helpline - free call 1800 007 339
Men's Domestic Violence Helpline - free call 1800 000 599