Only around one in six people arrested for a domestic violence related offence in Kent are actually charged, a Freedom of Information request has found.

Figures have revealed last year there were 328 arrests relating to Coercive Control and just 56 charges - although police say the force has one of the highest conviction rates in the country.

The numbers up to June 30 this year show there were 176 arrests and 26 people charged.

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Coercive control was introduced as an offence in itself in the Serious Crime Act 2015.

It finds anyone who "acts in a controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship" guilty of an offence.

People can be charged with the offence for doing things such as restricting a partner's freedom and money access to refusing them to socialise.

Data was revealed following a Freedom of Information request to Kent Police by law firm Ridley & Hall and followed the first 18 months of the new law, which came into play on December 31, 2015.

Chief executive of the domestic violence charity Support and Action To End Domestic Abuse (SATEDA), Liza Thompson, said: "Coercive control is the behaviour of an abuser and it's an element of domestic abuse.

"The fact we've got an offence of coercive control is great because it means the police are looking at that type of behaviour at being coercively controlling.

"Not all domestic abuse relationships are violent but they all do have elements of coercive control.

"Coercive control takes away the voice of the victim, it takes away any sense of self which is what we try to help them build up.

"People who are living it tell us that they haven't got any friends, they're not allowed out of the house and they have their phone smashed every five minutes and that behaviour is controlling."

It is thought the offence was designed to make it easier for police forces to identify what is usually a very difficult crime to prove.

"I was giving it some thought and I think it's historically been difficult to prove domestic abuse at all because it's two people and there are no witnesses," Liza added.

Nationally, in the first six months of the new law 798 people were arrested and 130 were charged.

The following year that number had more than doubled to 1,709 arrests and 287 people charged between January 1 and June 30.

Kent Police's Det Sup Susie Harper said: "We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of society, and tackling domestic abuse is one of Kent Police’s priorities.

"Existing legislation around controlling and coercive behaviour has improved our ability to support victims, and we have one of the highest charge and conviction rates for this offence in the country.

"One of the ways we have achieved this has been through providing extensive training to officers to ensure they are aware of the legislation and know how to spot the signs of someone affected by such crimes.

"Understandably victims of domestic abuse can sometimes be reluctant to speak to us, which is why it is important we build confidence in them through a professional policing response in a timely and effective manner.

"We therefore have a force-wide strategy in place that aims to ensure officers are fully briefed on how to provide the best possible level of service, which has led to a greater number of victims opening up about the non-recent abuse they have suffered.

"The fact that more than 90 people have been charged to date shows that officers have a very good understanding of the new law and have played an important role in ensuring some very dangerous individuals are now behind bars.

"However, tackling domestic abuse is an objective shared by many, and we will continue to work closely with our partner agencies to achieve the best possible outcome for victims of controlling and coercive behaviour.

"We are always keen to promote our successes in this area in the hope it will give victims the confidence to speak up and not suffer in silence."

A charge of coercive and controlling behaviour is one of a number of possible outcomes for someone arrested following a domestic assault.

If they are not charged with that offence, they may still be charged with one of a number of others including assault or harassment.

A spokesman for the force said: "We always take the views of the victim into consideration.

"Sometimes they do not support a prosecution and are only reporting the offence to us because they want the violence to stop, or because they want to access support services."