Sexual crimes continue to rise amid fall in overall crime

Sexual crimes continue to increase against the backdrop of a further fall in overall recorded crime, according to new figures released by Police Scotland.

Overall crime dropped 4.7 per cent in the year to March 31 this year, including violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder and serious assault.

However, the number of domestic abuse incidents and sexual crimes recorded by the single service in the year to March 31 both saw an increase.

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According to the data, which comes from management information held by Police Scotland instead of official statistics, the number of so-called Group 1 crimes of violence fell 6.1 per cent from 6,768 to 6,357.

Two fewer murders were recorded compared to 2013-14, while the detection rate rose to 109 per cent, meaning that more murders were solved than committed in the 12-month period as police delved into historical cases.

The number of attempted murders decreased by 56 (17.6 per cent) to 263 and serious assaults were down by 56 (1.9 per cent) to 2,903, though robberies increased by five (0.3 per cent) to 1,497. 

The number of domestic abuse incidents reported in the last year increased by 1,076 to 59,471 compared to 2013-14, while there was a 9.3 per cent increase in recorded sexual crime.

There were 1,797 rapes recorded during 2014-15, up 91 (5.3 per cent) on the year previous. Almost two-fifths were historic, meaning that they were reported a year or more on from the incident.

Police Scotland deputy chief constable Iain Livingstone said: “Over the past two years, we have significantly enhanced our whole approach to investigating the most serious of crimes including murder, rape and domestic abuse.

“Through the introduction of Major Investigation Teams, Rape and Domestic Abuse Taskforces and divisional investigation units, we have seen national specialist support being provided to local policing teams to ensure our response is as effective and responsive as possible.

“Our focus is on keeping people safe. From the most violent crime which happens less frequently, to higher volume crime such as housebreaking and incidents of disorder and anti-social behaviour which impact on community well-being, Police Scotland is committed to both the prevention and detection of crime.”

A total of 192 people were killed on Scotland’s roads in the year to March 31 - up two on the previous year – while the number of people seriously injured came down by 83 to 1,627.

“Sadly we have seen an increase in the number of people who have died on our roads,” added Livingstone. “We continue to take every effort to reduce casualties on the roads in Scotland.”