Police reopen 800 cases in bid to track down rapists

Published on Monday 27 July 2009 22:03

DETECTIVES have started poring over hundreds of unsolved rape cases in an attempt to catch sex attackers who have escaped justice.

The move in Scotland's biggest force comes as new figures show there are at least 2,000 unsolved rape cases across the country. Strathclyde Police have launched a massive cold case review that will see rapes against victims as young as two and as old as 99 re-examined using the latest forensic techniques.

Officers in each of Strathclyde's eight divisions have been instructed to open the files on all 801 unsolved rapes in their patch dating back to 2000.

Campaigners hope the move will p boost Scotland's dismal 3.7 per cent rape conviction rate, one of the lowest in the world.

Operation Advance is being launched following the success of a similar campaign south of the Border, which has helped secure more than 35 convictions, some relating to crimes dating back as far as the 1970s.

They include the conviction of a rapist, Paul Alexander, who attacked a disabled Birmingham student, 13 years after the assault. It is understood that a DNA sample recovered from the woman's carpet matched a specimen held by police in connection with an unrelated incident.

The officer behind the move, Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Scott, last night told The Scotsman that the force was duty bound to try again to hunt down "some of the most serious offenders".

"The world has moved on in the last ten years in terms of our capabilities. There are now significant opportunities on DNA and forensic science that were not there before."

She said officers would identify "priority cases" from an initial sift through the files, before full-scale investigations are launched.

"If even one of these offenders is caught, then it will have been of benefit," she added.

Forensic evidence from scores of cases will be passed to scientists at the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) for fresh analysis.

Experts will use the latest DNA techniques to unlock the profiles of suspects in crime scene "stains" and samples taken from victims which are stored in deep freeze.

But the move has raised concerns that the police forensic service will be unable to cope with a sudden flood of casework.

A spokesman for the SPSA said: "Advances in science may prove useful to investigators in some of these cases but, with current crimes also requiring investigation every day, it is important that expert forensic skills and equipment are targeted where they can add most value.

"We will be discussing further how to progress this work with the police."

Sandy Brindley, national co-ordinator of Rape Crisis Scotland, backed the move and called on Scotland's other seven forces to follow suit.

She said: "It is important that the police send a very clear message to victims of rape that they take this crime extremely seriously."