Lothian force sets up dedicated unit to hunt down sex attackers

The team of five officers will form Operation Federal, a six-month pilot scheme which could see similar squads established elsewhere in the Lothians. The unit was created to allow CID officers to focus exclusively on serious sex offences without being called away to work on other major criminal cases.

The number of rapes recorded in West Lothian fell to 36 between last April and March compared to 40 for the same period the year before.

But the amount of rapes successfully solved also dropped dramatically to 22 cases - or 61 per cent - compared to 93 per cent for the previous year.

Detectives today said the move was not designed to shore up any problems with the handling of sex cases in West Lothian, but was aimed at conducting faster and more efficient inquiries.

Detective Sergeant John Philip, who is part of Operation Federal, said: "Previously, rape inquiries were taken on by a detective sergeant and his team at the main CID office. At the same time, they might have needed to deal with a robbery or another serious crime which came in. That would obviously have an impact on the rape investigation.

"Operation Federal comes from a model which has been used by forces down south, but this is the first of its kind in Scotland. It's not a response to any particular issue in West Lothian. Our management team feels concentrating our resources in this way will produce the best results.

"The officers in the unit are all experienced in investigating rape cases, and they will obviously become even more proficient by specialising in this area.

"The unit will deal with all rape and serious sexual assaults, but each individual case with a sexual element will be evaluated to decide whether it's handled by Operation Federal."

Operation Federal officers, based at the West Lothian Civic Centre in Livingston, will work closely with the local authority and rape crisis charities to provide a high standard of support to victims of sexual crimes.

Historical sexual crimes will continue to be investigated by the Public Protection Unit, who will regularly liaise with the Operation Federal team.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Crawford said: "It is important to stress that crimes of a sexual nature remain rare in West Lothian and across the force area.

"However, when such crimes are reported, it is imperative that they are investigated fully to ensure those responsible are robustly dealt with. The launch of Operation Federal will provide a dedicated team of officers whose specific remit is to investigate West Lothian sex crimes and afford divisional CID more time and resources to investigate all other criminal inquiries."

Peter Johnston, leader of West Lothian Council, said: "At the heart of our shared work is to improve the experience of sexual assault survivors, increase their confidence in the criminal justice response, and make progress on reducing the prevalence and incidence of all forms of violence against women."