Strathclyde report shows rape cases up as laws encourage reporting of crime

INCIDENTS of reported rape rose by almost 25 per cent in Strathclyde during the past year, new police figures have shown.

Strathclyde Police’s annual report showed that 450 rapes were reported during the year 2011/12, compared to 361 for 2010/11 – a rise of 24.7 per cent. The number of indecent or sexual assaults were also up by 325 (37.5 per cent). Overall, crimes of indecency were up 14.8 per cent.

The report said the figures reflected an increase that was anticipated as a result of legislative changes introduced in December 2010, which created a new range of offences and broadened the definition of rape.

The rape case statistics are the first full-year figures to be published since the new Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 came into force. The effect of this legislation was to widen the definition of rape, adding a legal definition of consent and a recognition of male rape.

Sandy Brindley, co-ordinator of Rape Crisis Scotland, voiced serious concerns about the rise, but said that the broadening of the legal definition of rape may have affected the figures.

“It is worrying to see such a significant increase in reported rapes,” she said. “Part of the increase in reported rapes may be due to the introduction of a broader definition of rape in December 2010; however, a 37.5 per cent increase in sexual assaults suggests that the actual number of sexual attacks may have increased quite substantially.”

Ruth Henry, manager of the Archway, a sexual assault referral centre in Glasgow, agreed that the figures are likely to have been affected by the change in legislation, but believed that the new wider definitions had encouraged more people to come forward: “I think it is positive. I think it gives out a clearer message to people that there are clear definitions around rape and that you can go and report it, and that the legislation will be enforced.”

Deputy Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police Campbell Corrigan said of the sexual assault figures: “We understand the public may be concerned at the increase in sexual crime including rape. Although we will never be complacent, we believe that this rise is, in part, due the an increased confidence among victims that their allegations will be investigated thoroughly and with the utmost sensitivity.

“Recent legislation has extended the bases upon which we can report sexual crime and as a result we are submitting more to the procurator fiscal.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said that the new legislation had strengthened the law by “bringing clarity and increased certainty to prosecutions”, which built upon the launch of the dedicated National Sexual Crimes unit by the Crown Office in 2009. In addition, he said, the government had committed financial support to Rape Crisis Scotland and its centres over the next three years.

Among other offences, the report showed that recorded cases of violent crime in Strathclyde region fell from 6,556 to 5,222 over the year, with the murder rate dropping from 58 to 51.

IN NUMBERS:

Strathclyde Police Force Annual Report Statistics.

154,750 overall crimes committed, a rise of 3.9%.

76% force detection rate, an increase of 1.8%.

450 rapes reported in 2011/12, compared to 361 in 2010/11.

37.5% increase in indecent or sexual assaults, 325 more than in the previous year.

66% drop in lewd and libidinous practices crimes, a fall of 291.

5,222 violent crimes, down by 20.3%.