Sexual Offences In Edinburgh On The Rise
Sexual offences in Edinburgh are up on last year, according to a new report by the police watchdog HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
The report by HMICS, which scrutinises policing, is part of an ongoing process to review local services in the aftermath of the single police force.
It found there were 180 more sexual offences within the division, a rise of 21.1% compared to a national rise of only 9.8%.
The division detected 15.0% (91) more crimes, but a rise in the number of recorded crime resulted in a decrease in the detection rate from 71.1 % to 67.5%.
Although there is no specific measure for this objective, the division has introduced a range of practices that have improved the monitoring and sharing of information with partners to improve the service provided.
So why the rise?
There was a 21.1% increase in reported sexual offences, which is higher than the national trend and is attributed locally to ‘improved confidence in reporting of sexual offences and the pro-active investigation of offending histories’.
Rape Crisis Scotland has also agreed with this, saying it works closely with the Police to ensure people feel at ease when reporting these types of crimes.
Over a third of the offences recorded were committed at least 12 months prior to being reported.
HMICS commented on the significant variations in recording across the country, and have since recommended Police Scotland carry out further research and analysis to better understand the reporting variances of these types of offences.
This is now being taken forward by Police Scotland which says it will continue to monitor progress in local policing inspection programmes.