ALARM AS SEX CRIMES SOAR

Nats blasted over steep rise

SEX crimes increased by 15 per cent last year to the highest level in over five decades, figures have shown.

Despite statistics revealing an overall drop in crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in 2021-22, the number of sexual crimes rose to 15,049 – the highest total since 1971.

Non-sexual crimes of violence also increased, going from 61,913 in 2020-21 to 69,826 the following year.

The Conservatives claimed the figures showed “violent and sexual crime is spiralling out of control” while the Lib Dems accused the SNP of “presiding over a wave of violent and sexual crime”.

But the Scottish Government claimed that with recorded crime overall at the lowest level since 1974, “Scotland continues to be a safe place to live”.

According to the data, cases of rape and attempted rape rose by nine per cent to 2498 last year – accounting for almost one in five (17 per cent) of reported sexual crimes.

The number of sexual crimes that were cyber-crimes is estimated to have risen from 1100 in 2013-14 to 4210 in 2021-22 – with the report noting: “The increase in sexual cyber-crimes has also had an impact on the trend of recorded sexual crimes in recent years.”

Crimes of dishonesty accounted for almost a third of the 2021-22 total, with nonsexual crimes of violence amounting to 24 per cent.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: “It is clearer than ever that justice and fighting crime is, disgracefully, no longer a priority for this SNP Government.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said “robust action” had been taken to help the authorities tackle sexual offending “by improving and making the operation of our sexual offence laws much clearer”.