Sex crimes rise as restrictions ease
The number of serious assaults reported in Lanarkshire has dropped over the last year – but sexual crimes have increased significantly.
Indecent/sexual assaults rose by more than 42 per cent to 125 for the latest quarterly reporting period from April 1 to June 30, 2021.
That’s up from the 88 recorded during the same period the previous year and police say they expect the numbers to rise further with the removal of Covid restrictions.
The latest figures contained in a Police Scotland performance report also show the number of reported serious assaults were down by 27 on the previous year.
There was one murder during that period, down from seven in the same period the previous year, and an arrest has been made in relation to that incident.
There were 34 fewer crimes recorded that involved the carrying of offensive/bladed weapons.
Common assaults rose by 95, but assaults on emergency workers dropped by five.
Chief Superintendent Alan Waddell said: “This reporting period shows a real mix of policing needs and we will use these latest figures to inform local and targeted action plans. Similar to the national figures, we recorded 37 more crimes of indecent/sexual assaults, up from 88 to 125 this reporting period and as Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said, as restrictions continue to ease,
we anticipate a continued rise in sexual offending.
“Despite significant increases, we know this remains under-reported and I encourage victims to come forward.
“While overall reported violent crime has increased across the country, Lanarkshire has recorded 25 fewer crimes in the same category. We aim to sustain that reduction and achieve similar outcomes across all crime groups while dealing with the removal of restrictions which saw us locked down last year.”
The performance report will be presented at the Scottish Police Authority Policing Performance Committee today (Wednesday, September 1).
It also reveals that in Lanarkshire house breaking crimes fell by 71 against the same period, while drug-related crimes fell by 190 fewer incidents.
In line with the overall national picture, which reveals both the highest number of reported sexual crimes and detections over the last six years, Lanarkshire recorded 25 more sexual crimes and 46 more detections in this area.
Nationally, the number of people killed in road traffic collisions rose to 24, up from 14 during the same period last year, but down around a third on the five-year average.
Public nuisance incidents almost halved year-on-year from 61,188 to 31,964, neighbour disputes fell by more than a fifth from 9413 to 7473, and noise complaints dropped by a quarter from 18,632 down to 13,856.
Reported anti-social behaviour incidents fell 28 per cent from 132,012 to 95,037, and complaints of disorder reduced by a third from 104,170 to 69,651.