Now less than HALF of crimes are solved
... as sex offences soar and rape ‘clear-up’ rate plunges
FEWER than half of all crimes are solved by police, according to stark figures showing the first rise in recorded offending since 2006.
Official statistics indicate that the proportion of crimes successfully tackled by police has dropped below 50 per cent, while the ‘clear-up’ rate for rape is the lowest on record.
The Scottish Government figures show an average of one violent or sexual crime is reported to Police Scotland every 27 minutes, fuelled by a steep rise in sex offences including ‘revenge porn’.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the ‘small rise in crime is disappointing’ and insisted that Scotland’s streets were safer and less violent than a decade ago.
But last night Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the rise in crime ‘might seem a small number on the face of it, but in reality it translates to thousands of incidents’.
He added: ‘What’s equally worrying is such a stark failure to solve and detect crimes. The police always do the best they can but the SNP simply have to resource them properly.
‘The situation in Scotland now is that, should you commit a crime, you have more chance of not being caught than being brought to justice.’
The latest figures indicate the proportion of crimes cleared up fell from 50 per cent to 49.5 per cent between 2016-17 and 2017- 18 – the first fall below 50 per cent since 2011-12. For non-sexual crimes of violence, the percentage cleared up fell from 77.1 per cent to 76.1 per cent; for sexual crimes it dropped from 61.9 per cent to 60 per cent.
The figures for rape and attempted rape show 54.6 per cent were cleared up in 2017-18 – the lowest on record – down from 59.6 per cent in 2016-17.
Government statisticians said part of the increase in sexual crimes – at their highest level for 47 years – is partly explained by ‘421 new crimes of disclosing or threatening to disclose an intimate image’ – or ‘revenge porn’ – in 2017-18.
The clear-up rate for housebreaking is 23.9 per cent, up from 22.5 per cent, while only 15.8 per cent of thefts from motor vehicles are cleared up, down from 16.5 per cent in a year.
Overall, the total number of recorded crimes has risen from
‘More chance of not being caught’
238,921 to 244,504 in the past year, a rise of 2 per cent, but the Government stressed ‘this is not a reliable measure’ because of recent changes to the way data on handling offensive weapons is calculated.
Within the sexual crimes category, the number of rapes and attempted rapes has risen by 20
‘Tackle root causes of sexual violence’
per cent, from 1,878 to 2,255, while sexual assaults are up by 13 per cent, from 4,281 to 4,826.
In 2017-18, there were 7,251 non-sexual crimes of violence and 12,487 sexual crimes – a total of 19,738 – which means there is an average of one sexual or violent offence every 27 minutes.
Robbery is up by 8 per cent, from 1,435 to 1,556, in the past year, with 75 per cent of robberies in 2017-18 happening in a public space and 63 per cent being carried out by a stranger.
Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, voiced alarm that recorded rape and attempted rape had risen by 99 per cent since 2010 (from 1,131 to 2,255).
She said the root causes of sexual violence had to be tackled ‘by investing in primary prevention work around consent and healthy relationships’.
Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor of Police Scotland said the rise in recorded sexual crime ‘suggests victims feel more confident coming forward to report to us and we want to support and encourage people to continue doing this ’.
Mr Yousaf said: ‘While any small rise in crime is disappointing, we remain focused with police and other partners on keeping crime at historically low levels.’
Comment – Page 16