Sexual crime increase
Reports of sexual crime have risen by nearly 40 per cent in Argyll and Bute, according to official figures. But local councillors have been told detection rates for violent crime are also on the increase. Chief Superintendent Brian Gibson said the rise in violent crime detection rates was encouraging – but admitted that falling detection rates for rape crimes were a concern. The latest figures cover the three-month period from July until September, when there were 101 sexual crime reports recorded in the region, compared to 73 for the same period in 2017-18. The increase has been attributed to a rise in rape, sexual assault and crimes relating to indecent images or communications. The number of deaths in road accidents also increased during the period – though overall road casualty rates were down. At Argyll and Bute Council’s community services committee, Chief Supt Gibson said that improving the detection rates for rape crime was a priority for his officers.
Key points
Mr Gibson said: ‘There are a couple of key points that jump out from the report, especially with scrutiny on road safety. ‘It is concerning that road deaths have increased in the last month and that is something we are looking at, but overall there has been a reduction in casualties. With regards to violence and antisocial behaviour, the figures remain consistent compared to some figures across the force. ‘We are doing extremely well with detection rates on where we were last year with a two per cent increase. We are working very closely to follow things through. ‘We had a decrease in detection rates for rape crimes, with the figure now 47.6 per cent. We are looking very closely into this and the scrutiny team is working on it. ‘We would also like to highlight that the satisfaction rate is high. ‘A total of 81.6 per cent were satisfied that their actions were dealt with. There are good, strong rates in this report.’ In June, it was reported that the number of sexual assaults recorded in the regionin 2017/18 had increased to 44 from 32 the previous year.