Less than half of all crimes committed in West Lothian over the last three months were solved by police.
Newly-released figures show 795 crimes were successfully detected by police officers between April and June, compared to 925 between January and March – a decrease from 49.2 per cent to 42 per cent.
The total number of crimes being committed in West Lothian also increased, with 1893 being recorded between April and June, compared to 1881 in the previous period. The figures come from Police Scotland’s Q1 Management of Information data for the period of April 1 to June 30.
Police chiefs said recorded crime is returning to previous levels throughout the Lothians and Scottish Borders divisions, as the lessening impact of covid restrictions continues.
The figures also revealed that the number of sexual crimes recorded had jumped from 103 to 137 – this included 34 rapes, up from eight in the last period. However, the detection rate for all sexual crimes had also sharply risen from 47 to 83.
The issue was discussed by community leaders in Bathgate last week after figures revealed sex crime cases rose by 285 per cent in just a year in the town.
There were seven recorded sex crimes between April and June last year, compared to 27 in the same three months this year.
However, this has been attributed to “really good proactive police work”. Sergeant Keith Jack said the percentages and figures came “with a health warning” and continued: “The percentages are what they are. There’s always a context behind these things.
“In terms of the sexual crimes, which would be the figure we’d all be drawn to, that actually has been as a result of really good proactive police work in terms of looking at historical cases.”
He said in some cases, it was as a result of “revisiting complainers, who then disclose further offences, or offences not already been reported.”
National campaigns around offences such as sextortion online had also pushed up the figures.
Sgt Jack said: “What I can reassure you on, is that we don’t have someone running around Bathgate committing sexual crimes on people on the street – stranger-type attacks.”
Where such an incident happened there would be a “massive police response”, the sergeant added.
The new figures for West Lothian as a whole also showed the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded dropped from 735 to 662 in the last three months, while serious assaults had risen from 29 to 39 cases.
Crimes including housebreakings, car thefts and shop lifting have dropped, although cases of fraud and common theft have risen.
Police chiefs say the Lothians and Scottish Borders Division has put additional officers into the Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit.
They say domestic abuse in all forms is a priority for the division. The increased efforts with new resources may have contributed to the increased detection rates for sexual offences.
Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi, head of Police Scotland’s Sexual Crime Unit, said: “Across Scotland we’ve seen significant increases and we can draw a direct correlation between reporting and lockdown restrictions.
“Over the course of the pandemic, we saw an initial reduction in reporting as people were locked down at home. But reporting increased incrementally with the easing of restrictions.
“While this possibly gave people the space to report, there are a number of other influencing factors, particularly the national conversation around violence against women and girls, and high profile reporting of rape and serious sexual crime. These may have encouraged people to come forward and report what had happened.
“As social interaction increases, particularly with the night-time economy opening up, we expect to see a further rise in contact offending.
“Rape and serious sexual crime is vastly under-reported. I hope this increase is down to victims’ confidence in coming forward, knowing our dedicated, professional officers will fully investigate every report.
“We will continue campaigning to prevent sexual offending. Men need to understand consent is always required when engaging in sexual activity.”
Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/
