Renfrewshire stats reveal drop in sexual crime and assaults

Published 24 February 2020

Sexual crime is down in Renfrewshire and there have been fewer attempted murders in the nine months to the end of 2019 when compared with the previous year.

Serious assaults are also down and there was one recorded homicide from April to December last year, the same number as in that period in 2018.

There have been 17 more housebreakings and 21 more recordings of non-sexual crime over the same nine-month period. Crimes of fire-raising have also increased and there has been a marginal increase in total drugs related crimes.

Chief Superintendent Alan Murray, of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Division, said: “We are dedicated to reducing crimes of all nature in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde and I am pleased where we have achieved that.

“Increases in recorded crime can also reflect increases in confidence in reporting and I am pleased that residents in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde appear to be growing in confidence to come forward and report crimes. Understanding their experiences helps develop better intelligence and this can inform targeted action plans to address these issues.”

“Police Scotland has the best of local and the strength of national – that’s local access to specialist services whose expertise can be drawn upon to support local initiatives. I will make best use of this equity of service to deploy targeted campaigns to bring about positive change in our communities.

“I will also continue to work with partners in public health to progress the best way forward in tackling drugs related crimes because policing alone cannot achieve that. Indeed, tackling the supply of drugs into our communities is a priority which I remain fully committed to addressing.”

Renfrewshire and Inverclyde’s figures come as Police Scotland published its 2019-20 Quarter 3 Performance Report today which revealed that there have been 1,313 crimes recorded against the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.

Introduced on 1 April 2019, the new Act criminalises the coercive and controlling behaviours used by domestic abusers, creating a single offence which covers the full range of abusive behaviours whether physical, psychological, financial or sexual.

The offence carries a maximum tariff of 14 years.

The Quarter 3 report will be presented to the Scottish Police Authority’s Policing Performance Committee on 27 February.