RAPISTS who thought they may have got away with their crimes in the Stewartry have received an unexpected knock on the door from police.
Police have revealed that their rape detection rate increased by 200 percent between April 1 and September 30 last year.
This means that sex offenders who committed their crimes before this period were subsequently tracked down and brought in for questioning later.
There were three recorded rapes in the Stewartry between April 1 and September 30 last year, according to a new police performance report.
It will be discussed by councillors at Stewartry area committee next Wednesday, with police chief inspector Emma Dodds, area commander for Galloway, in attendance.
The report states: “Crimes of rape have increased by one on the previous year to date and at the same level as the five year average.
“The rape detection rate is 200 percent, 150 percentage points more than the previous year to date and 147.1 percentage points higher than the five year average.
“Detection rates above 100 percent result when crimes recorded in a previous reporting period are subsequently detected.”
In addition to the three rapes, there were an additional three sexual assaults during the same reporting period last year.
This is a significant decrease on the five-year average stats.
The police report explains: “Sexual assaults have reduced by one on the previous year to date and by seven crimes on the five year average.
“The sexual assault detection rate is 66.7 percent, 41.7 percentage points more than the previous year to date and nine percentage points higher than the five year average.”
Meanwhile, there were four domestic abuse incidents reported by women.
