SEXUAL assault victims in Dumfries and Galloway can depend on the police to vigorously pursue their attackers, a police chief has insisted.
Police Chief Inspector Duncan Cameron is delighted with the force’s results in tackling sex crimes in the area – and promised an “absolute commitment” to nail offenders.
He was speaking at Nithsdale area committee last Wednesday after presenting a police performance update report for crimes committed in Nithsdale between April 1 and September 30 last year.
In that six-month period there were 12 rapes and 40 sexual assaults, which is a slight decrease on the previous year’s figure.
However, the rape detection rate shot up to 125 percent, taking into account additional arrests from earlier incidents.
Meanwhile, offenders were also tracked down in 75 percent of the sexual assault cases, which is 17.9 percent more than the previous
year and 21.2 percent higher than the five-year average.
Chief Inspector Cameron said: “Overall we are in a very positive place.
“In respect of crimes of rape, whilst there’s been a rise over the period of one crime, there’s an absolute commitment from us to pursue those who are responsible.
“This is evident in our detection rate, which is extremely positive.
“Ultimately that provides confidence for victims to come forward and report to us. It gives that trust and confidence in both policing and the partners that we work with that we are getting it right.
“We adopt an absolutely victim-centred approach and the feedback we have from the partner agencies that we work closely with is that what we are doing here in Dumfries and Galloway is very, very positive.
“The quality of service we are giving to victims and survivors of sexual crime I believe is of a very, very high standard.”
The police chief also stressed that the proactive work being done by police is resulting in sexual and domestic abuse crime numbers dropping.
There were 18 reported domestic abuse incidents in Nithsdale between April 1 and September 30 last year. This is down by four on the figure for the same period the previous year.
Chief Inspector Cameron said: “Domestic abuse is a crime type that we’re really determined to impact on. The consequences of that for both females and males, children and families, and the wider community is significant.”
