Rape allegations 'tip of the iceberg' - police boss

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said police were hoping victims had increased confidence in coming forward

A senior police officer has said that the 1,400 rape allegations made in Scotland in the space of six months this year probably represents "the tip of the iceberg".

The total number of cases recorded by Police Scotland between April and September was 19.5% higher than in the same period last year.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said police were hoping it represented victims having increased confidence in coming forward to report sex crimes.

Police Scotland revealed the figures as it launched the latest phase of its award-winning That Guy social media campaign, which aims to prevent sexual offending by addressing male behaviour.

The campaign has been running since 2021

Of the offences reported to Police Scotland between April and September, 850 had occurred within the previous 12 months.

The remaining 550 had taken place more than a year previously.

ACC Johnson said: "Do I think that the reported crimes that we currently have in Police Scotland are the full picture? No, it's not.

"It's probably the tip of the iceberg.

"And if we listen as we do to victims and survivors, we know that it takes a long time for people to come forward to report crimes of this type."

He added: "I'm really confident that I don't think things are getting worse out there, but I do think that there is a long way to go before we get 100% of the picture of this sort of offending."

Praised by campaigners, That Guy was launched in 2021 and targets men aged between 18 and 35, the main age of people convicted of sexual crime.

A woman who won damages in a civil suit after being raped as a student at St Andrew's University welcomed the campaign.

The woman, known as Miss M, said she hopes the campaign will help tackle misogynistic behaviour that women face

"It’s not just out in bars. It's in the workplace, it's walking down the street, it's in our homes," she said.

"Don’t just be a bystander and let your friends do something inappropriate, do challenge them and say 'that’s not right'."

'Challenge behaviour'

ACC Johnson said: "There's a continuum of behaviour that takes people from what could be considered as quite low level banter-type behaviour all the way through to serious sexual offences and rape.

"This campaign is about saying you can break this. Change your own behaviour and challenge the behaviour of your peers."

In common with other parts of the UK, the majority of rape allegations in Scotland do not reach court and of those that do, the conviction rate is significantly lower than for other offences.

ACC Johnson believes next year's rollout of body-worn cameras for frontline officers will improve evidence gathering.

"We know it takes a long time for women to come forward and have the confidence to come and tell their story to the police," he said.

"We want that to be almost instant. We want people to trust and have confidence in us."

The latest That Guy campaign will include a new podcast series hosted by writer and broadcaster Alistair Heather.

The series features five "frank conversations" about the attitudes and behaviour that put women at risk of sexual violence, and encourages men to speak up and step in.

Underreported crime

Sandy Brindley, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said the figures showed a significant and notable rise in reported rape.

"It’s difficult to say definitively what might be behind the rise," she said.

"Rape is an underreported crime.

"It is possible that some of the increase may be due to increased confidence in people feeling able to report what has happened to them to the police.

"This is unlikely to be the whole story; our concern is that at least some of this increase will be because more rapes are taking place."

Kate Wallace, chief executive of Victim Support Scotland (VSS) said the campaign was "hugely important" in ending gender-based violence.

She said: "We are aware through our work at VSS that rape and other sexual offences are notoriously under-reported crimes, and conviction rates for rape are the lowest of any crime type in Scotland.

"We join Police Scotland in hoping that this increase points to victims having more confidence to come forward and report this type of crime."