Sex crime cops 'at breaking point' as one officer left handling 176 cases
Police teams investigating rape and serious sexual assault in Scotland are are being pushed to the brink – with one officer juggling a staggering 176 live cases.
Shocking figures reveal just four senior detectives are currently handling 584 ongoing rape and domestic abuse cases in Glasgow alone.
It's sparked fury from campaigners who say survivors are being 'devastatingly' let down, while the Scottish Police Federation has warned that frontline officers are 'broken'.
The eye-watering caseload has been uncovered through a Freedom of Information request obtained through the 1919 Magazine, exposing the brutal strain on Scotland's sexual offences units.
Rape Crisis Scotland Chief executive Sandy Brindley said: 'One officer, no matter how good they are, cannot manage 176 rape investigations properly.
"Rape is already a notoriously under-reported crime. For that to change, survivors need to feel able to report what has happened to them to police. This setup falls devastatingly short of offering any of that.'
The crisis comes as rape cases across the country have soared by a third over the last decade, with more victims finally feeling able to report what happened to them.
But while reports are up, resources haven't followed – and frontline units are buckling under the pressure.
Figures show that from April to September last year alone, rape reports rose by almost 20% compared to the same period in 2022.
And with an average of six rapes recorded every day in Scotland, campaigners say the justice system is failing to keep pace.
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
A police source told 1919 Magazine: 'Around 70 per cent of all High Court trials relate to sexual offences and yet the resources Police Scotland put into investigating rape are a fraction of the overall investigative resources they've got
'It's a massive issue that officers working in sexual offences investigation have been flagging up for years. It is significantly under-resourced."
The four detectives leading Glasgow's rape investigations – all detective inspectors – are classed as Senior Investigating Officers. They're expected to oversee every aspect of a case from the moment a report comes in.
But with each managing more than 100 cases, and one handling 176 alone, even basic oversight is becoming impossible.
Scottish Police Federation boss David Kennedy said the impact is hitting hard: 'The service is breaking them – and some are already broken. We can't continue to have a police service that does more with less.
'We are spinning workloads like spinning plates and that ultimately only ends one way."
Police Scotland's Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson insisted steps are being taken to address the problem.
He said: "The significant increase in reporting of rape and sexual crime indicates a growing confidence in victims to come forward knowing they will be listened to, supported and that their case will be fully investigated.
'Work is ongoing across the organisation to support our vision of policing, which includes strengthening the frontline.
'We are also reviewing the workloads of SIOs nationally to develop an approach which ensures every report receives the best investigation and that SIOs are supported in dealing with the increase in demand.
'Preventing rape and sexual crime is our ultimate goal and we work closely with a range of partners and across communities to tackle violence against women and girls.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
30 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Billy McAllister who exposed Lyons family slams police
Billy McAllister, a former SNP councillor, first raised the alarm in 2000, claiming the Lyons family had infiltrated a publicly funded community centre in Milton, Glasgow. According to the Daily Record, he alleged their control of the Chirnsyde Community Initiative, which received over £1.4 million in taxpayer funding, was a front for organised crime and laid the groundwork for a bloody feud with the rival Daniel crime clan. (Image: Newsquest) READ MORE: Property fire 'linked' to ongoing gangland feud Despite his repeated warnings, authorities failed to act until the 2006 murder of Michael Lyons, who was shot dead in a Glasgow garage by members of the Daniel gang. It was only after this killing that Glasgow City Council shut down the centre and removed the Lyons family. Speaking to the Daily Record, McAllister said: "It's shocking that two young men have lost their lives, but what is more shocking is the fact that the assignation was in a public bar where members of the public were going about their lawful business, having a good night out and their lives where put in danger. "Surely, given all the intelligence and information they (the police) have on these criminals, how was this allowed to happen? "It was wrong for the police and politicians to ignore us. "If they had done an early intervention, then maybe a lot of people might still be living. "Now, 25 years later, the feud is still ongoing and they (the police) are losing the war." READ MORE: Two Scottish men die in shooting at bar in Malaga Spain His remarks come after the Glasgow Times reported the recent murders of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jr., both shot dead on May 11 at Monaghan's Bar in Fuengirola, Spain. The Glasgow Times reported that the gunman fled in a waiting vehicle, and Spanish police continue to investigate. Police Scotland has confirmed it is assisting Spanish authorities but has not deployed officers to Spain. Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan(Image: Spindrift) READ MORE: Graphic footage emerges of Ross Monaghan gangland shooting McAllister, who was elected in 2006 after campaigning to remove the Lyons gang from Chirnsyde, said the roots of the feud lie in drug trafficking and the battle for control over north Glasgow. He also claimed that both Monaghan and Lyons Jr. were members of the so-called 'Club Boys,' a group of young criminals associated with the community centre during its operation. Billy added: "The origins of the feud were all drug-related, and control of that market. "The Lyons, along with the Daniel's were determined to control the north of the city at that time. "They always hated each other, going back to when they were petty criminals. "We kept on complaining, but they just ignored it, but lo and behold, it all came out at the end." He continued: "A top policeman told me that the police and politicians had left the cancer of serious and organised crime too long without addressing the problem head-on. "That's why criminality is a growth industry, the risks are very low of getting caught. "The Lyons could have been taken out when they were petty criminals, but they have been allowed to go undetected and look where we are now." The Glasgow Times reported that Police Scotland issued a statement, reiterated that there is no current intelligence linking the Spanish shootings to ongoing gang violence in Scotland under investigation through Operation Portaledge. READ MORE: Police Scotland issue statement after fatal shooting in Spain A spokesperson said: "The investigation into the fatal shootings in Fuengirola is being carried out by Spanish police. "Police Scotland is supporting Spanish police where requested; however, at this time, we have no officers deployed within Spain. "There is currently no intelligence to suggest the deaths of these two men in Spain are linked to the recent criminal attacks in Scotland being investigated as part of Operation Portaledge. "Any misinformation or speculation linking the events in Spain is not helpful to the ongoing investigations in either country. "There is also nothing to suggest that the shooting in Fuengirola was planned from within Scotland."
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Primary school bans smartphones after 9,000 messages sent in just one night in children's WhatsApp group
A school has banned smartphones after a pupil's phone was found with 9,000 messages sent in just one night on a year's WhatsApp group. Children at Blackhorse Primary School in Bristol will no longer be allowed to bring smartphones to school after a debate around safety was sparked by the sheer number of notifications spotted on a pupil's screen by a teacher. In recent years, pupils have been allowed to bring smartphones to school, but had to hand them in to the teacher during lesson time. But around a year ago, a phone was accidentally left in the teacher's cupboard overnight - and was returned to the pupil the next day with 9,000 notifications of activity in a Year Six WhatsApp group. Shocked at the discovery, executive headteacher Simon Botten started a debate with parents on whether smartphones should be allowed in schools - and now pupils can't bring them in at all. Writing on his personal blog, Mr Botten said he had also been concerned at the risk of increased cyber-bullying and online predatory behaviour - and that the move had been broadly backed by parents. A similar ban at Blackhorse's sister school Emersons Green is also set to come into force but needs to be ratified by governors. Recent surveys have suggested more than two thirds of children spend more than two hours a day on electronic devices - with a minority spending more than six hours on screens. Mr Botten wrote of the Year Six pupil's phone: 'The teacher picked up the phone, waking it, only to see a notification of 9,000 missed messages from the Year 6 pupil WhatsApp group overnight. Nine thousand messages in a 15-hour overnight period. 'After nearly two decades in headship, I have watched this technological phenomenon unfold slowly. 'At first it was imperceptible: the odd argument via old-fashioned texts, the odd child seeing something online which they shouldn't (always at home). But over the years I have seen the risks grow ever more significant and ever more frequent.' He said these included rising cyberbullying on WhatsApp, inappropriate images being exchanged, a rise in hanging out online instead of outside and of children 'glued to their phones' once handed the devices back at the end of the day. He continued: 'And then something much darker. A rise in predatory strangers approaching children online in their bedrooms whilst their parents watch Eastenders downstairs. 'Near miss, after near miss. But, the thing is, if you have enough near misses - the chances of a collision rises to 100 per cent.' Groups of parents were set up to consult on the issue before a wider consultation on the possibility of an outright ban - the whole process taking around a year. Some parents were concerned about being able to contact their child. Mr Botten said the counter to this was to allow old-fashioned 'brick' mobiles capable only of texts and calls. Many schools, Blackhorse included, also digitally register pupils' attendance, which can be seen by parents via a mobile app. Schools still, of course, phone parents if pupils don't turn up for school as planned. Mr Botten, who has been a headteacher for almost 20 years, added that removing the need to collect smartphones by banning them altogether also eliminated the 'peer pressure' associated with having the latest gadget. Some pupils, he said, would show off their flashy phones in the playground before they were handed in ahead of class. Collecting the phones before class, he said, amounted to 'tacitly condon(ing)' smartphone ownership. The school also brought in specialists from the police to talk to parents about the dangers of children being unsupervised online. A survey conducted among parents showed 87 per cent at Blackhorse Primary were in favour of the outright ban, while parents at Emersons Green Primary were more split on the issue: 58 to 42 in favour of the ban. Governors at Blackhorse, spurred on by the poll, voted that the ban is to come into force in September. Governors at Emersons Green are yet to vote. Mr Botten accepts that research on how smartphones affect child development remains 'patchy' and tends to be skewed towards older teenagers rather than younger children. However, he said the ban was imposed on the grounds of what he and his staff were seeing in terms of 'safeguarding concerns and negative impact on mental health'. The ban, coming into effect in September, has had a positive reception. He concluded: 'Since announcing the result, I have had zero emails from parents complaining about the ban, whereas I have had a good many parents thank the school for taking a stand.' Speaking outside the school this week, parents welcomed the ban but others questioned the fact the school had previously encouraged children to buy smartphones. Lee Budd, father of Jonnie, eight, said: 'I don't think it's a bad idea at all. Phones consume attention.' A mother of a Year 5 student and a former Blackhorse pupil, now in Year 7 at another school, said: 'It was the school that encouraged us to get a phone for my Year 7 daughter so she could walk to school on her own. 'I feel neutral, really, but I don't see why they need to change the current rule of leaving the phone in a box at the start and end of the day.' A recent poll of children aged eight to 15 found that almost one in four spend more than four hours a day using a computer, phone, tablet or games console. Some 69 per cent of children spend more than two hours a day using electronic devices, while six per cent even said they use them more than six hours a day, the YouGov survey found. Labour recently blocked a proposal to ban the use of phones in schools by law - with the Prime Minister decrying it as 'completely unnecessary'. Sir Keir Starmer told PMQs in March that the 'vast majority' of schools already impose restrictions on smartphone use, including that attended by his children. Challenged by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, he said: 'We need to concentrate on what's really important here, which is getting to the content that children shouldn't be accessing. 'That's where I would genuinely like to work across the House because I think there's a huge amount of work to do. But the battle is not with schools that are already banning phones in school. 'The battle – and this is an important emerging battle – is to work together to ensure that we can ensure that the content that children are accessing wherever they are is suitable for their age.' It comes weeks after the Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, suggested that smartphone use among children should be restricted outside of school as well - suggesting general phone use is a wider issue among young people. 'If we are serious about helping children reap the many benefits of the internet, we need to get serious about regulating what they can see, where they see it and curbing the damage currently being wreaked on their health, attention span and safety by tech companies enjoying unlimited freedoms while refusing to take responsibility for the people on their platforms,' she said. Schools, she said, should be free to regulate as they see fit rather than following a 'direction imposed nationally by the government'. 'Schools are just one part of the solution,' Dame Rachel added. 'Parents and carers need support to become more confident managing their children's online activities and putting in age-appropriate boundaries - and above all, to talk and keep talking at home about what they see and how to respond.'
New Statesman
2 hours ago
- New Statesman
Who will win the Hamilton by-election?
Photo by JeffLast week, Scotland's First Minister, the SNP's John Swinney, used the front-page of the Daily Record to write a column, not to the Scottish nation, but to the voters of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, a set of towns south of the Clyde and just south-east of Glasgow. His message was simple. In the by-election to come – then seven days out – this was the choice: Vote Labour, get Reform. But vote SNP, stop Reform. The Hamilton by-election is a contentious one. The SNP won the seat in 2021. And Labour came a strong second. In 2024, in a similarly shaped Hamilton seat for the General Election, Labour won. In normal circumstances, they should be winning it again. But Reform is on the march. And they are polling almost a fifth of the popular vote in Scotland right now. Gone are the days of 'English nationalist' Nigel Farage – Reform is something else. Now, Swinney's dismissal of Labour might be statistical illiteracy. But it's a strategy. The SNP's view is that in order to shore up their own support, elections characterised as SNP vs Reform will err in the SNP's favour. Not in all corners of Scotland, I grant you. But in most. And in saying to despondent, apathetic Labour voters – who in England stayed home – that in this election it is Reform or the SNP, the hope is those Labour voters will come Swinney's way. But there is a catch: in elevating the party into prominence it might just push Reform's poll ratings, and by-election performances, up further. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Britain Predicts anticipates an SNP hold 'by around one thousand votes'. Labour should come second. Reform should come third with a large 23 per cent. But given error margins, my forecast cannot rule out Reform pipping Labour for second. And the forecast cannot rule out the SNP losing Hamilton, or winning it without breaking a sweat. Those scenarios are just less likely than a hold of a thousand votes. The wild card here is Reform. Reform's presence in Scotland is a broad one. My analysis of what polls we do have suggests Reform is picking up one tenth of those who voted Yes in the independence referendum, as well as one-in-twenty SNP supporters. Primarily, though, Reform's appeal is coming from unionists and former Conservatives. But for it to have a presence among the now departed columns of ScotNats and Labour supporters is telling. Reform is eating into everything in Scotland. Which only adds to the uncertainty. Don't be surprised if they pip Labour for second. The data doesn't guarantee it. But it doesn't rule it out. [See more: Labour MPs are revolting over Gaza] Related
