7 days ago
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.
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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.'
