Police Official Suggests 1,400 Rape Allegations Are ‘Tip of the Iceberg’

A high-ranking police official indicated that the 1,400 rape allegations recorded in Scotland over a six-month period this year likely constitute “the tip of the iceberg.” Police Scotland documented a total number of cases between April and September that showed a 19.5% increase compared to the corresponding timeframe last year. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson expressed the police’s hope that this rise signifies greater confidence among victims in reporting sexual offenses. These figures were disclosed by Police Scotland during the launch of the newest phase of its acclaimed That Guy social media initiative, designed to prevent sexual offending by targeting male conduct. Out of the offenses reported to Police Scotland from April to September, 850 had taken place within the preceding 12 months. The remaining 550 incidents had occurred over a year prior. ACC Johnson stated: “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.” He continued: “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 further remarked: “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.” The That Guy campaign, which has received commendation from campaigners, was initiated in 2021 and focuses on men aged 18 to 35, identified as the primary age group for individuals convicted of sexual offenses. A woman who was awarded damages in a civil suit following a rape incident as a student at St Andrew’s University expressed support for the campaign. The woman, referred to as Miss M, conveyed her hope that the campaign would contribute to addressing the misogynistic behavior encountered by women. She stated: “It’s not just out in bars. It’s in the workplace, it’s walking down the street, it’s in our homes,” and urged: “Don’t just be a bystander and let your friends do something inappropriate, do challenge them and say ‘that’s not right’.” ACC Johnson commented: “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.” He added: “This campaign is about saying you can break this. Change your own behaviour and challenge the behaviour of your peers.” Similar to other regions of the UK, most rape allegations in Scotland do not proceed to court, and for those that do, the conviction rate is considerably lower than for other types of offenses. ACC Johnson expressed his belief that the introduction of body-worn cameras for frontline officers next year will enhance the process of evidence collection. He stated: “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,” adding: “We want that to be almost instant. We want people to trust and have confidence in us.” The newest iteration of the That Guy campaign will feature a fresh podcast series, with writer and broadcaster Alistair Heather as host. This series will present five “frank conversations” concerning attitudes and behaviors that expose women to the risk of sexual violence, urging men to intervene and voice their concerns. Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, noted that the statistics indicated a significant and discernible increase in reported rape incidents. She commented: “It’s difficult to say definitively what might be behind the rise,” adding, “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), described the campaign as “hugely important” for the purpose of ending gender-based violence. She stated: “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.”