A SHARP rise in the number of sex crimes recorded in Fife is down to the “increased confidence” of victims. 

That’s according to Police Scotland, who said those who had been abused were now more likely to come forward and report what had happened.

A report for Fife councillors said: “Analysis indicates that these increases continue as a result of raised confidence in reporting and the police approach to investigating sexual crime, including crime reports of a non-recent nature.” 

Between April and December 2017, the number of sexual crimes recorded by police in Fife was recorded as 826. 

This meant there were 129 more victims than the same time period the previous year, when there were 697 offences. 

However, 41 per cent of all the charges in 2017 were “non-recent”, with the force stating that high-profile cases, such as the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, had given victims the courage to report historic offences too.

A report said: “Fife Division has continued to improve on engagement with the victims of sexual crime, domestic abuse and offences involving children. 

“This continues to be reflected in the increased reporting of sexual crimes and can be attributed to increased confidence in reporting. 

“This follows on from widely-publicised inquiries such as the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry investigating the historical abuse of children in institutional care in Scotland.”

The Fife force said their detection rates for domestic abuse – “among the highest in Scotland” – had led to divisions from across the country trying to learn and copy their tactics. 

Detection rates for sex crimes and rape rose, the latter to 68.8 per cent, while investigations around indecent images of children increased by 25 per cent, and offences of “communicating indecently” – primarily by phone and social media – shot up by 86.5 per cent.

The police report added: “This is due to increased reporting, supported by campaigns in respect of child sexual exploitation and online offending.”