MORE rapes were reported in West Fife than in any other part of Scotland in the past year.

Between April 2013 and May 2014, 102 reports were made to Police Scotland from around the area, which includes Dunfermline, South West Fife and Cowdenbeath.

The single largest number of incidents was also reported in West Fife – 23 in August 2013.

In the past year, 222 rapes were recorded across the Kingdom. In all, Police Scotland received 1982 reports of rape.

However, West Fife area commander Gordon Mitchell warned that “statistics should always be interpreted with caution”.

He said, “Since 1st April 2013, Police Scotland has been committed to improving the way in which we investigate rape and other sexual offences.

“In Fife Division, this has seen a significant investment of resources in this area with experienced detectives being deployed into new specialised units to investigate rape and domestic abuse, supporting the already existing Public Protection Unit.

“This investment has not only improved how we deal with individual cases, but has also enabled pro-active investigations to be undertaken to uncover sexual offending that may never have come to the attention of the police without the victims being provided with support and reassurance through this difficult process.

“It is only natural then where the police do invest in this area and conduct proactive investigations that the numbers of rapes will increase. We see this as a positive indicator of our work to improve victim confidence.” The figures come on the back of a police report in June which revealed that reports of rape were on the rise.

In Police Scotland’s first full year, the number of alleged rapes being reported went up by more than a fifth to 1690 while sexual crimes recorded rose by 11.8 per cent.

Chief Inspector Mitchell acknowledged West Fife had seen an increase in reported rapes but explained, “A significant percentage of these are historic domestic cases and were previously unreported to the police, with many involving a number of different crimes committed by one person.

“Whilst I cannot comment on specific cases that are awaiting trial, significant cases have been investigated involving those who represent the greatest risk to our communities.

“Each of those cases has seen the accused charged with multiple counts of rape, which may give a distorted view on the level of recorded crime.

“Statistics should always be interpreted with caution, however with the assistance of our partner agencies, we are working hard to understand the dynamics of sexual offending within our community and we see an increase in the number of reported rapes as an important step in the right direction to support victims, bring offenders before the courts and keep people safe.”