Almost one in four prisoners in Scotland's jails are being held for sex crimes, with the majority of cases involving children. New figures released by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) show a total of 1,915 inmates are behind bars for a range of offences including rape and sexual assault.
The numbers currently imprisoned for sexual crimes represent 22.6 percent of a total prison population of 8,461. There are 1,494 prisoners being held for rape and a further 421 for sexual assault and other crimes.
Majority of sex offence cases involve children
The SPS report also shows 1,324 are inside for offences involving children - around 70 percent of the total number. Dawn Brennan, CEO of the women's safety charity Wise Women, said: "These statistics are extremely alarming and show the prevalence of violence against women and children.
"However they do not reflect the true level of male violence. We are aware how challenging it can be for women and children to negotiate the criminal justice system and the numbers of barriers that can be in the way.
"We would like to see a full review of how the criminal justice system is responding to violence against women and children and that funding and resources are prioritised to support women and children to escape such violence."
Political responses to rising sexual violence
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said: "There is no doubt that there has been an increasing prevalence of sexual violence in our country and with this comes additional pressures on our already stretched prisons estate. We have to tackle the overcrowding crisis in our prisons, while ensuring that staff have the resources they need to operate effectively.
"However, we must also take preventative measures to help reduce sexual crime, such as by establishing a Misogyny Reduction Unit which would take a public health approach to this issue."
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, Stephen Kerr MSP said: "With almost a quarter of prisoners now being held for sex offenders, ministers need to ensure the capacity is there to keep these offenders locked up. Victims and the public must come first."
Investigation advances and prison pressures
Martin Gallagher, a former Superintendent with Police Scotland, now a security consultant, said: "Great strides have been made to encourage victims to come forward and there have been significant advances in investigative practices. This leads to more arrests and convicted prisoners for the crimes of the past.
"However prisons have not seen their capacity increased, nor have the police been given more resources. There also needs to be a consideration of why our numbers of sex offenders are rising.
"The internet has obviously been an enabler but putting more and more people on the sex offender register is obviously not acting as a sufficient deterrent. It is time for new thinking."
Of those being held in Scottish jails for sex crimes, 1,719 are British and 196 are foreign nationals. Most of the inmates have been convicted and sentenced though some are on remand awaiting trial.
A number of celebrity figures are currently behind bars for sex crimes. Former snooker world champion Graeme Dott was jailed yesterday for seven years for sexual offences against two children. While former River City actor Iain Robertson was imprisoned for nine years in July for raping a woman and assaulting two others.
According to the SPS figures, which are up to September 10, there are 731 foreign nationals in Scotland's jails - around nine percent of the total prison population. The highest number of foreign national offenders being held on rape charges are Polish with 19, 15 who are Romanian and nine Nigerian.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: "We have a population which is not only rising rapidly, but also complex.
"Part of that complexity is due to the increase in people with sex offence convictions in custody. They are just one of the groups, which require to be managed in separate accommodation, and through separate regimes, putting further pressure on our available space and resources."
Yesterday the Daily Record revealed that Vietnamese cons are now the largest foreign group in the Scottish prison system having doubled from 81 last year to 145 this year. Most are being held for their involvement in organised crime including cannabis farms, human trafficking, fraud and money laundering.
Justice Secretary Neil Gray said: "Violence against women and girls is completely abhorrent and it is right that our justice system is holding perpetrators to account.
"The increase in the number of people in prison for sexual offences reflects the action being taken across the justice system to identify offenders, secure convictions and support victims, including for serious sexual crimes and historical offending and shows that women have increased confidence to report these heinous crimes."
