By Lucy Ashton
Jackie Baillie has told of her worry that women in West Dunbartonshire aren’t reporting sexual offences after a dramatic drop in the number of these crimes.
Despite sexual crimes rocketing nationally according to recently release figures, the number locally has fallen.
In December last year, seven sexual offences were reported compared with 22 in the same month of 2020.
This equates to a drop of more than two thirds (68 percent). It is in stark contrast to the national figure which has seen sex crime rise sharply by 22 percent over the same period.
In neighbouring Argyll and Bute, which includes Cardross, Helensburgh and the Lochside, sexual crimes have risen by 82 percent between December 2020 and the same month in 2021.
One man, a bouncer at the former Logie Baird public house in Helensburgh, was jailed recently jailed for six years for abuse.
The overall number of crimes in West Dunbartonshire is down by seven percent with most types of offences on the decline. In Argyll and Bute, overall crimes fell by 19 percent between 2020 and 2021.
Jackie Baillie, pictured right, who is the Dumbarton constituency MSP said: “Normally crime figures declining is a trend to be welcomed but local statistics don’t reflect what is happening on a national basis.
“These numbers must be examined carefully to ensure women, especially those in vulnerable situations and potentially living in fear, are given the support they need to report sexual offences.
“From many conversations I have had over the years with the hard-working staff at Dumbarton District Women’s Aid, sexual crime is under-reported in any case so to see these figures is a huge shock and certainly merits much more analysis.”
Pictured above: The disgrace that is Dumbarton Central Station railway bridge – a dark and dangerous tunnel in which women fear they will be assaulted. Picture by Bill Heaney