A senior police officer has described a rise in reported sex crime in Dundee as a “very, very positive” sign that victims are more willing to come forward.
Chief Superintendent Hamish Macpherson said victims are being encouraged to tell officers about incidents that in many cases had happened years ago.
A report to city councillors showed that 181 crimes of indecency were reported between April and September more than 50% up on the long-term average.
Rapes accounted for 20% of the cases.
The report explained that one in five of the reports were about incidents that happened during 2012/13 and a similar proportion related to offences that happened at least two years ago.
One incident dates back more than 50 years.
Police believe that high-profile investigations into sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile and other celebrities have prompted victims to finally report what happened to them.
Mr Macpherson told councillors: “This to me is a very, very positive increase. Recent well-publicised cases involving historic abuse have, perhaps, given victims greater confidence to report matters to the police knowing they will be thoroughly investigated.
“Some of the crimes were linked and involved the same victims and/or perpetrator. There was also an increase in crimes linked to the use of internet, phones, etc.”
The detection rate for all crimes of indecency between April and September was 74%, a little higher than the long-term average. For rape, the detection rate was 67%, some 8% higher than average.
Chief Inspector Conrad Trickett said some cases involved women reporting historic rapes by their partners. The figures also showed a rise in the number of domestic abuse incidents being reported.
A breakdown by council ward showed Coldside had the highest number of sex-related crimes at 47, although 40 of these resulted in the perpetrator being identified. The North East ward had only seven incidents, but just two of these resulted in the criminal being detected.
Police are currently hunting a scar-faced man who carried out a serious sexual assault on a woman in a car park behind the Deja Vu nightclub in the city centre.
Detectives are reviewing CCTV and carrying out door to door inquiries.
Inspector David McIntosh said: “We are using as much information from as wide a range as possible. I would like to reassure the public that these incidents are extremely rare.
“People are thinking, ‘Am I going to be safe?’ And they will still be safe in the town.”
The police statistics show that although crimes of indecency were sharply up, many other categories of crime showed substantial falls compared to the long-term averages.
Violent crime in the city was down 25%, serious assaults down 20% and robbery down 45%. Housebreaking fell by 35%, shoplifting by 18% and vandalism by 29%.
Overall crime was down 18% and Mr Macpherson said: “A reduction of crime represents crime that is prevented, as well as a community that is vigilant against crime. It is also a key indication of a professional and hardworking police service.”
The picture for detection rates were mixed, with some categories improving and others worsening.
The chief superintendent said: “Clearly, we constantly strive to make improvements in our detection rates as they show the public that, where crime does happen, the criminals are being caught and held to account.
“However, when crime has been significantly reduced in certain areas of offending, a single undetected incident, or relatively small number of undetected incidents, can represent a marked dip in performance.”