Growth in sexual crimes fuelled by social media

New research commissioned suggests that around half of the growth in all recorded sexual crimes between 2013-14 and 2016-17 has been due to growth in sexual cybercrime.

The findings, which follow a recent summit hosted by the Solicitor General, Alison Di Rollo QC on educating young people on sexual crimes, also indicate that the average age of both perpetrators and victims is substantially lower when the internet is used as a means to commit such offences.

The study has been published on the same day as the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2016/17 statistics which show:

Ms Di Rollo said: “Too many children and young people are coming into contact with our justice system as a result of sexual offending, and we know that technology has an increasingly significant part to play. I convened the Education Summit last month to emphasise the need to protect our young people by educating them about their rights and responsibilities under the criminal law.

“I am delighted that this new expert group will now build on the success of the summit, and acting on the key messages we heard, identify and take the next steps to inform and protect our young people. COPFS will provide our experience and expertise to the group and together better tackle and prevent sexual offending among young people.”