The Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland, QC, has announced the first conviction rates for the new Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act, which came into force in December 2010.
The Lord Advocate was speaking at the annual COPFS Sexual Offences conference, which brings together prosecutors, victims of crime, police, government, health specialists and charities to discuss the prosecution of sexual offences in Scotland.
In his speech, the Lord Advocate reflected on the first year under the new Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act, which provided a broadened definition of rape and a statutory definition of ‘consent’. He also commented on a number of recent successful prosecutions, including the first conviction for human trafficking in Scotland.
Speaking at the conference, the Lord Advocate said:
"The new Sexual Offences Act brought about significant changes in the prosecution of sexual crime in Scotland. Previously Scotland had one of the narrowest definitions of rape in the world. The Act has broadened this substantially, making it no longer a gender-specific crime and providing a statutory definition of consent.
"The first internal statistics kept by NSCU under this new act are encouraging to date.
"There have been 13 concluded prosecutions for cases with a charge of rape under S1 of the 2009 Act. The conviction rate is 62%. Overall, for sexual offences there has been a conviction rate of 69% under the 2009 Act.
"Victims, and the public at large, should be confident that we have the skills and expertise to deal with this challenging and demanding area of work."
The Lord Advocate is to refer five cases to the UK Supreme Court for a further ruling as to the scope of the Cadder v HMA decision which was handed down by last October by the Supreme Court. Contact expert criminal defence solicitors in Edinburgh on 0131 557 9151.
New clauses have been added to the latest draft of the Scotland Bill which may permit Scottish criminal appeals to be heard in the UK Supreme Court. Contact 0131 557 9151 for a free initial criminal law consultation.
New figures show that there has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of women in Scottish prisons. Contact McSporrans criminal lawyers for a free initial consultation on 0131 557 9151.
Drink driving case clarifies the scope of Cadder. Contact 0131 557 9151 for a free initial criminal law consultation.
On 22 March 2011, the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Bill passed its third and final stage through the Scottish Parliament. Contact McSporrans criminal lawyers for a free initial consultation on 0131 557 9151.
A new partnership has been set up to try to prevent crimes against animals in Fife in Scotland. Contact McSporrans today on 0131 225 8813 for free initial advice.
Call us today on 0131 557 9151 (24hrs) for a free, no
obligation discussion. Alternatively, request a
callback, email mcsporrans@aol.com
or fill our our online enquiry form.
