New police performance figures show sex crime has fallen in the Forth Valley area

There has also been an improvement in detection rates for rape, increasing by more than three percentage points.

Chief Superintendent Barry Blair, divisional commander for Forth Valley, said: “Police Scotland has a comprehensive Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and

the work of our Public Protection department aims to reduce the number of incidents where females are targeted for abuse, domestic crime and sexual assault.

“I am encouraged by the reduction in sexual offending we have observed within the division, but we cannot and will not become complacent in our efforts to reduce

sexual crime further, protect communities from harm and bring perpetrators of such crimes to justice.

“We know we must appropriately respond to the rise in offences such as acquisitive crime and will continue to work alongside key partners as part of the Scottish

Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime strategy. In doing so, we will provide the public with all necessary information they need to prevent falling victim to acquisitive

crime, while also identifying crime trends and actively pursuing acquisitive crime offenders.

“The Q4 performance report information is a very useful tool in helping us establish where our resources are best utilised. Forth Valley, and Scotland as a whole,

remains a safe place to live and work and, when criticality does arise, Police Scotland responds with high levels of operational competence.”