Radical changes made to sex offenders act

Dec 3 2010 by Julie Watt, Dumfries Standard Friday

Radical changes made to sex offenders act

POLICE officers in Dumfries and Galloway are currently undergoing intensive training on the new sexual offences act which came into force on Wednesday.

And experts believe victims of rape and sexual abuse will benefit from the radical changes it brings to the way cases in Scotland are investigated and prosecuted.

Senior procurator fiscal depute Jennifer McGill, the leader for the Dumfries and Galloway sexual offences team, said it is also likely to lead to more convictions.

She told the Standard: “Changes to the act will offer greater protection for victims and strengthens the justice system’s efforts to deal with sex crime. It is about modernising the Scottish justice system, by bringing together a complex batch of common law into one statutory framework to help combat offences which take place in today’s society.”

The new legislation provides for the first time a statutory definition of consent, as “free agreement”.

Mrs McGill said: “It is really about commonsense but the new law, in simple terms, outlines what is right and what is wrong. If a man is not 100 per cent sure that the female has given consent to sexual activity then no activity should go ahead. If someone is drunk then consent cannot be given, therefore, a man would be committing rape. If someone is asleep or unconscious then again consent cannot be given.”

Changes to the law came about as the result of public concerns at the way rape and sex offences were handled by the criminal justice system and from a recognition by prosecutors of the particular problems posed by rape cases, such as the question of consent.

The law now recognises male rape and introduces new statutory crimes, including targeting coercive sexual conduct such as the sending of sexually offensive emails or texts, and sexual exposure.

Mrs McGill added: “The act offers greater clarity around what constitutes an offence and how those crimes are recorded and subsequently dealt with through the criminal justice process. It widens the definition of rape to be non-gender specific and includes activity previously reported as other types of sexual crime. Police may experience an increase in recorded figures of rape as a result.”

It also puts in place protective offences to safeguard those with limited or no capacity to consent due to their young age or a mental disorder.

Prosecutors and police officers in Dumfries and Galloway are currently undergoing comprehensive training.

Detective Inspector Chris Johnstone from Dumfries and Galloway’s family protection unit said: “The changes signal a profound change in the approach to rape and serious sexual offence cases. It will hopefully, improve conviction rates. Every police officer is going through training as well as several specialist organisations which deal with victims of sexual crimes.”

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has also welcomed the act. He said: “Sexual offences are among the most appalling imaginable, particularly when the victims are among the more vulnerable members of communities.

“Until now, sexual offences law has been a complex mix of common law and statute.

“This act improves public safety and helps the victims of sexual crimes by bringing clarity and increased certainty to prosecutions.”

The Government’s measures include taking forward recommendations from the Crown Office review of the investigation and prosecution of rape and sexual assault, and support for Rape Crisis Scotland’s work.