Recorded sexual crimes in Renfrewshire increased by 63.7 per cent during the first three months of the 2026/27 financial year, with Police Scotland saying the rise was almost entirely linked to a refreshed approach to tackling these offences.
A total of 167 sexual crimes were recorded between 1st April and 30th June 2026, compared with 102 during the same period the previous year.
The increase in Renfrewshire was significantly higher than the national increase of 4.5 per cent.
Police figures show 57 of the crimes were identified as cyber-enabled, almost double the number recorded during the same period last year.
Sexual offences linked to domestic abuse also increased, with 43 recorded compared with 32 the previous year.
More than a quarter of the sexual offences recorded during the period related to non-recent reporting.
Two-thirds of reported sexual crimes took place within private dwellings.
The figures were presented at Renfrewshire Council’s Police and Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Sub-Committee on Tuesday 18th August.
Chief Superintendent Rhona Fraser told councillors: “There has been a reported increase of 63.7 percent within the reporting period and this is almost exclusively attributable to a refreshed method of tackling group 2 crime within Renfrewshire and Inverclyde division with our partners.
“Our detection rate currently sits at 80.8 percent in that regard which is a positive figure.”
The detection rate for sexual crime in Renfrewshire was 80.8 per cent during the reporting period, compared with 43.1 per cent during the same period last year.