By Professor John Robertson
From BBC Scotland, today:
Nearly 300 rapes and sexual assaults reported by sex workers during the Emma Caldwell murder investigation were not dealt with by police at the time, a senior officer has confirmed.
Police Scotland’s deputy chief constable said an operation had been launched to examine sex offences which were reported around 2005. She said a number of the offences were now being dealt with by the courts. A former detective told the BBC he had received multiple reports of rape when he worked on the murder inquiry. But he said they were “boxed” – marked as irrelevant and not followed up.
The then Strathclyde Police launched one of its most expensive murder investigations after Emma Caldwell’s body was found in remote woodland in South Lanarkshire in 2005.
Imagine, these events took place in 2015 after 8 years of SNP government?
The media would be all over the current SNP First and Justice ministers, asking why they had failed to scrutinise Strathclyde Police? Why had they apparently ignored the reports of massive abuse of sex workers?
Had First Minister Jack McConnell and Justice Secretary Cathy Jamieson taken their eyes off the ball in 2005? Were they too busy campaigning to keep the UK together in the face of surging SNP support? Should heads have rolled?
Does this remind you of something else?
Talking-up Scotland / Facts on NHS, Crime, ferries and everything else you can think of 
This is all very well, John but what has the SNP been doing about it for the last 17 years?
#Call Kaye now to bash those separatists.
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Fair point as long as the government of the time is included in the analysis.
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Sorry, John. That was tongue FIRMLY in cheek.
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It is of note that the present Chief Constable is a woman as are several of the senior staff. I suspect this will have a strong influence on attitudes towards the safety of sex workers.
A woman Lord Advocate seeking to change the rules regarding corroboration. Lack of corroboration as defined by case law in Scotland has meant that very few rape allegations go to trial and, of those that do, not many result in conviction. Expect the largely male cohort of defence lawyers to oppose vehemently. Expect the largely male court journalists to be similarly outraged.
Alasdair Macdonald.
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Police are wasting so much money.
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