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Reports of sexual offences in B.C.’s biggest cities are up this year.

In Surrey, there were 82 sexual offences recorded in the first quarter of 2016, up 67 per cent from 49 in 2015, according to RCMP data.

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In Vancouver, police recorded 147 sexual offences in the first four months of 2016, up 12.2 per cent from the same period in 2015.

Police believe the rise reflects more victims reporting such attacks.

Sgt. Alanna Dunlop with the Surrey RCMP said the increase is also connected to the discovery of more Internet-based cases, including those involving pornography. In 90 per cent of the 82 recorded sexual-offence cases, the victim knew the offender, she said.

Dunlop didn’t want to speculate whether the rise in reporting was related to increased media and social media discussion about sexual assault but said, “any awareness is good.”

Const. Brian Montague of the Vancouver police said crime data tends to fluctuate and it’s difficult to attribute a cause for the rise in recorded sexual offences. But police need victims to report such offences so they can allocate resources, assign investigators to sexual assault cases and connect victims with support services, Montague said.