Safer Communities And Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report - April 2024

26th April 2024

This report contains summary statistics covering a number of important justice and safer communities areas. It is published with up to date statistics every month.

Police recorded crime is at one of the lowest levels seen since 1974 and is down 2% since the year ending December 2019. The total number of crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in the year ending December 2023 was 302,076. This is 14,398 crimes (or 5%) higher than the level recorded in the year ending December 2022.

Crime has fallen by 53% since 2008-09. Results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) show that around 1 in 10 adults were victims of crime in 2021-22 (10.0%) compared to 1 in 5 in 2008-09 (20.4%). The estimated number of crimes fell by 53% over the same period, and by 18% since 2017-18. The SCJS detected no change in the overall victimisation rate between 2019-20 and 2021-22.

Recorded violent crime increased in the most recent year. Non-sexual crimes of violence recorded by the police increased by 4%, from 69,117 in the year ending December 2022 to 71,900 in the year ending December 2023. Common assault (up 2%) makes up the clear majority (83%) of all non-sexual crimes of violence recorded in the year ending December 2023. The SCJS showed the volume of violent crime fell by nearly three-fifths (58%) between 2008-09 and 2021-22 and that an estimated 34% of violent crime in 2019-20 was reported to the police.
Recorded sexual crimes increased in the most recent year. Sexual crimes increased by 2%, from 14,640 in the year ending December 2022 to 14,894 in the year ending December 2023. Multiple factors lie behind the long term increase in recorded sexual crime including a greater willingness of victims to come forward, more historical reporting, more online offending and the impact of new legislation. The SCJS for 2018-20 (2018-19 & 2019-20 combined) estimated that 3.6% of adults experienced at least one serious sexual assault since the age of 16, unchanged from 2008-09.

Women more likely to experience partner abuse. The SCJS, for 2018-20, estimated that 3.2% of respondents had experienced partner abuse in the year prior to interview. A higher proportion of women than men experienced this, at 3.7% and 2.6% respectively.

Decrease in crime clear up rate. The clear up rate for all recorded crimes was 53.3% in 2022-23, down from 54.0% in 2021-22. Crimes against society (93%), non-sexual crimes of violence (67%) and sexual crime (53%) continued to have higher clear up rates in 2022-23 than crimes of dishonesty (31%) and damage and reckless behaviour (29%).

Number of victims of homicide at record low. There were 52 homicide victims recorded by the police in Scotland in 2022-23, a 16% decrease from 2013-14 and the lowest value since comparable records began in 1976.

Read the full report HERE