Homicides in Scotland at lowest level in half century

29th October 2025

Homicide numbers in Scotland have fallen to their lowest level since comparable records began in 1976, according to official figures.

Cases recorded by Police Scotland fell to 45 homicides in 2024-25, down 12 on the previous year. For all of the 45 homicide victims recorded in 2024-25, the associated case was solved.

The greatest reduction in homicide victims over the last 20 years has been among young people aged 16-24 - falling from 110 victims between 2005-06 and 2009-10 to 31 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.

The publication by Scotland's Chief Statistician provides information on crimes of homicide recorded by the police in Scotland in 2024-25.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said:

"My thoughts are with every family who have lost a loved one, however the fact that the number of homicides has fallen significantly over the last decade, now to a record low in 2024-25, is clearly a positive and welcome trend.

"While the number of young lives lost to homicide has also reduced significantly over recent years, behind every statistic is the grief of loved ones and a tragedy that demands continued and determined action.

"I am grateful to Police Scotland for their work that saw 100% of cases solved last year - a fact which, along with the decline in homicides, is further evidence that Scotland remains a safe place to live and justice is being served.

“The Scottish Government has invested more than £6 million since 2023 to support implementation of the Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland. This funding provides a range of activities to prevent violence and reduce its harm, much of which is supporting young people away from violence.

“To help prevent the future abuse and death of women and girls, we now have the statutory framework in place to create what will be Scotland's first national multi-agency domestic homicide and suicide review model, with reviews expected to start from next spring."

Scotland's Chief Statistician today published Homicide in Scotland, 2024-25. The publication provides information on crimes of homicide recorded by the police in Scotland in 2024-25. The main findings are:

In 2024-25, 45 victims of homicide were recorded, 21% (or 12 victims) less than the 57 victims recorded in 2023-24. This is the lowest number of recorded homicide victims since comparable records began in 1976.

Over the latest 10-year period from 2015-16 to 2024-25, the number of victims fell by 24% (14 victims) from 59 to 45.

Over the latest 20-year period from 2005-06 to 2024-25, the number of homicide victims in Scotland fell by 53% (or 51 victims) from 96 to 45.

The greatest reduction in homicide victims over the last 20 years has been amongst young people aged 16-24. In the five years between 2005-06 to 2009-10 there were 110 victims in this age range. This dropped to 31 across the latest five years between 2020-21 to 2024-25.

Of the 45 victims recorded in 2024-25, 67% (30) were male and 33% (15) were female.

In 2024-25, 55 persons were accused of homicide, of which 91% (50) were male and 9% (five) were female. This is the lowest number of recorded homicide accused since comparable records began in 1976. For all the 45 homicide victims recorded in 2024-25, the associated case was solved.

For each of the last 20 years, the most common method of killing was with a sharp instrument. In 2024-25, a sharp instrument was the main method of killing for 62% (or 28) of homicide victims.

For the latest year of 2024-25, the majority (63%) of male victims were killed by an acquaintance (19 of 30 male victims). Female victims were most likely to be killed by a partner or ex-partner (47%, or seven of 15 female victims).

Whilst most recorded incidents of homicide in these statistics have one victim and one accused, some incidents can have multiple victims and/or accused. There were 45 homicide incidents recorded in 2024-25, 21% (or 12 incidents) less than the 57 recorded in 2023-24.

For more details got to https://www.gov.scot/publications/homicide-scotland-2024-25/