Crime: key points

Overall Crime

The findings below are taken from the results of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, 2010-11, a household survey which measures adults' experience and perceptions of crime in Scotland.

• In 2010/11 there 874,000 crimes, 75% of which were property crimes involving theft or damage to personal or household property and 25% of which were violent crimes of assault or robbery;
• The overall number of crimes has fallen by 16% in the two years between 2008/09 and 2010/11;
• Around 1 in 6 adults (18 per cent) had been the victim of at least one household or personal crime;
• 16% of adults were estimated to have been a victim of property crime and 3% of adults had been a victim of a violent crime;
• The risk of being a victim of a property crime was similar for males and females but men were more likely than women to have been a victim of a violent crime, 4% vs. 2%, respectively;
• Males aged 16-24 had the greatest likelihood of being a victim of a violent crime (11%), compared to any other combined age / gender group;
• The offender was said by the victim to have been under the influence of alcohol in 63% of violent crime and of drugs in 34% of violent crime.

Violence

Violence is an extremely important and current public health issue in Scotland. The following points are derived from a number of Scottish Government publications: Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2010-11, Homicide in Scotland, 2009-10, Domestic Abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2009-10,and Recorded Crimes and Offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 2010-11.

• The number of violent crimes (non-sexual crimes of violence) recorded by the police increased by 2 per cent between 2009-10 and 2010-11 and the number of sexual crimes (crimes of indecency) increased by 1 per cent over the same period;
• In 2009-10, there were 78 cases of homicide; a decrease of 20 per cent from the figure recorded in 2008-09 (97 cases) and the lowest number of cases recorded in the last 10 years;
• 66% of victims were male; the overall homicide rate for males (21 victims per million population) was more than twice the rate for females (10 victims per million population);
• The most common method of killing in each of the last 10 years was with a sharp instrument. In 2009-10, this was the main method of killing of 44 per cent of victims and accounted for over three times as many homicides as the second most common method of killing;
• Nearly half (49%) of those persons accused of homicide in 2009-10 were reported to have been drunk and/or under the influence of drugs at the time;
• There were 51,926 incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland in 2009-10, compared to the 53,931 incidents recorded in 2008-09, equating to a 4% decrease;
• There were 643 offences recorded in which a firearm was alleged to have been involved in 2010-11, a decrease of 24% from 2009-10 and the lowest reported total in the last 10 years.