WINNING THE WAR ONCRIME
Figures show big fall over 10 years but deprived areas still hard-hit
CRIME in Scotland has fallen by 45 per cent over the past decade and by 20 per cent since 2016, an official survey has found.
The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey includes estimates of incidents not reported to police and is based on 5537 interviews conducted between April 2018 and May 2019.
It found 87.6 per cent of adults experienced no crime, with the proportion of adults who experienced crime falling from 20.4 per cent in 2008-09 to 12.4 per cent in 2018-19.
Those living in deprived areas and in cities were most likely to be victims of crime, while those aged over 60 were least likely to be affected.
About 408,000 crimes were related to property, making up 71 per cent of all crimes in 2018-19.
There were an estimated 165,000 violent crimes, making up 29 per cent of the total.
Most violent incidents were minor assaults which resulted in no serious injury.
People aged 16 to 24 were the most likely to be victims of violent crime.
The overall number of crimes is estimated to have fallen by 45 per cent since 2008-09, though there was no significant change from 2017-18.
A relatively small proportion of adults – 3.5 per cent – were repeat victims and experienced just over half of all crime.
Just over a third of all crimes (36 per cent) were reported to the police.
The survey also looked into public perceptions of the police and the justice system.
A majority of adults (56 per cent) said the police in their area did an excellent or good job. But those in the 15 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland were less likely to feel this way.
More than threequarters (76 per cent) said they felt people accused of crimes would be given a fair trial. But only 37 per cent were confident sentences would be given which fitted the crime.
Justice Secretary
Humza Yousaf said: “While it is encouraging that Scotland remains a safer place than a decade ago, with fewer victims of crime, there is no room for complacency.
“Our firm focus on early intervention and prevention, including through widely-recognised anti-violence initiatives such as the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, No Knives Better Lives and Medics Against Violence, have been critical to our efforts to keep crime down and communities safe.
“We continue to invest in Scotland’s excellent police service and in communities themselves – through education and a range of projects to help people to stay safe, to steer those at risk of being drawn into crime away from it and to support those with convictions to turn away from offending.
“Where people do fall victim to crime, the Scottish Government has been investing millions of pounds and implementing reforms to strengthen how the justice system, wider public services and other organisations can support them.”