Antisocial behaviour up by 5% year on year

The Conservatives have accused the Scottish Government of failing communities as figures showed anti-social behaviour rose 5 per cent in a year.

Statistics reveal there were more than 343,570 anti-social behaviour incidents in 2017-18, up 17,635 from the previous year.

Police Scotland’s management information data, which the force does not consider to be official statistics, indicate there were 941 such incidents a day on average in 2017-18.

Aberdeen City Council had the greatest increase in anti-social behaviour, up 41 per cent year on year from 10,959 incidents to 15,431. The majority of areas recorded an increase while nine local authorities reported a decrease.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said it was “no coincidence that under the SNP police numbers are falling [and] police morale is at an all-time low”.