analysis

If you have ever been subjected to a common assault it will come as little comfort to know that the Scottish Government does not think you were a victim of violent crime.

It seems that being punched or kicked – or even having your nose broken – is not an act of violence, at least in the minds of ministers.

By leaving common assaults out of violent crime statistics, politicians in power have been able to point to relatively low rates of violence in Scotland.

That fails to provide the full picture of the scale of violence on our streets and behind closed doors.

HMICS, which oversees Police Scotland, uses common assaults in its annual publication of violent crime figures and thinks the Scottish Government should look at following suit.

However, one senior police officer in Tayside told me that reclassification would serve no pragmatic purpose, given the stats already furnish them with the trends in violent crime that help them do their job.

While the SNP inherited this system of classification, they are now under pressure to change it.

Victims of assaults deserve to know their ordeal is reflected in its true violent nature in official publications.

And the public has the right to know the extent of violence in our society.