Recorded crime in Scotland falls by more than half since 1991
Recorded crime in Scotland has more than halved since 1991, with serious assault and attempted murder falling to record lows, according to newly-published official statistics.
The Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024/25 bulletin shows that total crime remains at similar levels to 2023/24, with a small reduction in the headline figure.
Levels of non-sexual crimes of violence have also dipped slightly over the year and continue to be 23 per cent lower than in 2006/07 – with serious assault and attempted murder falling to their lowest level since 1977.
There was a six per cent decrease in 2024/25 in recorded incidents of damage and reckless behaviour – now at its lowest level since 1976, with vandalism down 73 per cent from 2006/07.
The detection of overall crime by police has increased, with clear-up rates rising to 56 per cent.
The recording of crimes of dishonesty are now at pre-pandemic levels and down 74 per cent from the peak in 1991, however, there was has been a 16 per cent rise in shoplifting.
There was also a rise in recorded sexual crimes (up three per cent), with rape and attempted rape up by 15 per cent. A quarter of these crimes were reported at least one year after they had occurred.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “These figures show that Scotland continues to be safe place to live with reported crime falling by more than half since 1991. This comes on the back of the flagship Scottish Crime and Justice Survey which also showed people feel safer in their communities.
“Violent crime is down significantly in the past 20 years, with serious assaults and homicide levels at record lows. However, we cannot afford to be complacent and I have been consistently clear that any instance of violence is one too many. That is why we are taking a wide range of actions to prevent, reduce and tackle violence, with more than £6 million funding invested over the past three years.
“I am concerned these figures also show a rise in reported sexual crimes. Multiple factors will lie behind this and our action to tackle sexual offending includes increasing confidence in the justice system so more victims come forward, improving support for victims and modernising the law on sexual offences.
“I also recognise the significant harm and disruption caused by retail crime, which is why we have made £3 million available in this year’s Budget for Police Scotland to work with the retail sector to help tackle this issue.
“This year we will invest £4.2 billion across the justice system including a record £1.64 billion for policing – an increase of £70 million on 2024/25.”
She added: “As part of the Scottish government’s broader package to tackle violence, we have increased funding to the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit from £1.17 million last year to over £1.2 million this year.
“Projects supporting young people at risk of being drawn into criminal activities, under the Cashback for Communities programme, will receive up to £26 million over the next three financial years.”
The bulletin also includes an estimate of how many cybercrimes were recorded in Scotland during 2024/25.
An estimated 14,120 cybercrimes were recorded by Police Scotland. This was a decrease of 2,770 crimes (or 16 per cent) when compared with the estimated volume for 2023/24 (16,890). Levels also remain significantly above the pre-pandemic year of 2019/20 (with 7,710 cybercrimes).
Scotland’s Chief Statistician said: “We estimate that cybercrimes accounted for at least five per cent of total recorded crime in 2024/25, including 27 per cent of sexual crimes, seven per cent of crimes of dishonesty and three per cent of non-sexual crimes of violence.