• POLICE SCOTLAND RECORD INSTANCES OF CRIME WITHIN SEVEN CATEGORIES (5 CRIME CATEGORIES, 2 OFFENCE CATEGORIES)

• LEVELS OF RECORDED CRIME HAVE FALLEN STEADILY SINCE A PEAK IN 1971 BUT SOME TYPES OF CRIME ARE ON THE RISE YEAR-ON-YEAR

• CRIMES OF DISHONESTY ARE THE MOST COMMON CATEGORY OF CRIME, ACCOUNTING FOR NEARLY HALF OF ALL RECORDED CRIMES IN SCOTLAND

• GLASGOW, EDINBURGH AND DUNDEE SHOW THE HIGHEST RECORD OF CRIME PER CAPITA WHILE THE OUTER HEBRIDES, ORKNEY AND SHETLAND ISLANDS SHOW THE LOWEST. THE SCOTLAND AVERAGE IN 2019 WAS 453 RECORDED CRIMES PER 10K

• CRIMINOLOGISTS NEED TO BE CAREFUL WHEN INTERPRETING CRIME STATISTICS, POLICE SCOTLAND CAN ONLY REPORT CRIMES WHICH ARE REPORTED AND JUST BECAUSE A CRIME IS REPORTED DOESN'T MEAN IT ENDS IN A CRIMINAL CONVICTION

Group 1: Non-sexual crimes of violence

(Also referred to as Crimes of violence)

Homicide etc.

Includes:

• Murder

• Culpable homicide

  • Culpable homicide (common law)

  • Causing death by dangerous driving

  • Causing death by careless driving when under influence of drink or drugs

  • Causing death by careless driving

  • Illegal driver involved in fatal accident

  • Corporate homicide

Attempted murder and serious assault Includes:

• Attempted murder

• Serious assault

For the definition of Serious assault and the distinction between Serious assault and Common assault please see Paragraph 7.13 within Annex 1.

• Robbery Robbery and assault with intent to rob

Other Includes:

• Threats and extortion

• Cruel and unnatural treatment of children

• Abortion

• Concealment of pregnancy

• Possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, commit crime etc.

• Abduction

• Ill treatment and neglect of mental patients and vulnerable adults

• Drugging

• Slavery or forced labour

• Human organ offences

By category, attempted murder and assault are the most common types of violent crime... However, "In Scotland most people do not experience violent crime and the majority of violence in 2017-18 was Common assault that resulted in no or negligible injury..."

If you've looked at the SIMD map above, you've probably noticed that areas with the worst ranking for crime also appear to be on the low end of the scale for employment, income, health and education. According to the Scottish Public Health Network's Violence Prevention Framework there are a number of variables which can impact the level of crime within a community...

• the level, nature and success of policing;

• certainty of sanction for those involved in violence;

• unemployment rates, wage levels and consumption levels;

• alcohol consumption, affordability and availability;

• availability and use of illegal substances;

• mental health treatments;

• the position of women in society;

• demographic change impacting on the number of potential offenders;

• wider cultural changes;

• unintended side effects of other policies; and

• interventions aimed specifically at preventing and reducing violence.

According to the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, MOST (61%) violent crime goes unreported. Can you think of reasons why victims might not report a violent crime?

• Almost half (49%) of victims surveyed didn't realise that they had been the victim of violent crime. Within this group, the majority agreed with the statement that the incident was 'just something that happens' while the rest thought it was 'wrong but not a crime'.

• When asked specifically why they hadn't reported incidents - whether they considered them to be a crime or not - respondents reported:

  • they reported the matter to other authorities (35% of unreported violent crime);

  • they dealt with the matter themselves (19%);

  • the issue was considered a private, personal or family matter (13%);

  • the experience was too trivial or not worth reporting (11%).

  • ‘other’ reasons were cited in 24% of cases.