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Crime figures on downward trend
30/09/2008
Official figures revealing that almost 34,000 fewer crimes were recorded in Scotland last year - meaning recorded crime is at its lowest level for a quarter of a century.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said there was no room for complacency and the Scottish Government would continue to tackle serious and organised crime and address the underlying causes of crime - drink, drugs and deprivation.
The main findings of Recorded Crime in Scotland 2007-08 include:
- an eight per cent drop in the total number of crimes
- a nine per cent drop in violent crimes
- a three per cent drop in sexual crimes which includes a six per cent reduction in recorded cases of rape and attempted rape
- a nine per cent drop in both crimes of dishonesty and vandalism
All eight police forces showed a decrease in the number of crimes recorded in 2007-08 compared to 2006-07, indicating that these figures are being driven nationally and not by individual forces.
Mr MacAskill said:
"The latest figures for recorded crime show there were 34,000 fewer crimes in Scotland last year meaning crime is at a 25 year low. I welcome this evidence that there were tens of thousands fewer crimes and so tens of thousands fewer victims during our first year in government.
"However, we're committed to taking the action needed to drive down crime for the long term, not just for one year.
"We now have more police officers in Scotland than ever before and are directly funding 1,000 additional police officers with the first 150 already hitting the beat across the country. We are also working with forces to improve retention and support redeployment that enhances operational policing in our communities.
"There will be no let up in our blitz on bevy and blades as we work with the Violence Reduction Unit on tougher enforcement and changing attitudes to knife carrying as well as investing nearly £200,000 to tackle the gang culture that encourages knife crime.
"We're also tackling the underlying causes of crime - drink, drugs and deprivation - and I recently outlined bold plans to tackle alcohol misuse, while Parliament endorsed our new drugs strategy.
"We are supporting police in tackling illegal drug supplies and smashing criminal gangs through the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce that I set-up to ensure co-ordinated action is taken against those who prey on our communities.
"And by reinvesting the proceeds of crime to expand local activities for young people, our groundbreaking Cashback for Communities scheme is also contributing to this Government's important, longer-term work to build a safer, stronger Scotland for all of our communities."
All eight police forces showed a decrease in the number of crimes recorded in 2007-08 compared to 2006-07. The percentage decreases are as follows:
Central
Dumfries and Galloway
Fife
Grampian
Lothian & Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside