Crime almost halves over decade

Humza Yousaf

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) 2019-20 of around 5,600 adults interviewed before Covid-19 restrictions came into effect – which includes incidents not reported to police – shows people are now less likely to be a victim – with one-in-eight (11.9 per cent) of adults experiencing crime compared to one-in-five (20.4 per cent) in 2008-09. As with the previous year, adults in Scotland were less likely to have experienced crime than those in England and Wales during 2019-20, with victimisation rates of 11.9 per cent and 13.3 per cent respectively.

The proportion of adults experiencing property crime has fallen from 18 per cent to 10 per cent with the estimated number of incidents almost halved (down 49 per cent) over this period.

More people (77 per cent in 2019-20 compared to 66 per cent around a decade ago) report feeling very or fairly safe walking alone in their local area after dark. However, while both men and women were more likely to feel safe in their communities in 2019-20 than 2008-09, men remain more likely to feel safe – 90 per cent compared to 65 per cent of women in 2019-20.

The survey identified that one-in-eight female respondents (12.5 per cent) had experienced both psychological and physical abuse since the age of 16, while just under one-in-20 (4.8 per cent) of males had.

The proportion of adults experiencing multiple victimisation – where someone was a victim of at least two incidents – fell from 8.2 per cent to 3.6 per cent between 2008-09 and 2019-20, representing 57 per cent of all SCJS crime in 2019-20.

One  in every 100 adults were victims of repeated incidents of violence, but their experiences accounted for almost two-thirds of violent crime in 2019-20.

Mr Yousaf said: “This latest national survey underlines the findings from other official sources, such as recorded crime and hospital admissions data, that crime including violent crime, has fallen substantially over the last decade.

“This is down to the work of police, wider public services, the third sector and communities themselves – supported by Scotland’s firm focus on early intervention and prevention work, through the work of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence and our No Knives Better Lives and Mentors in Violence Prevention programmes.

“However, the survey shows that both the falls in crime, and improved perceptions of safety have not been equally felt. Building on our progress in reducing violent crime, we are working to tackle violence against women and girls. This week I will urge Parliament to back our plans to give police and the courts new powers to remove suspected abusers from victims’ homes – adding to the world-leading domestic abuse laws we introduced a few years ago.

“However, just as we have cut violent crime through a combination of legal changes and wider education and community interventions, so too it falls on many of us – politicians, parents, friends and work colleagues – to play our part in tackling violence against women, including the misogyny that frequently underlies it.”