News In Focus
7 September 2010
Crimes in Scotland fall to 32-year low
The number of crimes recorded in Scotland has fallen to a 32-year low, according to new figures from Scotland's chief statistician.
There were 338,028 crimes reported in 2009-10, compared with 377,433 the previous year.
Despite the drop, the number of sexual crimes, including rape, rose by 3% over the same period. The biggest drop in the five crime groups was vandalism, including fireraising, which dropped by 15%.
Violent crime went down 11%, while crimes of dishonesty fell by 9%.
The number of offences, the term used to describe less serious crime such as motoring offences and minor assaults, rose by 1% to 563,735 for 2009-10, compared to 560,291 in 2008-09.
Solved
The figures also showed that the country's eight police forces managed to solve 49% of reported crimes, a figure unchanged on the previous year.
Central Scotland Police saw the biggest rise in the number of crimes of indecency, which went up 21%. The increase was put down to two large-scale inquiries, including Operation Defender, launched to trace paedophiles using the Internet.
The overalll crime rate in Glasgow was down by 10%, with violent crimes down 9 per cent.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the figures were "good news for law-abiding citizens", and congratulated the police on their efforts.
He added: “Tens of thousands fewer crimes mean thousands fewer victims. But there still remain far too many victims of crime and we remain committed to taking the action needed to drive crime down further and for the long term."