Crime rate falls in Scotland
14 Feb 06
Latest figures show larger decline in serious offending than petty crime
Recorded crime fell 6% in Scotland last year, according to the most recent data from Scotland’s eight police forces obtained by the Scotsman newspaper.
The 756,000 crimes reported between April and December 2005 represent a fall of 45,000 compared with the same period in 2004.
Bigger falls were recorded in the categories of violent, non-sexual crimes, down by 11% from 11,501 to 10,266, sex crimes, which fell by a similar percentage from 5,612 to 4,998, and crimes of dishonesty, down 10% from 159,596 to 143,735.
By comparison lower level offending such as vandalism, drunken disorder and minor assault, showed little change, and there was a rise in the category covering drugs, bail and firearms offences, from 58,000 to 60,446, or 4%.
The more detailed figures show some marked regional variations, with Grampian recording a 10% rise in non-sexual violent crime when every other area showed some decrease, while Grampian, Central and Dumfries & Galloway all showed significant rises in sexual crime despite the national drop, which was most pronounced in Strathclyde.