Crimes recorded by the Scottish Police Service - 2003-04 to 2012-13
Introduction
A crime or offence is defined as an incident reported to or identified by the Police and subsequently recorded as a crime within an
appropriate category.
Official crime statistics are collated by the Scottish Government and published yearly, which should be
explored together with the latest Scottish Crime & Justice Survey.
Whilst, it is estimated that between 50% and 70% of violent incidents remain unreported, Assault Injury Surveillance undertaken
in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire is providing a greater understanding of unreported crime; which in 2012 illustrated a further
26% of unreported assaults when compared with Police Scotland data.
This provides an illustration only for one particular geographical area within Scotland; and relates only to persons attending
Emergency Departments for treatment following an assault. What remains unknown is the number of assault victims who do not
seek emergency treatment; choosing instead to visit their GP surgery or dentist to seek medical attention, or to merely selfmedicate in order to avoid contact with any statutory service.
The statistical data illustrated has been extracted from the Scottish Government website, and all relevant links can be found in the
reference section below.
Crimes of Violence
Understanding the collation and breakdown of Violent Crime in Scotland:1. Violent crime is defined as recorded offences included within the categories illustrated in the table below. The categories are broken
down further within the primary yearly bulletin published by the Scottish Government.
2. The homicide figures provided are taken from aggregate recorded crime statistics reported by the police and comprise the crimes of
Murder and Culpable Homicide only. Due to slight differences in the time and methods of collection, the aggregated crime figures for
homicide may differ slightly from figures provided elsewhere within the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2012-13 bulletin, which are derived
from individual returns made in respect of each homicide.
3. In Scotland, assault is a common law offence. In order to distinguish between Serious and Common assaults, Police Scotland use a
common definition of what a Serious assault is, namely:“An assault or attack in which the victim sustains injury resulting in detention in hospital as an inpatient, for the treatment of that injury,
or any of the following injuries whether or not detained in hospital:Fractures,
Internal injuries,
Severe concussion,
Lacerations requiring sutures which may lead to impairment or disfigurement,
Any other injuries which may lead to impairment or disfigurement.”
Crimes/Offences of Violence
Homicide
Attempted Murder
Serious Assault
Robbery
Abduction
Rape & Attempted Rape
Sexual Assault
Common Assault
Total violent crime
Homicide as a percentage of all
violent crime
2003-04
107
740
6,625
4,161
341
1,037
3,257
57,355
73,623
2004-05
142
828
6,775
3,736
393
1,109
3,470
73,711
90,164
2005-06
95
710
6,320
3,553
396
1,161
3,392
72,281
87,908
2006-07
121
820
6,525
3,578
381
1,123
3,452
78,167
94,167
2007-08
118
711
6,000
3,064
293
1,053
3,502
73,523
88,264
2008-09
99
710
5,762
2,963
330
963
3,297
74,130
88,254
2009-10
79
560
5,061
2,496
277
996
3,412
72,212
85,093
2010-11
93
573
4,920
2,557
263
1,131
3,220
70,786
83,543
2011-12
93
503
4,190
2,244
221
1,274
2,908
69,253
80,686
2012-13
65
354
3,289
1,832
230
1,462
3,008
60,955
71,195
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
Crime / Offence group
Non-sexual crimes of violence
Dumfries
&
Galloway
Central
Fife
Grampian
Lothian &
Borders
Northern
Strathclyde
Tayside
SCOTLAND
347
109
327
496
1,464
406
3,966
415
7,530
6
2
2
8
10
10
45
8
91
Serious assault & attempted murder
174
60
180
244
577
214
2,013
181
3,643
Robbery
Other
56
111
10
37
87
58
134
110
470
407
27
155
930
978
118
108
1,832
1,964
Sexual Offences
392
133
581
956
1,331
471
3,337
492
7,693
Rape & attempted rape
Sexual assault
Offences associated with prostitution
Other
59
162
1
170
17
44
0
72
113
236
1
231
155
352
42
407
280
540
104
407
123
220
0
128
616
1,251
347
1,123
99
203
39
151
1,462
3,008
534
2,689
Other crimes
Crimes against public justice
Handling an offensive weapon
Drugs
Other
3,278
1,548
226
1,486
18
1,707
656
62
945
44
3,023
1,455
165
1,375
28
4,470
1,739
260
2,461
10
8,194
3,549
685
3,931
29
3,332
1,348
199
1,782
3
34,868
11,922
2,182
20,554
210
3,580
1,184
236
2,154
6
62,452
23,401
4,015
34,688
348
Miscellaneous offences
9,917
3,701
9,824
18,061
22,695
8,871
120,721
9,631
203,421
Common assault
3,621
1,232
4,138
7,367
9,862
3,141
27,067
4,527
60,955
Breach of the peace etc.
3,998
1,631
2,993
6,868
8,837
3,731
39,026
2,991
70,075
Drunkenness
Other
86
2,212
47
791
184
2,509
519
3,307
451
3,545
688
1,311
3,395
51,233
248
1,865
5,618
66,773
14,056
41,422
55,478
5,350
21,014
26,364
15,230
22,931
38,161
25,866
48,211
74,077
49,789
65,544
115,333
11,355
27,740
39,095
133,601
283,636
417,237
17,806
33,270
51,076
273,053
543,768
816,821
Homicide
All Recorded Crime
All Recorded Offences
All Recorded Crimes & Offences
Please Note: The Homicide figures include Murder and Culpable homicide, which also incorporates Causing death by dangerous driving,
Causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, Causing death by careless driving and Corporate homicide.
Crime categories relating purely to violence or causes of violence are shown above for each Legacy Force area, but the overall crime figures
relate to all categories of crime recording.
Violent Crime - Homicide
In 2012-13, there were 62 cases of homicide involving 62 victims. This represents a
decrease of 31 victims from 2011-12. There were 83 persons accused of homicide in
Scotland in 2012-13.
Over the last 10 years, the most common method of killing has consistently been
with a sharp instrument. In 2012-13, of the 51 persons accused of homicide, for
whom the alcohol and drug status was known, 71% were reported to have been
drunk and/or under the influence of drugs at the time.
Comprehensive breakdowns of the following tables can be investigated further by visiting www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/10/6416.
Main Method of Killing
All victims
Shooting
Sharp Instrument
Blunt Instrument
Hitting & Kicking
Strangulation or Asphyxiation
Drowning
Fire
Poisoning
Other or Unknown
2003-04
109
2
55
5
22
5
3
8
9
2004-05
137
8
72
8
14
10
1
1
12
11
2005-06
95
8
34
4
25
4
3
9
8
2006-07
120
8
54
15
16
3
1
3
13
7
2007-08
115
4
55
8
15
6
2
1
12
12
2008-09
99
2
57
8
10
5
1
3
8
5
2009-10
82
2
35
10
10
7
4
3
11
2010-11
100
2
61
8
14
2
2
1
10
2011-12
93
5
47
5
13
1
1
4
3
14
2012-13
62
1
26
10
15
3
3
4
Age Range of Victims
All victims
Under 1 year
1 to 4
5 to 15
16 to 20
21 to 30
31 to 50
51 to 70
71 and over
2003-04
109
4
4
9
29
46
15
2
2004-05
137
4
4
4
12
41
48
21
3
2005-06
95
3
1
1
11
18
48
11
2
2006-07
120
1
1
3
14
36
44
18
3
2007-08
115
2
2
2
14
24
50
18
3
2008-09
99
2
1
2
10
24
47
10
3
2009-10
82
1
1
9
18
37
15
1
2010-11
100
3
1
3
14
21
42
15
1
2011-12
93
3
9
23
39
11
8
2012-13
62
1
1
13
32
14
1
Age Range of Accused
All accused
Under 16
16 to 20
21 to 30
31 to 50
51 and over
2003-04
156
4
29
70
48
5
2004-05
188
8
35
71
62
12
2005-06
141
4
45
44
44
4
2006-07
169
7
49
60
42
11
2007-08
149
3
32
50
55
9
2008-09
132
4
30
43
48
7
2009-10
121
5
28
44
31
13
2010-11
142
4
34
42
58
4
2011-12
127
3
27
45
46
6
2012-13
83
4
37
29
13
Relationship of main Accused
to Victim
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
109
6
3
5
5
137
1
6
14
5
95
5
2
16
3
120
5
2
11
8
115
5
2
22
2
99
1
6
18
4
82
4
1
13
3
100
4
7
16
4
93
5
2
12
2
62
2
2
9
-
36
5
2
15
40
5
6
26
20
3
2
20
34
3
5
19
32
4
2
21
33
3
16
31
1
1
9
36
2
14
35
3
2
14
25
1
8
3
20
8
6
17
9
2
18
1
20
12
2
13
7
2
11
2
1
14
3
13
3
8
6
7
7
All victims
Son or daughter
Parent
Partner or ex-partner
Other relative
Acquaintance:
Friend or social acquaintance
Business or criminal associate
Rival gang member
Other known person
Stranger:
Victim known to accused
Victim unknown to accused
Unknown
To Learn More - Visit
www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention (World Health Organisation)
www.unicef.org.uk (Protection of Children Worldwide)
www.unodc.org (United Nations)
www.scotland.gov.uk (Crime & Justice and associated Publications)
www.healthscotland.com (Public Health of Scotland)
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation)
www.medicsagainstviolence.co.uk
www.shaap.org.uk (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems)
www.anc.org.za (African National Congress)
www.preventioninstitute.org/unity (Primary prevention practice and strategic frameworks with the USA)
www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk
Useful Publications
Yearly Statistical Bulletin - Homicide in Scotland 2012-13 - www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/10/6416
Yearly Statistical Bulletin – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2012-13 - www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/06/9697
Chief Medical Officer Annual Report 2012–Health in Scotland 2011, Transforming Scotland’s Health -
www.paha.org.uk/Resource/chief-medical-officer-annual-report-2012-health-in-scotland-2011-transforming-scotlands-health
Equally Well Scotland 2008 (Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities) - www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/25104032/0
The Future of South Africa by Nelson Mandela - www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=3652
Links between Violence and Chronic Diseases, Mental Illness and Poor Learning - www.preventioninstitute.org/press/highlights/638-unityfact-sheets-links-between-violence-and-chronic-diseases-mental-illness-and-poor-learning.html
Unrecognised and Under Reported – the impact of alcohol on people other than the drinker in Scotland - www.alcohol-focusscotland.org.uk/alcohol-harm-to-others