How much crime is there in Scotland?
Crime statistics are reported annually and these can reveal important trends about who commits crime and who is affected by crime.
Recorded crime levels in 2022-23 are among the lowest level since 1974 with Police Scotland recording 289,362 crimes in 2022/23. This number does not include many minor offences such as speeding and anti-social behaviour.
In 2022-23 there were 172,207 offences recorded by the police in Scotland a 5% decrease from 2021-22. However, it should be noted that the police in Scotland treat crimes and offences in the same way.
Percentage of different types of crime in Scotland
In 2022/23, Police Scotland recorded crime as:
- 36% for dishonesty - crimes of dishonesty, e.g. theft, are the largest single type of crime
- 24% non-sexual crimes of violence e.g. assault
- 21% crimes against society e.g. drug possession and supply
- 15% damage and reckless behaviour e.g. vandalism
- 5% sexual crimes
All statistics in this section are from the Scottish Government unless otherwise stated.
| Type of crime | Total change from 2021-22 to 2022-2023 |
| Non-sexual violence | 69,286 to 68,870 (-1%) |
| Sexual crimes | 15,049 to 14,602 (-3%) |
| Dishonesty | 92,873 to 103,393 (+11%) |
| Damage and reckless behaviour | 44,284 to 43,123 (-3%) |
| Crimes against society | 61,059 to 59,373 (-3%) |
| Type of crime | Non-sexual violence |
|---|---|
| Total change from 2021-22 to 2022-2023 | 69,286 to 68,870 (-1%) |
| Type of crime | Sexual crimes |
|---|---|
| Total change from 2021-22 to 2022-2023 | 15,049 to 14,602 (-3%) |
| Type of crime | Dishonesty |
|---|---|
| Total change from 2021-22 to 2022-2023 | 92,873 to 103,393 (+11%) |
| Type of crime | Damage and reckless behaviour |
|---|---|
| Total change from 2021-22 to 2022-2023 | 44,284 to 43,123 (-3%) |
| Type of crime | Crimes against society |
|---|---|
| Total change from 2021-22 to 2022-2023 | 61,059 to 59,373 (-3%) |
To reflect recent change in society, including greater public use of online social media and shopping, official police recorded crime statistics now include the rates of cyber-crime (crime related to use of the internet) in Scotland.
Cyber-crime accounted for 26% of sexual crimes, 8% of crimes of dishonesty and 3% of non-sexual crimes of violence. Overall, 5% of crime is recorded as cyber-crime. Overall, 14,980 cyber-crimes were recorded by the police in Scotland in 2022/23 which is more than double pre-pandemic levels.
Crime statistics are the official figures as recorded by Police Scotland. In 2022-23, Police Scotland estimated only 40% of crime was reported to the police.
Other studies of crime, such as the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), which surveys people on their experiences of crime, also indicate that there is more crime in Scottish society than is officially recorded by the police. Only crimes which are reported are recorded, not all crimes which have been committed.
People do not always contact the police when they are the victims of crime. This could be because the crime is minor or because they donât believe the police will be able to catch the offender.
In 2022-23, the clear up rate for official recorded crime was 53.3%, slightly down from the previous period (54%). Note: Although there are some exceptions, a crime or an offence is recorded as cleared up where the police have collected sufficient evidence for the Procurator Fiscal to consider criminal proceedings.
Analysing crime figures
Care must always be taken when drawing conclusions from crime statistics.âŻOnly crimes which are reported are recorded, not crimes which have been committed. An increase in crime may reflect the fact that the police are catching more criminals and not that more crime is taking place. The opposite is also true.
An increase in crime statistics may reflect more confidence in the police by the public. Crimes such as racial attacks and sexual assault may be on the increase but again these figures may be due to an increase in reporting due to more public confidence in the criminal justice system.