5 days ago
Sexual crimes in Scotland rise to second-highest rate in more than 50 years
New Scottish Government figures showed that sexual crimes - which include rape and sexual assault - increased by three per cent between 2023-24.
Sexual crimes in Scotland have risen to the second highest rate in over 50 years.
New Scottish Government figures showed that sexual crimes - which include rape and sexual assault - increased by three per cent between 2023-24. They went from 14,484 to 14,892, hitting the second highest rate since 1971 - the first year for which comparable.
Crimes against society - which includes drug and weapon offences - also went up by three per cent from 61,650 to 63,398
Overall recorded crime went down by less than one per cent, from 299,790 to 299,111.
Non-sexual crimes of violence also decreased by less than one per cent, from 71,473 to 71,170. Common assault made up 83 per cent of all non-sexual crimes of violence recorded.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: 'These figures show that Scotland continues to be safe place to live with reported crime falling by more than half since 1991. This comes on the back of the flagship Scottish Crime and Justice Survey which also showed people feel safer in their communities.
'Violent crime is down significantly in the past 20 years, with serious assaults and homicide levels at record lows. However, we cannot afford to be complacent and I have been consistently clear that any instance of violence is one too many. That is why we are taking a wide range of actions to prevent, reduce and tackle violence, with more than £6 million funding invested over the past three years.
'I am concerned these figures also show a rise in reported sexual crimes. Multiple factors will lie behind this and our action to tackle sexual offending includes increasing confidence in the justice system so more victims come forward, improving support for victims and modernising the law on sexual offences.
'I also recognise the significant harm and disruption caused by retail crime, which is why we have made £3 million available in this year's Budget for Police Scotland to work with the retail sector to help tackle this issue.
'This year we will invest £4.2 billion across the justice system including a record £1.64 billion for policing – an increase of £70 million on 2024-25.
'As part of the Scottish Government's broader package to tackle violence, we have increased funding to the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit from £1.17 million last year to over £1.2 million this year. Projects supporting young people at risk of being drawn into criminal activities, under the Cashback for Communities programme, will receive up to £26 million over the next three financial years.'
