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RECORDED CRIME IN SCOTLAND, 2003
3. Commentary: Recorded crime and offences - calendar year, Scotland
3.1 The number of crimes recorded by the police decreased by 5 per cent between 2002 and 2003, more than reversing the slight increase recorded in 2002. In 2003, the Scottish police recorded 406,979 crimes, the lowest level recorded for nearly a quarter of a century. The number of recorded crimes in 2003 was 3 per cent lower than the previous ten year low figure of 420,642 in 1997 and was 29 per cent lower than the peak 1991 figure.
Chart 2 Crimes recorded by the police by crime group, 1971-2003
3.2 The number of non-sexual crimes of violence recorded by the police decreased by 7 per cent between 2002 and 2003, to total 15,230. Within this category robbery decreased by 16 per cent to total 4,159 and serious assault decreased by 1 per cent to total 7,549.
3.3 The number of crimes in the indecency group increased marginally from 6,552 in 2002 to 6,557 in 2003 but numbers are still below the levels observed in 1997 and 1998. Within this group recorded cases of rape & attempted rape increased by 8 per cent to reach 988, the highest number ever recorded. Some of this increase is attributable to an increase in the historical reporting of such incidents in Central and Grampian. In addition, police have made pro-active efforts to encourage the victims of such crimes to report them to the police, such as setting up Family Protection Units in Strathclyde, and to ensure that incidents reported to them are recorded as crimes. Cases of indecent assault increased by 6 per cent to total 1,418 in 2003. However, the number of crimes of lewd and indecent behaviour decreased by 7 per cent from 2,718 in 2002 to 2,535 in 2003. The number of crimes recorded in the "other" sub-group increased by 2 per cent to total 1,616 in 2003.
3.4 The number of crimes of dishonesty decreased for the fourth consecutive year, by 11 per cent, to stand at 210,874 cases in 2003. The number of housebreakings fell by 16 per cent during 2003, reflecting decreases in both domestic and non-domestic premises, and at 36,746 is around one third of the level recorded in the early 1990's. All categories of crimes of dishonesty showed decreases, particularly the theft of motor vehicles, which decreased by 21 per cent to 17,843.
3.5 Recorded cases of Vandalism (including fire-raising and malicious mischief) increased by 5 per cent to total 100,036 in 2003. This increase reflects improved recording of minor incidents of such crimes throughout most police forces in Scotland.
3.6 Within the other crimes group, crimes of handling an offensive weapon decreased by 9 per cent to 8,855. Recorded drugs crimes increased marginally from 40,379 in 2002 to 40,465 in 2003. Crimes against public justice increased by 9 per cent to 24,797 - this is mainly due to an increase in the number of bail offences, which police ascribe to a combination of offenders increasingly having conditions attached to their bail order and more rigorous police enforcement of such orders.
3.7 Although the number of crimes cleared up by the police decreased slightly from 196,132 in 2002 to 192,148 in 2003, the decrease was less than the decrease in the number of crimes recorded and the crime clear-up rate consequently rose from 46 per cent to 47 per cent - the highest level ever recorded.
Chart 3 Recorded crime clear-up rate 1929-2003
3.8 In 2003 the police recorded 586,150 offences , an increase of 15 per cent compared with the 2002 figure of 508,855. Although there were increases in all categories of miscellaneous offences, the major component of the increase was an increase of 69,143 (62 per cent) in speeding offences. The increase in recorded speeding offences can be attributed to the rollout of the Scottish Safety Camera Programme, which is delivered through local partnerships involving the police, local authorities and the trunk roads network. The Programme has allowed safety camera enforcement to be targeted at roads with a history of both speeding and accidents causing injury, and so has contributed to a reduction in the number of road accident casualties. An independent report by University College London (2003) into eight partnership areas across the UK showed that safety cameras had reduced the number of people killed or seriously injured at camera sites in these areas by 35 per cent. Because of this increase in speeding offences, the number of offences recorded by the police in 2003 was the highest number ever recorded.
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