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PUBLIC REASSURANCE & COMMUNITY SAFETY

This section looks at how forces respond to the concerns of local communities. Most relate to crimes and offences recorded by the police.

High Level Objectives:

• Positive impact on crime, particularly priority crimes¹⁰
• Maintaining public order
• Safeguarding national security
• Protection of vulnerable people
• Effective management of registered sex offenders
• Increased public confidence in the police
• Improved perceptions of personal safety and reduced fear of crime
• Reduced anti-social behaviour
• Reduced harm caused by drugs
• Road casualty reduction
• Improved targeting and disruption of specific crime types, e.g. youth crime
• Improved visibility

Performance Measures 2007-08

• Outcomes:
• Number of recorded crimes and offences
  • Number of persons killed or injured in road accidents
  • Number of racist incidents
• Activities:
  • Weight of Class A drug seizures and number of supply and possession with intent to supply offences recorded
• Inputs:
  • None at present
• Context:
  • Number of registered sex offenders
  • Number of domestic abuse incidents
  • Number of problem drug users
  • Number of missing persons incidents

Performance summary

The graph below summarises the main key measures in this pillar. Again 2007-08 figures are compared with those of the previous year, and points falling outside the fixed circle (in blue) represent performance in the desired direction. For reasons we will explain in the appropriate section, the drug seizures indicators are examined separately.

Of the 13 measures depicted, eight show improved performance over time. These include the three road traffic casualty indicators and five of the seven crime groups. Groups 5 and 7 crimes/offences have fallen, suggesting that competing priorities have detracted from proactive work in these areas.

Multigraph 2: Public reassurance & community safety measures

mVKm: million vehicle kilometres, which is a measure of traffic volume
(note: While most forces have been able to provide data on each of the indicators for the first full year (2007-08) of the Framework, not all could supply equivalent data for 2006-07. This has affected the presentation of statistics as follows:

• where the tables show data for 2007-08 only, all forces that supplied 2007-08 data have been included in the Scotland totals; however,
• because the multigraphs compare performance over the two years, only forces that were able to provide data for both years have been included in the Scotland totals.

As a result, there may be differences between the Scotland totals appearing in the tables and those in the multigraphs.)

OUTCOMES

Number of recorded crimes and offences

For statistical recording purposes, criminal incidents in Scotland are classified as either crimes or offences: the term 'crime' is used for more serious criminal acts, while 'offences' describes minor incidents and breaches of road traffic legislation. The distinction is for working purposes only, and the seriousness of the act is generally related to the maximum sentence that can be imposed. The framework does not reproduce every crime and offence, but instead aggregates them into standard groupings:

Group 1 - Crimes of violence
Group 2 - Crimes of indecency
Group 3 - Crimes of dishonesty
Group 4 - Vandalism, fire-raising and malicious conduct
Group 5 - Drugs and other crimes
Group 6 - Offences (miscellaneous)
Group 7 - Offences (road traffic)

In brief, groups 1 to 4 and 6 predominately include crimes and offences that are reported to the police whereas groups 5 and 7 are largely reliant on proactive police activity. Each will be explained in more detail under the relevant heading reporting this section.

We understand that for many members of the public, recorded crime is the definitive measure of police effectiveness. However, we would caution against placing too much reliance on such indicators as recorded crime levels are greatly influenced by other factors, including:

• prevailing social and economic factors;
• advances in technology - e.g. mobile phones, internet;
• the fact that not all increases in crime figures are negative - e.g. higher numbers of drug seizures made by the police, victims being more confident in reporting sensitive crime to the police; and
• the fact that not all crime gets reported to the police - e.g. the Scottish Crime & Victimisation Survey¹¹ found that the two most common reasons given by people for not going to the police were that they the victims thought the matter too trivial or felt that the police could not have done anything in any case.

It is crucial that the police service continues to earn the trust of the Scottish public. Adopted by forces in April 2004, the Scottish Crime Recording Standard ( SCRS) adopts a more ethical and public-focused stance by stipulating that all incidents notified to the police, whether or not crime-related, will be recorded by them and will result in a report being created that is auditable. Though the accuracy of crime recording has improved considerably since the introduction of the SCRS, our recent thematic inspection, Scottish Crime Recording Development Since 2005¹², argues that there is still further improvement to be made. For without public support, the flow of intelligence and information on which policing depends, and of which crime reporting is an essential element, will not be forthcoming.

Group 1 - Crimes of violence

Crimes in this group account for just over one per cent of all recorded crime and offences. They include crimes of murder, attempted murder, serious assault, robbery and assault with intent to rob, cruelty to children, threats and extortion. Assaults are also classified as 'serious' as opposed to 'minor' if the victim sustains an injury that leads to him or her being detained in hospital as an in-patient, or sustains any of the following injuries that do not result in a hospital admission: fractures, internal injuries, severe concussion, loss of consciousness, lacerations requiring sutures which may lead to impairment or disfigurement, or any other injury that may cause impairment or disfigurement.

Table 7

Commentary

Group 1 has seen a reduction across Scotland of 8.7% this year. Figures are also down for all individual forces. The Scottish figure is the lowest recorded for crimes in this group since 1986.

Group 2 - Crimes of indecency

This group includes crimes of rape, indecent assault, and lewd and libidinous practices (crimes against children). These serious crimes accounted for the lowest proportion (less than one per cent) of all recorded crimes and offences in 2007-08.

Table 8

Commentary

The number of crimes recorded for this group for Scotland as a whole fell by nearly three per cent in 2007-08, to one of its lowest rates in six years.

The often highly sensitive nature of these crimes can make it difficult for people to approach the police. This may mean that certain crimes go unreported for many years, and thus it is widely recognised that under-reporting can be a significant factor in this group. Single investigations that identify multiple victims and crimes can also sometimes help to explain temporal fluctuations in numbers. Such reasons may help to explain some of the variance shown by individual forces in Table 8.

Group 3 - Crimes of dishonesty

Crimes in this group include thefts by housebreaking (e.g. from someone's home or business premises) or opening lockfast places (e.g. a safe or changing room locker), thefts of or from motor vehicles and fraud. One of the larger groups, crimes of dishonesty account for approximately 18% of total recorded crimes and offences and can have a major influence on public perceptions of the general level of crime.

Table 9

Commentary

The 9.2% reduction in recorded numbers shown Table 9 marks the ninth consecutive year of falling figures for this group. All forces have contributed to this positive performance, the main decrease occurring amongst motor vehicle thefts, housebreakings, theft by opening a lockfast place and fraud.

Group 4 - Fire-raising, malicious and reckless conduct

This group includes vandalism, malicious mischief (destroying or damaging the property of another person), fire-raising and reckless conduct. It accounts for approximately 13% of total recorded crime in 2007-08, 96% of which are crimes of vandalism.

Table 10

Annual report on Scottish Policing Performance Framework ( SPPF) 2007-2008

Commentary

The number of crimes recorded for this group for the period 2007-08 shows a decrease of nine per cent or 11,673 fewer crimes on the previous year. Here too, all forces have contributed to the decline.

Group 5 - Drugs and other crimes

Included in this group are all drug offences, bail offences, and crimes against justice such as perjury. The nature of these crimes means that they are usually 'detected' as soon as they come to the attention of the police, for example when a police computer check on an individual reveals that he or she is in breach of a bail condition imposed by a court. However, for the purpose of this indicator, the following table shows the number recorded. Group 5 crimes accounted for approximately nine per cent of all crimes recorded in Scotland during 2007-08.

Table 11

Commentary

Across Scotland there has been a reduction since last year (of 4.4%) in the number of crimes recorded in this group, with seven out of the eight forces reporting a decrease in individual figures. In contrast to other crime groups, declines here do not necessarily imply that the occurrence of these crimes has gone down. Instead it is more likely to be the strength and deployment of police resources that determines the number of such offences recorded.

Group 6 - Offences (Miscellaneous)

With a 24% share of total crimes and offences in 2007-08, this group includes racist conduct or harassment, minor assault, breach of the peace, alcohol related offences and offences against local legislation (often relating to social nuisance). Together they represent a mix of proactive (consuming alcohol in public places) and reactive (breach of the peace) offences.

Table 12

Commentary

Scotland experienced a drop of roughly four per cent in the number of these offences in 2007-08. Again, this downturn was generally reflected throughout the country. The number of offences per 1,000 population varies markedly from 30.2 to 55.3. We would expect forces to be able to explain this variation in recorded crime levels in this group.

Group 7 - Offences (road traffic)

This group includes road traffic offences such as speeding (including tickets issued by camera safety partnerships), seat belt offences and motor vehicle defects (e.g. a faulty headlight). It also accounts for the largest proportion of recorded crime, at almost 36% of the total.

Table 13

Commentary

Like Group 5 crimes, these offences tend to be proactive offences that are recorded as a result of police activity rather than being reported to the police by the public. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this indicator the table above refers to the number recorded, which has fallen by five per cent in Scotland over the past year.

Number of persons killed or injured in road accidents

In March 2000, a new set of national targets was introduced with the aim of reducing the number of people killed and injured on our roads by the year 2010. The same measures have been adopted as statutory indicators by the Accounts Commission.

Table 14

mVkm: million vehicle kilometres which is a measure of traffic volume.
Please note that the data used for traffic volume is one year behind the road casualties data.

Commentary

The above table shows a positive reduction in the number of road casualties in the past year for Scotland, for all three categories of casualty. Though impossible to say whether it has had an effect on this downward trend, there has also been a slight but consistent drop in traffic volume since 2005. The most significant decrease, by approximately 28%, is apparent for the number of children killed or seriously injured. In fact the numbers of people including children killed, seriously or slightly injured as a result of road accidents in Scotland have continued to fall over a number of years, so that the figures for 2007-08 are considerably lower than those of ten years ago.

Despite this positive performance, it is important that forces do not become complacent. In response to a request from ACPOS, we conducted an inspection on road casualties earlier in the year and expect to publish our findings in January 2009.

Number of racist incidents & racially aggravated crimes

A racist incident is any incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person. Not all need be of a criminal nature, while conversely one incident may involve several crimes or offences, e.g. a person could be both assaulted and verbally abused. This definition, and the need for forces to record such incidents, follows criticisms of police practices made in the Stephen Lawrence inquiry report ¹³. Again, the importance and sensitivity of this area of policing has meant that this indicator is also a statutory requirement of the Accounts Commission.

Number of Racist Incidents

Table 15

Number of racially aggravated crimes

This second indicator does not include all racist crime but instead focuses on two specific offences - racially aggravated conduct and racially aggravated harassment.

Table 16

Commentary

The number of racist incidents reported to the police shows very little change on last year - a drop of just 0.3%. In fact, as Audit Scotland's data show there has been little overall change since 2004. Even smaller is the decrease in racially aggravated crimes recorded, at just 0.2%.

It can be difficult to know how to interpret increases and decreases in these figures. On one hand, we would not want to see an increase in the number of such incidences occurring. On the other, the recommendations of the Stephen Lawrence report are aimed at increasing reporting levels in order that the full picture of racist activity can be assessed. It is important that forces are able to monitor both.

ACTIVITIES

Weight of Class A drug seizures

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ( controlled) drugs are categorised as class A, B or C. The grading they receive depends on the amount of harm, or potential for harm, they cause individuals and society. Class A drugs are those considered the most harmful, and include cocaine, diamorphine (heroin), methadone (heroin substitute), opium, ecstasy and LSD. They are available in various forms, the main ones being powder, tablets and liquid.

Both of the following drug indicators are Accounts Commission statutory indicators.

Table 17

Table 18

Table 19

Commentary

As the tables on page 24 show, while the weight of seizures of drugs in tablet form rose in 2007-08 across Scotland, that of drugs in liquid and powder forms fell. Underlying these national totals are quite significant variations at individual force level. This is not unexpected given the nature of drug supply, for example, and the differing focus of local police activity.

The different forms of drugs makes it extremely difficult to combine all seizures into one single meaningful indicator of weight. However, to draw conclusions on the basis of changes in the separate quantities or proportions of each category can also be misleading. The availability of drugs in their various forms will fluctuate in response to factors such as supply and demand. What seizures can be made will be similarly influenced and thus will have less to do with how police direct their activities.

The new Scottish Government drugs strategy, The Road to Recovery¹⁴, continues to view enforcement and steps to reduce the supply of drugs as a key aspect of work to tackle misuse. However, its main thrust is to concentrate on outcomes and the ways in which agencies can come together to aid individual recovery from problem drug misuse. As a consequence of this, the ACPOS Drug Strategy is now also being reviewed. It may be that future indicators of performance will focus on these activities.

Number of offences of supply and possession with intent to supply (Class A)

As we have pointed out elsewhere in this report, drugs offences are largely detected through proactive policing. However, here again the indicator refers to numbers recorded.

Table 20

Table 21

Table 22

Annual report on Scottish Policing Performance Framework ( SPPF) 2007-2008

Commentary

Both the total number of offences of supply and possession with intent to supply and those for class A drugs only, decreased in 2007-08. The greater drop in class A drug offences means that their share of all offences also fell slightly, by 1.3 percentage points. This is despite the fact that for some time now the focus of forces and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency ( SCDEA) has been on Class A drugs.

However, changes in the nature and number of offences detected here do not necessarily imply similar changes in the prevalence of drug misuse. They are more likely to reflect changes in the amount, direction and effectiveness of enforcement effort and recording procedures. For example, the recent emphasis in Scotland has been on tackling, disrupting and dismantling serious organised crime groups.

INPUTS

The SPPF currently has no input measures in this section.

CONTEXT¹⁶

Number of registered sex offenders

Since 1997 a number of legislative changes have been made with the aim of enhancing how offenders are monitored and managed. One of these has been the introduction of a sex offenders register, and the table below shows the number of individuals currently registered in Scotland.

Table 23

Commentary

The increase in registered sex offenders (141 is equivalent to a 4.4% increase) is one which was anticipated as a result of legislation that broadened the criteria for inclusion on the register.

Annual report on Scottish Policing Performance Framework ( SPPF) 2007-2008

Number of domestic abuse incidents

The following table presents the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by forces. By definition, not all of these will go on to be recorded as crimes or offences to be dealt with by the procurator fiscal as detailed in our recent Domestic Abuse¹⁸ thematic inspection.

Table 24

Commentary

Table 24 shows very little change in the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded in Scotland over the two years examined here. Again it is unclear the extent to which changes in reporting reflect increasing confidence in victims to report these to the police for help or a genuine rise in prevalence.

It is widely recognised that police figures do not reflect actual levels of domestic abuse, as not all incidents come to their attention. For example, the 2006 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey¹⁹ found that only one in five victims of harm inflicted by a current or former partner had reported the incident to the police. Nevertheless, in an inspection report published earlier this year we recommended that forces review and reinforce their quality assurance practices and processes for recording domestic abuse incidents, to ensure that victims receive the best service possible.

Number of problem drug users

The data for this indicator can be found in an executive report of the Information Services Division, Estimating the National and Local Prevalence of Drug Misuse in Scotland. The report contains estimates of drug misuse amongst individuals aged 15 to 54 and living in Scotland, for the year 2003. Problem drug use is defined as opiate or benzodiazepine use, and prevalence has been calculated on the basis of the number of identified users and estimates of the hidden misusing population.

We have not reproduced the data here because the numbers are now over five years old. We understand that a new report is due out shortly, but in the meantime 2003 prevalence figures can be found at: www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/local/prevreport2004.pdf

Number of missing persons incidents

Forces deal with a variety of missing persons incidents, ranging from children reported missing by their parents or guardians, absconders from residential care establishments or other institutions, to people classed as 'long-term' missing. It is their duty to investigate every incident in order to make sure that the missing person is safe and well, and that no crime has been committed.

Table 25

Commentary

Scottish forces dealt with over 37,500 incidents of missing persons in 2007-08, almost an 11% increase on the previous year. There is, though, some inconsistency in the way in which forces record and report these data. For example, some will count every missing person as a single incident, whereas others will consider a family group or a number of friends or acquaintances collectively as a single incident. This is an example of an area where we expect forces to agree a common approach to achieve consistency.

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