3.1 The number of crimes recorded by the Scottish police increased for the second consecutive year (Table 1). In 1999, 436,000 crimes were recorded, an increase of 1 per cent when compared with the 1998 total (up by just over 4,000 crimes). This increase was, however, lower than the 3 per cent increase noted between 1997 and 1998. From 1992, there was a steady downward trend in the number of recorded crimes, reaching a ten year low in 1997. Although the trend thereafter has been upward, the level of total recorded crime in 1999 was 24 per cent lower than the peak 1991 figure. Nearly two thirds of crimes recorded by the police are crimes of dishonesty (consisting mainly of housebreaking and theft) and the numbers of crimes recorded in this group increased by less than half of one per cent. Although non-sexual crimes of violence comprise one-twentieth of all crimes, this group accounted for more than half of the increase in the overall number of crimes recorded. In contrast, the recorded number of crimes of indecency decreased by nearly one-fifth between 1998 and 1999. The number of crimes cleared up increased by a greater extent, 6 per cent, from 178,000 in 1998 to 189,000 in 1999. This resulted in an increase in the clear-up rate from 41 per cent in 1998 to 43 per cent in 1999.
3.2 The number of offences recorded by the police in 1999 decreased by 2 per cent from 516,000 in 1998 to 504,000. This represents the first decrease in offences since 1995. The number of recorded offences in 1999 is 16 per cent higher than the number of crimes recorded in 1999, compared with 20 per cent in 1998. This decrease in the number of offences reflects, in part, the impact of the campaigns and initiatives e.g. against speeding, undertaken by the police during 1999. The high clear-up rate for offences reflects the recording characteristics of such contraventions of the law. Most offences are cleared up immediately because the offender is caught in the act, e.g. motoring offences and thus recorded and cleared up figures for offences are equal in most instances and equivalent to a clear-up rate of 100 per cent.
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Crimes and offences recorded and cleared up by the police, Scotland, 1995 - 1999 |
Table A |
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|
Number & Percentage |
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|
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
|
|
Police strength at 31 December |
14,479 |
14,672 |
15,050 |
14,854 |
14,684 |
|
Number of crimes recorded |
475,697 |
451,956 |
420,642 |
431,551 |
435,703 |
|
Crimes recorded per 1,000 population1 |
93 |
88 |
82 |
84 |
85 |
|
Crimes recorded per police officer |
33 |
31 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
|
Number of crimes cleared up |
168,090 |
165,577 |
164,242 |
178,107 |
188,912 |
|
Crimes cleared up as % of those recorded |
35 |
37 |
39 |
41 |
43 |
|
Crimes cleared up per police officer |
12 |
11 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
|
Number of offences recorded |
451,869 |
451,988 |
486,883 |
515,796 |
504,450 |
|
Offences recorded per 1,000 population1 |
88 |
88 |
95 |
101 |
99 |
|
Offences recorded per police officer |
31 |
31 |
32 |
35 |
34 |
|
Number of offences cleared up |
431,848 |
432,593 |
467,411 |
497,042 |
483,590 |
|
Offences cleared up per police officer |
30 |
29 |
31 |
33 |
33 |
1. The mid-year population estimate for 1998 was used since, at the time of publication, the 1999 estimate was not available.
Chart 2 Percentage change in recorded crimes and offences by crime group, 1998 - 99
chart 2