HOMICIDES IN SCOTLAND IN 1999 - STATISTICS PUBLISHED
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION
STATISTICS RELEASE - 6 DECEMBER 2000
Scottish police recorded 120 victims of homicide in 1999, an increase
of 22 compared with 1998, figures released today by the Government Statistical Service
reveal.
Summary information on homicides in Scotland in 1999 also shows that
the increase since 1998 was entirely due to an increase in the number of male victims from
77 to 99, with the number of female victims, at 21, being the same as in 1998. All but one
of the 119 homicide cases in 1999 had been categorised as ‘solved’.
Summary information on homicides recorded in 1999, as known to the
Scottish Executive on November 10, 2000, is given below, (the full statistical bulletin Homicide
in Scotland is published every two years and will next be published at end 2001).
Number of Cases and Victims of Homicide
In 1999, there were 119 cases currently recorded as homicide by the
police, 23 cases (or 24 per cent) more than in 1998 and the highest number since 1995.
These cases resulted in the death of 120 victims, 22 more than in 1998. After two years of
figures similar to those recorded in the 1980’s, the number of victims in 1999 was
closer to the higher levels recorded in the early and mid 1990’s. The number of
homicide victims per million population was 23 in 1999, the highest rate recorded since
1996.
Homicide Cases by Police Force Area
The increase in the number of homicide cases between 1998 and 1999
occurred largely in the Strathclyde police force area with 82 cases in 1999 compared with
63 in 1998, (the majority of this increase occurring outwith Glasgow City). Aberdeen City,
Lothian & Borders and Dumfries & Galloway also recorded an increase in the number
of homicide case whilst there were fewer cases in Fife, Northern and Tayside compared with
1998.
Sex and Age of Victims
There were 99 male victims of homicide in 1999, 83 per cent of the
total. Male victims in the 16 to 29 age group represented the highest rate (73) of
homicides per million population. No females aged under 16 were recorded as homicide
victims in 1999. The overall increase between 1998 and 1999 in the number of homicide
victims reflected increases in the number of male victims in almost all age groups.
Chart 1: Homicide victims per million population, by age and sex, 1999
Method of Killing
Homicide victims killed by the use of a sharp instrument increased from
44 in 1998 to 66 in 1999, accounting for much of the overall increase in recorded
homicides. These victims represented over half (55 per cent) of all homicide victims in
1999. There were small increases recorded in the number of victims for most other methods
of killing with the exception of shooting where the number of victims fell from 9 in 1998
to 5 in 1999, and fire where there were no victims in 1999 compared to 6 in 1998.
Chart 2: Homicide victims, by method of killing, 1999
Relationship of Main Accused to the Victim
For all but 2 of the homicide victims in 1999, one or more accused
persons have been identified. Of the 118 victims where an accused person(s) has been
identified, the main accused was known to the victim in over three quarters of cases; 25
per cent of victims were presumed to have been killed by a relative and 53 per cent were
presumed to have been killed by an acquaintance. Of the 30 victims in 1999 who were
recorded as having been killed by a relative, over half (18) were killed by their partner.
The proportion of victims who were killed by a stranger was 21 per cent in 1999, similar
to the proportion reported in each of the previous 10 years (except for 1996, the year of
the Dunblane disaster).
Motive
The most common reason recorded for homicide in 1999 was a rage or
quarrel, with 47 per cent of victims killed in such circumstances. The pattern of motives
for homicides was similar to recent years, with a slight increase in the number of victims
attributed to most motives compared with 1998.
Sex and age of accused
There was a total of 177 accused persons in the homicide cases recorded
in 1999. As in previous years most (89 per cent) of these were male. Thirty five per cent
of all accused persons were 30-49 year old males, compared with 18 per cent in 1998.
Cases and victims currently(1)
recorded as homicide by the Police in Scotland, 1980-1999
| |
1980-89
Average(2) |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996(3) |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
| Number of cases |
86 |
80 |
85 |
131 |
114 |
108 |
132 |
115 |
90 |
96 |
119 |
| Number of victims |
90 |
80 |
89 |
136 |
116 |
111 |
133 |
134 |
90 |
98 |
120 |
| Number of victims per million population |
18 |
16 |
17 |
27 |
23 |
22 |
26 |
26 |
18 |
19 |
23 |
| Number of accused |
120 |
99 |
112 |
208 |
163 |
166 |
197 |
171 |
126 |
147 |
177 |
(1) At 10 November 2000
(2) Excludes the case in 1988 of the Lockerbie disaster in which 270 victims were killed
(3) Includes the 17 victims of the Dunblane tragedy
Table 2 - Cases Currently(1)
recorded as homicide, by Police Force, 1995-1999
| Police Force (and council area(2)) |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
| Scotland |
132 |
115 |
90 |
96 |
119 |
| Central |
6 |
8 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
| Dumfries & Galloway |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Fife |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
| Grampian |
6 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
| (Aberdeen City) |
(4) |
(7) |
(2) |
(2) |
(7) |
| Lothian & Borders |
21 |
9 |
11 |
13 |
17 |
| (City of Edinburgh) |
(16) |
(5) |
(8) |
(8) |
(10) |
| Northern |
3 |
6 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
| Strathclyde |
85 |
70 |
59 |
63 |
82 |
| (Glasgow City) |
(49) |
(24) |
(27) |
(32) |
(35) |
| Tayside |
7 |
10 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
| (Dundee City) |
(3) |
(4) |
(2) |
(3) |
(2) |
(1) At 10 November 2000
(2) Figures for Dundee City and Glasgow City refer to slightly different areas before 1996
and from 1996, due to local government reorganisation in April 1996.
Table 3 - Victims currently(1) recorded as homicide
victims, by sex and age
| |
1998 |
1999 |
| |
Number |
Rate per million population |
Number |
Rate per million population |
| |
|
|
|
|
| All persons |
98 |
19 |
120
|
23
|
| Under 16 |
8 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
| 16-29 |
35 |
37 |
40 |
43 |
| 30-49 |
40 |
24 |
57 |
38 |
| over 49 |
15 |
3 |
20 |
12 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| All males |
77 |
31 |
99
|
40
|
| Under 16 |
6 |
12 |
3 |
6 |
| 16-29 |
28 |
58 |
35 |
73 |
| 30-49 |
33 |
44 |
44 |
58 |
| over 49 |
10 |
14 |
17 |
23 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| All females |
21 |
8 |
21
|
8
|
| Under 16 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| 16-29 |
7 |
15 |
5 |
11 |
| 30-49 |
7 |
9 |
13 |
17 |
| over 49 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
(1) At 10 November 2000
NOTES
-
This Statistics Release (and the
biennial bulletins) gives details on cases of homicide - that is murder and common law
culpable homicide. Causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless
driving while under the influence of drink or drugs are excluded. In 1999 there were 37
such crimes recorded by the police (including 3 of death by careless driving while under
the influence of drugs or alcohol).
-
A single case of homicide is counted for each act of murder or
culpable homicide irrespective of the number of perpetrators or victims.
-
A homicide case is included against the year in which it is recorded
by the police. This is not necessarily the year in which the offence took place, the year
in which the accused is brought to trial for the crime, or the year in which the case is
finally disposed of by the courts.
-
The figures given in this Statistics Release are as known to The
Scottish Executive on 10 November 2000. The initial classification of a case as homicide
is made by the police. This classification may be altered as a result of decisions taken
in the course of criminal proceedings. Some cases initially classified as homicide will,
on the basis of criminal proceedings, no longer be classified as such at a later date.
This happens in cases where it is found that a homicide had not in fact taken place at
all, for example where the main accused person is found guilty of a lesser offence, such
as serious assault; or where the decision has been made not to proceed with the case, for
example if it is concluded that the victim committed suicide. For this reason the figures
for 1998 and previous years which appear in the next bulletin may differ slightly from
those given here.
-
This Statistics Release may be viewed on the Scottish Executive
Internet Web Site: www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00043-00.asp
-
Copies of the December 1999 statistical bulletin on homicide are
available to anyone at a cost of £2.00 from Scottish Executive Publication Sales, The
Stationary Office Bookshop, 71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AZ.
Public enquiries (non-media) about the statistical information should
contact:
Contact: Julie Bright
Tel: 0131 244 2752
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Most recent Justice Department Statistical Publications relating to
the Crime and Justice theme
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Ref no.
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Title
|
Last published
|
Price
|
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CrJ/1999/8
|
Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts,
1998
|
December 1999
|
£2
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|
CrJ/2000/1
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Motor Vehicle Offences in Scotland, 1998
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February 2000
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£2
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CrJ/2000/2
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Recorded Crime in Scotland, 1999
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April 2000
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£2
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CrJ/2000/3
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Liquor Licensing Statistics, 1999
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June 2000
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£2
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CrJ/2000/4
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Firearm Certificates Statistics, Scotland,
1999
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July 2000
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£2
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CrJ/2000/5
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Domestic Abuse Recorded by the Police in
Scotland, 1 April - 31 December 1999
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August 2000
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£2
|
|
CrJ/2000/6
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Recorded Crimes and Offences Involving
Firearms, Scotland, 1999
|
September 2000
|
£2
|
|
CrJ/2000/7
|
Prison Statistics Scotland, 1999
|
November 2000
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£2
|
|
CrJ/2000/8
|
Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics,
1999-2000
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November 2000
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£2
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|
News Release
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Criminal Appeal Statistics Scotland, 1999
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November 2000
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N/A
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