Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2011-12

6. Scottish Crime and Justice Survey

6.1 The preceding sections of this bulletin describe the volume and types of crime recorded and cleared up by the eight police forces in Scotland during 2011-12. The recorded crime bulletin series is generally a useful indicator of trends in recorded crime. However, not all crimes are reported to the police and the propensity of the public to report crime to the police also changes over time.

6.2 Crime surveys can be a useful source of information by providing a fuller picture of both the extent of, and the trends in most types of household and personal victimisation. The information provided by such surveys complements the information compiled by the police forces, as well as exploring other issues such as the impact of crime on victims, public anxieties and reactions to crime and attitudes towards the police and other parts of the criminal justice system.

6.3 Findings from the 2010-11 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), which asked about crimes and offences experienced between the beginning of April 2010 and the end of March 2011 are available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/10/28142346/0

Estimates derived from the 2010-11 SCJS suggest that around 874,000 crimes were committed against individuals and private households in Scotland between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011^[1]. This is 16% lower than estimated in 2008-09. The estimate for 2010-11 suggests that nearly one in five adults (18%) had been the victim of at least one household or personal crime.

According to the survey, 75% of crimes experienced in 2010-11 were against property with property vandalism accounting for one in three (32%) of all crimes recorded. 25% of crimes were committed against individuals, with 24% involving assaults and 1% involving robbery.

The 2010-11 survey estimates that 39% of crimes captured by the survey came to the attention of the police. This is higher than the rate of 37% estimated in 2009-10. Where the incident had not been reported to the police, the main reasons given were that the incident was too trivial (40% of unreported incidents), police could not have done anything about it (29%), and police would not be interested (13%).

Results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2012-13 are due to be available in November 2013. The results will be representative at national level and at the level of the eight police forces in Scotland. The findings from the survey will be used by policy makers across the public sector in Scotland to help understand the nature of crime in Scotland, target resources and monitor the impact of initiatives to target crime.

For more information about the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, please

contact Wojciech Hupert: telephone 0131 244 2053 or e-mail
wojciech.hupert@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.