Recorded Crime in Scotland 2012-13

1. Introduction

1.1 This bulletin presents statistics on crimes and offences recorded and cleared up by the eight Scottish police forces in 2012-13. Statistics on crimes and offences recorded by the police provide a measure of the volume of criminal activity with which the police are faced.

1.2 The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 changed the policing landscape in Scotland, replacing the previous eight police forces, the Scottish Police Services Authority and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency from 1 April 2013. The Police Service of Scotland is now responsible for operational policing in Scotland and will be held to account by the Scottish Police Authority. The statistics set out in this bulletin cover the year immediately preceding the establishment of the Police Service of Scotland.

1.3 Crimes recorded by the police in Scotland decreased from 314,188 in 2011-12 to 273,053 in 2012-13, a decrease of 13%. The number of offences increased by less than 1%, from 542,315 in 2011-12 to 543,768 in 2012-13.

Chart 1: Crimes and offences recorded by the police, 1970 to 1994 then 1995-96 to 2012-13