Coronavirus (COVID-19): Justice Analytical Services data report - May 2021
This pack provides information on the impact of COVID-19 on the Justice system during May 2021.
Police Activity (Police Scotland)
101 and 999 call volumes
Total weekly 999 & 101 calls have generally been lower compared to the equivalent weeks from the previous year.
- Both 101 calls have remained relatively stable over the past six months, whilst 999 calls have experienced an increasing trend.
- In the week ending 6th June, 39,488 calls were made to Police Scotland.
- When combined, calls were lower than the previous week.
| Type of call | Week ending 30th May 2021 | Week ending 6th June 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 101 calls | 25,353 | 23,983 |
| 999 calls | 14,585 | 15,505 |
| Total calls | 39,938 | 39,488 |
Incidents recorded
Weekly incident numbers have been similar in May 2021, compared to May 2020. It should be noted that coronavirus restrictions were in place in both months.
Incident levels have generally been lower in recent weeks compared to the equivalent weeks from the previous year.
Scotland entered Phase 2 of its route map on 28th May 2020. There was an increase in incidents during that week (ending Sunday 31st May). However, incident numbers remained below 2019-20 levels in the weeks that folllowed, and declined from November onwards. Scotland entered a new period of lockdown on 5th January 2021. Since then, there has been evidence of an increasing trend although levels remain generally lower than at the start of the pandemic.
In the week ending 6th June:
30,799 incidents recorded
Down 1% compared to the equivalent week in 2020 (31,229 incidents)
Further information:
A full breakdown of calls & incident volumes is available from:
Recorded Crime in Scotland
The recorded crime figures presented below exclude crimes recorded under the coronavirus legislation.
Note: Each set of columns shows from left to right, May 2019, 2020 and 2021
May 2021
The number of crimes reco rded in May 2021 was 6% lower than in May 2020 and 11% lower than in May 2019. The number of offences was almost identical in May 2020 (0% change) and 5% lower than in May 2019.
Sexual crimes were 34% higher (or 317 crimes) than in May 2020, but 2% lower than in May 2019. Sexual assault saw the largest increase since May 2020, increasing by 55%, however it remained 14% below May 2019 levels. Other sexual crimes increased by 22% compared to May 2020; this was also a 12% increase compared to May 2019. Rape and attempted rape increased by 35% compared to May 2020, however this is a 10% decrease compared to May 2019.
Other crimes were 19% lower (or 1,386 crimes) than in May 2020. This was also a 2% decrease since May 2019. The main contributors to these decreases were Drugs (which fell by 27% compared to May 2020 and 18% compared to May 2019) and Crimes against public justice (which fell by 18% compared to May 2020, however this was 25% higher compared to May 2019).
The following chart shows a breakdown of the crime and offence groups, comparing May 2019, 2020 and 2021
Note: each category shows columns from left to right for May 2019, 2020 and 2021
The biggest drivers of the decrease from May 2020 to May 2021 were Drugs and Crimes against public justice.
The biggest drivers of the 6% decrease over this period were:
Drugs
↓ 27% (or 1,014 crimes)
↓ 18% (or 599 crimes) compared to May 2019
Crimes against public justice
↓ 18% (or 430 crimes)
↑ 25% (or 405 crimes) compared to May 2019
The biggest increases from May 2020 to May 2021 (by volume) were:
Vandalism
↑ 15% (or 463 crimes)
↓ 11% (or 437 crimes) compared to May 2019
Sexual assault.
↑ 55% (or 146 crimes)
↓ 14% (or 67 crimes) compared to May 2019
Fraud
↑ 7% (or 108 crimes)
↑ 85% (or 712 crimes) compared to May 2019
The Changes in levels of recorded fraud section in the latest bulletin provides further background on what may be contributing to the above increase.
Further Information: The data in this section comes from the monthly Official Statistics on crimes and offences recorded by the police in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please see Recorded Crime in Scotland: May 2021.
Coronavirus legislation intervention activity
This information is drawn from Police Scotland's 'Coronavirus Interventions' application, which relies on manual input from Police Officers. Due to this manual input, these figures should be viewed as indicative only.
This system currently provides the broadest picture of the differing levels of co-operation experienced by Police across Scotland.
The use of interventions decreased in May 2021. This was primarily due to the spike in the April figures, although the lifting of restrictions may also have contributed.
Total use of interventions decreased by 61% (or 9,144 interventions) since the previous month.
COVID-19 Intervention Activity in May 2021
In May, 79% of interventions made were dispersals. This is a lower percentage than in the previous month (90% in April).
Of the remaining 37% of interventions:
- 989 were dispersed using reasonable force
- 1,176 were issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)
- 41 were arrested
Further Information:
A full breakdown of interventions is available from Police Scotland:
Police Recorded Domestic Abuse Incidents
The number of Domestic Abuse incidents recorded in May 2021 was lower than the level seen in May 2020, but higher than May 2019.
These updates (including the proportion with a crime or offence) will be reflected in future editions of the Official Statistics on Domestic Abuse in Scotland. The most recent edition covers the 2019-20 reporting year.
In May 2021:
5,474 Domestic incidents recorded
Down 12% since May 2020 (6,205 incidents)
Up 1% since May 2019 (5,401 incidents)
In April to May 2021:
10,418 Domestic incidents recorded
Down 10% since The same months in 2020 (11,561 incidents)
Down 2% since May 2019 (10,645 incidents)
The proportion of April and May 2021 incidents that included the recording of at least one crime or offence was 42.6%. Police Scotland's Management Information Report suggests an equivalent figure of 43.6% for 2020-21.
In addition to the above, separate figures on crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 are available from the Recorded Crime in Scotland monthly Official Statistics. There were 132 such crimes recorded by the police in May 2021, this is 4% lower than May 2020 (138 crimes) and 16% lower than May 2019 (157 crimes).
Police Recorded Domestic Abuse Incidents per 10,000 population
Across Scotland as a whole, the police recorded 19 domestic abuse incidents per 10,000 population during April to May 2021.
The local authorities with the highest rates were Dundee City (29), West Dunbartonshire (26), North Lanarkshire (25) and Clackmannanshire (25).
The following chart shows local authorities with rates above the national average
The following map shows Domestic Abuse incidents per 10,000 population, April to May 2021
Further Information:
The crime data in this section comes from the monthly Official Statistics on crimes and offences recorded by the police in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information, please see Recorded Crime in Scotland: May 2021
Contact
Email: Justice_Analysts@gov.scot
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