Coronavirus (COVID-19): Justice Analytical Services data report - June 2021
This pack provides information on the impact of COVID-19 on the Justice system during June 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.
- 101 calls have remained relatively stable over the past six months (although they may be beginning a downward trend), whilst 999 calls have experienced an increasing trend.
- In the week ending 4th July, 37,532 calls were made to Police Scotland.
- When combined, calls were higher than the previous week.
| Type of call | Week ending 27th June 2021 | Week ending 4th July 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 101 calls | 23,297 | 22,399 |
| 999 calls | 13,990 | 15,133 |
| Total calls | 37,287 | 37,532 |
Incidents recorded
Weekly incident numbers have been similar in June 2021, compared to June 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 4th July:
29,205 incidents recorded Down 2% compared to the equivalent week in 2020 (29,846 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, June 2019, 2020 and 2021
June 2021
The number of crimes reco rded in June 2021 was 7% lower than in June 2020 and 10% lower than in June 2019. The number of offences was 7% lower than in June 2020 and 6% lower than in June 2019.
Non-sexual crimes of violence were 9% higher compared to June 2020 (increasing from 722 to 786 crimes), but 8% lower compared to June 2019 (decreasing from 851 crimes). Within this, Attempted murder and serious assault increased by 19% compared to June 2020 (from 294 to 350). Other violence increased by 33% compared to June 2020 (from 139 to 185) and also increased by 53% from June 2019 (from 121 to 185).
Sexual crimes were 3% higher (or 31 crimes) compared to last June, increasing from 1,184 to 1,215 crimes. This was also 8% higher than in June 2019 (increasing from 1,123 crimes). Sexual assault saw the largest increase since June 2020, increasing by 22% (from 338 to 414). However, this was 3% lower than in June 2019. Rape and attempted rape increased by 20% compared to June 2020, from 194 to 232 crimes: this was also a 13% increase compared to June 2019 (from 205 to 232 crimes).
Fire raising, vandalism etc. was 7% higher (or 236 crimes) than in June 2020, but 3% lower than in June 2019.
Crimes of dishonesty were 8% lower (or 630 crimes) compared to June 2020, decreasing from 8,184 to 7,554 crimes. This was also 22% lower than in June 2019 (decreasing from 9,655 crimes). Crimes of Fraud have increased throughout the pandemic, however there has been a 13% decrease since June 2020 (from 1,542 to 1,342).
The following chart shows a breakdown of the crime and offence groups, comparing June 2019, 2020 and 2021
Note: each category shows columns from left to right for June 2019, 2020 and 2021
The biggest drivers of the decrease from June 2020 to June 2021 were Drugs and Crimes against public justice.
The biggest drivers of the 7% decrease over this period were:
Drugs
↓ 25% (or 891 crimes)
↓ 13% (or 398 crimes) compared to June 2019
Crimes against public justice
↓ 12% (or 271 crimes)
↑ 25% (or 399 crimes) compared to June 2019
The biggest increases from June 2020 to June 2021 (by volume) were:
Vandalism etc.
↑ 6% (or 213 crimes)
↓ 4% (or 133 crimes) compared to June 2019
Shoplifting
↑ 7% (or 110 crimes)
↓ 37% (or 1,050 crimes) compared to June 2019
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: June 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 June 2021. This may primarily be due to the lifting of restrictions.
Total use of interventions decreased by 74% (or 4,359 interventions) since the previous month.
COVID-19 Intervention Activity in June 2021
In June, 93% of interventions made were dispersals. This is a higher percentage than in the previous month (79% in May).
Of the remaining 17% of interventions:
- 147 were dispersed using reasonable force
- 100 were issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)
- 4 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 June 2021 was lower than the level seen in June 2020, but higher than June 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 June 2021:
5,331 Domestic incidents recorded
Down 6% since June 2020 (5,691 incidents)
Up 2% since June 2019 (5,207 incidents)
In April to June 2021:
15,749 Domestic incidents recorded
Down 9% since the same months in 2020 (17,252 incidents)
Down 1% since the same months in 2019 (15,852 incidents)
The proportion of April to June 2021 incidents that included the recording of at least one crime or offence was 42.5%. Police Scotland’s Management Information Report suggests an equivalent figure of 42.4% 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 120 such crimes recorded by the police in June 2021, this is 2% lower than June 2020 (123 crimes) and 15% lower than June 2019 (147 crimes).
Police Recorded Domestic Abuse Incidents per 10,000 population
Across Scotland as a whole, the police recorded 29 domestic abuse incidents per 10,000 population during April to June 2021.
The local authorities with the highest rates were Dundee City Council (44), West Dunbartonshire (40) and Clackmannanshire (38).
The following chart shows local authorities with rates above the national average.
The following map shows local authorities with above the national average (in a darker shading) of Domestic Abuse incidents per 10,000 population, April to June 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: June 2021
Contact
Email: Justice_Analysts@gov.scot
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