Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2013-14

1. Background

1.1 The statistics on recorded crimes and offences inform the Scottish Government Strategy for Justice in Scotland, and our National Outcome 9 - 'we live our lives safe from crime, disorder and danger' .

1.2 These statistics are also used by a wide range of stakeholders to monitor trends, for policy research and development, and for research purposes. The 'Recorded Crime in Scotland' annual statistical bulletin forms part of a series of bulletins produced by the Scottish Government on the criminal justice system.

1.3 The term "crime" is generally used for the more serious criminal acts; the less serious are termed "offences". The distinction is made only for statistical reporting purposes and the "seriousness" of the offence is generally related to the maximum sentence that can be imposed. This distinction has been consistently used since the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland began in 1983 and prior to this, the Criminal statistics publication back to the 1920's.

Crimes relate to Groups 1 to 5;

• Non-sexual crimes of violence,
• Sexual crimes^[4],
• Crimes of dishonesty,
• Fire-raising, vandalism etc. and
• Other crimes.

Offences relate to Groups 6 and 7;

• Miscellaneous offences
• Motor vehicle offences.

For further information on crime and offence groups, see Section 5.

1.4 This statistical bulletin covers the ten year period since the introduction of the Scottish Crime Recording Standard (SCRS) in 2004-05. The SCRS has helped maintain a consistent approach to recording crime. The SCRS manual is available on the Police Scotland website on the following link: http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/232757/scottish-crime-recording-standard?view=Standard

1.5 The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) 2012-13 provides a complementary measure of crime compared with police recorded crime statistics. The survey provides information on the criminal justice system, on people's experience of civil justice problems and people's perception of crime. It also provides estimates of progress for two of the 50 national indicators in the Scottish Government's National Performance Framework namely:

• Improve people's perceptions about the crime rate in their area and
• Reduce crime victimisation rates.

Further information on the National Performance Framework can be accessed via the following link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/scotPerforms

1.6 The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey also provides an estimate of the proportion of crimes not reported to the police. In 2012-13, it was estimated that 39% of crimes, as defined by the SCJS, were reported to the police.

A more detailed chapter on the comparisons between recorded crime and the SCJS is provided in Section 3. Additional sections on the SCJS are featured throughout the commentary around crimes and offences.

1.7 There have been no major legislative changes throughout 2013-14 which impact on the comparability of the statistics.

Past legislative changes, and changes to classifications can be found in the User Guide to Recorded Crime Statistics in Scotland, available via the following link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubRecordedCrime/UserGuide