Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2022-23

Miscellaneous Offences

Miscellaneous offences accounted for 7% of all offences recorded in Scotland in 2022-23. Between 2021-22 and 2022-23, the number of Miscellaneous offences recorded by the police decreased by 1% from 12,951 to 12,793. There was a decrease of 10% since 2013-14.

The national rate of recorded Miscellaneous offences decreased slightly from 24 per 10,000 population in 2021-22 to 23 per 10,000 population in 2022-23.

The Miscellaneous offences group includes the following categories:

Miscellaneous offences

• Community and public order offences
• Environmental offences
• Licensing offences
• Wildlife offences
• Other miscellaneous offences

In 2022-23, of all Miscellaneous offences:

• Community and public order offences were the largest category, accounting for 71%
• Wildlife offences accounted for 11%
• Other miscellaneous offences accounted for 8%
• Licensing offences accounted for 6%
• Environmental offences accounted for 3%

In 2022-23, Community and public order offences accounted for the majority of miscellaneous offences, these are discussed in more detail below.

For further information on the other Miscellaneous offences categories please refer to the 'Supporting documents' Excel workbook for this bulletin. This includes data on the number of offences recorded in each category (Table 2) and rates per 10,000 population (Table 4). The workbook includes an 'Introduction' sheet, with information on how to navigate the tables, alongside a 'Notes' sheet, with relevant details to assist users when reading and interpreting results.

Community and public order offences

The Community and public order offences category includes a wide range of offences. The main ones are General post office/telecommunications offences (which account for the clear majority of the category, at 85%), Computer Misuse Act 1990 – unauthorised access only (5%), and False or hoax calls to emergency services (5%).

Over the ten year period from 2013-14 to 2022-23, the number of offences recorded in the Community and public order offences category has increased by 3%. However, there was a 1% decrease in the most recent year, from 9,224 in 2021-22 to 9,137 in 2022-23.