Recorded Crime in Scotland: year ending December 2023

Recorded Crime in Scotland: year ending December 2023

This quarterly Accredited Official Statistics bulletin presents information on the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police in Scotland for the year ending December 2023. It also includes a comparison with the equivalent four previous years.

Key Points

The police in Scotland recorded 302,076 crimes in the year ending December 2023. This was 5% higher than the 287,678 crimes recorded in the year ending December 2022, but 2% lower than the 308,434 crimes recorded in the year ending December 2019.

It should be noted that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and associated measures to limit social contact, has had an impact on both the type and volume of crime recorded since March 2020. The largest impact was seen during years ending December 2020 and 2021, and to a lesser extent the year ending December 2022. The final legal restrictions were lifted in April 2022, meaning the most recent year (year ending December 2023) was not impacted by these restrictions.

In the year ending December 2023:

• Non-sexual crimes of violence were 4% higher compared to the year ending December 2022 (increasing from 69,117 to 71,900 crimes), and 4% higher compared to the year ending December 2019 (increasing from 68,987 to 71,900 crimes).
• Sexual crimes were 2% higher compared to the year ending December 2022 (increasing from 14,640 to 14,894 crimes), and 8% higher compared to the year ending December 2019 (increasing from 13,765 to 14,894 crimes).
• Crimes of dishonesty were 11% higher compared to the year ending December 2022 (increasing from 100,754 to 111,682 crimes), and <1% higher compared to the year ending December 2019 (increasing from 111,392 to 111,682 crimes).
• Damage and reckless behaviour was 4% lower compared to the year ending December 2022 (decreasing from 43,711 to 42,124 crimes), and 13% lower compared to the year ending December 2019 (decreasing from 48,469 to 42,124 crimes).
• Crimes against society were 3% higher compared to the year ending December 2022 (increasing from 59,442 to 61,476 crimes), but 7% lower compared to the year ending December 2019 (decreasing from 65,821 to 61,476 crimes).
• Coronavirus restrictions were 100% lower compared to the year ending December 2022 (decreasing from 14 to 0). As noted above, the legislation used to record these crimes was introduced in March 2020.

The number of offences recorded by the police in Scotland in the year ending December 2023 was 179,616. This is 4% higher than the 173,269 offences recorded in the year ending December 2022, but 6% lower than the 192,028 offences recorded in the year ending December 2019.

• Antisocial offences were 7% lower compared to the year ending December 2022 (decreasing from 51,657 to 47,916 offences), and 21% lower compared to the year ending December 2019 (decreasing from 60,395 to 47,916 offences).
• Miscellaneous offences were 6% higher compared to the year ending December 2022 (increasing from 12,849 to 13,656 offences), and 22% higher compared to the year ending December 2019 (increasing from 11,191 to 13,656 offences).
• Road traffic offences were 9% higher compared to the year ending December 2022 (increasing from 108,763 to 118,044 offences), but 2% lower compared to the year ending December 2019 (decreasing from 120,442 to 118,044 offences).