Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2017/18: main findings

Footnotes

1 All the latest drug use findings in this report are from the 2017/18 SCJS only. Please see the drugs section of the report for more information.

2 GSS (2014) Communicating Uncertainty and Change: Guidance for official statistics producers- https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Communicating-uncertainty-and-change-v1.pdf

3 As the Police Division level results for 2016/17 – 2017/18 combine two sweeps of data, the national average figure in those outputs has been produced on the same basis for comparative purposes. It is recommended that the single year figures presented in each individual sweep’s outputs are used if national level figures are being reported in isolation.

4 Key 2016/17 – 2017/18 results have also been published in excel tables for users who prefer to access findings in this way.

5 Please see the Introduction for definitions of best, upper and lower estimates.

6 The increase in confidence interval shown by the greater difference between the lower and upper estimates from 2016/17 onwards is due to a reduction in the target survey sample size. More information is provided in the Technical Report.

7 Annex table A1.2 provides best estimates of the number of incidents of crime for each SCJS sweep since 2008/09.

8 Please see the Introduction for definitions of best, upper and lower estimates.

9 Confidence Intervals around other survey results can be derived using the data tables and users statistical testing tool available on the SCJS website: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Datasets/SCJS

10 Please see Annex table A1.6 for relevant results and the SCJS supporting data tables for additional breakdowns.

11 i.e. the proportion of adults experiencing at least one crime over the year.

12 Available on the main SCJS publications page.

13 Crime estimates are rounded to the nearest 1,000 crimes.

14 Details on the specific crimes within the violence group are outlined in the ‘Overview of crime’ chapter.

15 The increase in confidence interval shown by the greater difference between the lower and upper estimates from 2016/17 onwards is due to reduction in the target survey sample size. Please see the Introduction for definitions of best, upper and lower estimates.

16 Annex table A1.2 provides best estimates of the number of incidents of violent crime for each SCJS sweep since 2008/09.

17 For instance, 108 respondents in 2017/18.

18 Please see Introduction for definitions of best, upper and lower estimates.

19 Confidence Intervals around other survey results can be derived using the data tables and users statistical testing tool available on the SCJS website: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Datasets/SCJS

20 For example, the relative standard error (RSE) around the 2017/18 robbery estimate is 74%. For more on the relative standard error, please see the Introduction.

21 Note: the unrounded robbery prevalence estimate in 2017/18 differs from that in 2016/17, leading to a statistically significant change being detected between 2008/09 and 2017/18 where there was no difference in the previous SCJS report.

22 Additional breakdowns are provided in Annex table A1.7 and the SCJS supporting data tables, for example age within gender, disability status and tenure.

23 i.e. two or more experiences of violent crime.

24 It is also worth noting that this change coincided with a reduction in the SCJS sample size, which increases the confidence intervals around results and can therefore make it more challenging to identify statistically significant differences.

25 For the purposes of analysis, ‘private space’ includes the respondent’s home, immediately outside their home (includes gardens, driveways, sheds and the street) and the homes of friends and relatives. The definition of outside the victim’s home may mean that some of these crimes could be viewed as taking part in a public setting instead – although it is not possible to separate those cases. ‘Public space’ refers to incidents taking place elsewhere.

26 I.e. excluding those who said don’t know or refused to give a time, which was the case for 2% of violent crime in 2017/18.

27 Weekends were defined as 6pm on Friday to Sunday midnight.

28 This figure fell in 2016/17 to 87% from 98% in 2014/15. The return to 98% in 2017/18 is more in line with estimates in previous years.

29 Additional results are available in the supporting data tables. The analysis presented is based on a relatively small number of incidents (n=115). As such, results have relatively large margins of error around them meaning that they should be interpreted with caution.

30 It is important to note that individual incidents may have involved offenders from different age groups. For instance, a proportion of the 23% of cases involving offenders aged 16-24 may have also involved perpetrators from other age groups.

31 These findings are based only on incidents where the respondent could say something about the offender(s). This follows an updated analytical approach first adopted in 2016/17 to focus only on incidents where victims could provide information about the perpetrator(s) and has been applied to the full time-series.

32 Incidents where someone saw or heard what was going on.

33 Other injuries are collected as open text responses to capture injuries like bite marks, sore hands and scraped knuckles which cannot be coded under existing categories.

34 Crime estimates are rounded to the nearest 1,000 crimes.

35 Details on the specific crimes included within the property crime group are outlined in the ‘Overview of crime’ chapter.

36 The increase in confidence interval shown by the greater difference between the lower and upper estimates in 2016/17 is due to a reduction in the target survey sample size in 2016/17. Please see Introduction for definitions of best, upper and lower estimates.

37 Annex table A1.2 provides best estimates of the number of incidents of property crime for each SCJS sweep since 2008/09.

38 Please see Introduction for definitions of best, upper and lower estimates.

39 Confidence Intervals around other survey results can be derived using the data tables and users statistical testing tool available on the SCJS website: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Datasets/SCJS

40 Further details on the categories of property crime are provided in the Introduction and the Technical Report.

41 Results broken down by demographic and area characteristics are provided in Annex table A1.8. The SCJS supporting data tables provide further breakdowns, for example tenure, disability status and age within gender.

42 Please see Annex tables for relevant results and the SCJS supporting data tables for additional breakdowns.

43 i.e. two or more experiences of property crime; or separately two or more experiences of violent crime.

44 i.e. the proportion of adults experiencing at least one property crime over the year.

45 Immediately outside the respondent’s home includes gardens, sheds, driveways and the street outside the respondents home.

46 I.e. excluding those who said don’t know or refused to give a time.

47 Weekends were defined as 6pm on Friday to Sunday midnight.

48 Where a similarly low proportion of respondents were able to tell us about offenders involved in property crimes. Further information on the SCJS in previous years is available in the Technical Report, whilst results from previous years are accessible on the SCJS website.

49 I.e. incidents where someone saw or heard what was happening or had contact with the offender.

50This subset should not be used to assess the overall level of crime in Scotland.

51 Chapters 9 and 12 of the Technical Report provide more information about the crime groups used in this report, including the comparable crime subset.

52 Results in the 2014 analytical paper showed consistent results using different methods to make comparisons over time.

53 Annex B provides an overview of the main differences to bear in mind when making comparisons between the two sources.

54 The change to a smaller SCJS sample of around 6,000 with effect from 2016/17 compared to around 12,000 in 2014/15 means a larger range of uncertainty around the point estimate for all comparable crime from 2016/17 onwards, as shown by the larger divergence between lower and upper estimates in Figure 5.1.

55 Upper and lower estimates are calculated on unrounded figures, then rounded when presented.

56 Comparable acquisitive crime is rarer than vandalism and violent crime (estimates of acquisitive crime are based on 83 incidents in the 2017/18 SCJS sample, compared to 118 violent crime incidents and 250 vandalism incidents). Consequently, there is greater uncertainty around the SCJS estimate of acquisitive crime and less power to identify significant changes over time.

57 Further information on SCJS violent crime is provided in the ‘Focus on violent crime’ chapter.

58 Violent crime estimates are based on a relatively small number of respondents who disclosed experiences of 118 violent crimes in 2017/18.

59 A comparison of the two methods highlights a lag effect, suggesting that using the second method, the difference between recorded crime and SCJS crime estimated to be reported to the police is likely to be less than that derived from using the first method presented here.

60 Annex tables A1.14 to A1.21 present key results on policing from each SCJS sweep since 2008/09.

61 As the Police Division level results for 2016/17 – 2017/18 combine two sweeps of data, the national average figure in those outputs has been produced on the same basis for comparative purposes. It is recommended that the single year figures presented in each individual sweep’s outputs are used if national level figures are being reported in isolation.

62 Key 2016/17 – 2017/18 results have also been published in excel tables for users who prefer to access findings in this way.

63 This question (QRATPOL) was first included in the 2012/13 SCJS.

64 These results are also available for further breakdowns, such as tenure, for each SCJS sweep since 2008/09 in supplementary data tables, along with the results on perceptions of community engagement and fairness.

65 The only measure not to show improvement was the proportion agreeing that the police listen to the concerns of local people, which showed no change.

66 The results presented below relate only to adults who are not in the police themselves, and who are not married to or living with a serving police officer.

67 Either by foot, bike or car.

68 This question is asked of all respondents with any contact with the police in the last year.

69 In 2017/18 this question was changed to refer to ‘sentences’ rather than ‘punishments’, although the latest result is fairly consistent with the finding of 39% in 2016/17.

70 Four of the current measures were first asked in 2008/09, the rest have only been asked in their current form since 2012/13, with one further amendment in 2017/18

71 Results from each sweep of the SCJS are available in data tables, whilst questionnaire documentation available online also outlines the specific questions asked in each sweep.

72 The ‘reduced’ category combines those saying the crime rate is a ‘little less’ and a ‘lot less’.

73 The question is only asked of adults who have lived in their local area for two or more years at the time of interview (n=4,770).

74 It is important to note that a variety of factors will influence perceptions of the crime rate in local communities and the country as whole, and these perceptions may not reflect wider trends in victimisation. Moreover, what respondents consider as crime may go beyond the categories of victimisation captured by the SCJS.

75 Opinions on the national crime rate were first recorded by the SCJS in 2009/10.

76 CSEW 2015/16 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/adhocs/006255feelingunsafewalkinghomeandbeinghomealoneafterdarkbyageandsextheeffectoffearofcrimeonqualityoflifeyearendingmarch2016. Note: this question was not included in the 2016/17 or 2017/18 CSEW.

77 Full time series results are shown in Annex table A1.12.

78 Findings in relation to fraud are also discussed in the later section ‘Cyber-crime in Scotland’.

79 Estimates in this figure are shown to one decimal place to facilitate a comparison between prevalence rate for different crime types (proportion of adults/households who were victims) and the perceived likelihood of becoming a victim (usually presented as a rounded figure).

80 Technology relating to computers, computer networks such as the Internet and/or other forms of ICT.

81 Variable name: QWH7. Base: 760.

82 The following ‘cyber flag’ question is to be added to the victim form section of the questionnaire: As far as you are aware, was the internet, any type of online activity or any internet enabled device related to any specific aspect of the offence?

83 Crime Survey for England and Wales, Year ending March 2018.

84 Variable name: QFOREC. Base: 2017/18 (110), 2016/17 (150).

85 Fraud can take many forms and centres around a person dishonestly and deliberately deceiving a victim for personal gain.

86 Section 2 of the 2017/18 SCJS questionnaire.

87 Valid crimes are incidents which occurred in Scotland, during the reference period and concern crimes that are within the scope of the SCJS. Any incident that does meet any of these criteria is invalid.

88 Variable names: CARDVIC2 and IDTHEF3. Base: 2017/18 (5,475), 2016/17 (5,570), 2008/09 (3,980).

89 Note: the 2016/17 SCJS report erroneously quoted the 2008/09 figure as 3%.

90 Crime in England and Wales, Year ending September 2018. Additional tables on fraud and computer misuse.

The latest findings from the year ending September 2018 were included to pick up on recent methodological updates in the CSEW.

91 Variable name: QWORR. Base: 2017/18 (5,480), 2016/17 (5,570), 2008/09 (16,000)

92 Where criminals obtain personal information e.g. name, date of birth, address without consent in order to steal a person’s identity, they often use these details to take out bank accounts, credit cards, loans etc.

93 Variable name: QHAPP. Base: female (2960), male (2520).

94 Variable names: QFKSELL2 and QFKSELL. Base: 2017/18 (1,360).

95 Variable name: QFKWHR. Base: Cigarettes/tobacco (100).

96 This question was not asked of all respondents in 2017/18 due to a scripting error, which meant that those who had reported taking synthetic cannabis, prescription only painkillers that were not prescribed to them or GHB/GBL as well as those who reported taking one of these as their most frequently taken substance were not asked where they sourced these from.

97 Variable name: QDRDEAL. Base: 2017/18 (150), 2014/15 (260). It is not possible to compare this to data from 2016/17.

98 There are a range of substances which were previously described by some as ‘legal highs’, ‘designer drugs’, or ‘new drugs’ that have the same effects as drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy, or cocaine. These are herbal or synthetic substances that people take to get ‘high’.

99 Variable name: Q12MLWH. Base: 2017/18 (75).

100 Variable name: QAINSUL2. Base: 2017/18 (1,385), 2016/17 (1,430), 2008/09 (4,000).

101 Variable name: QATHME2. Base: 2017/18 (170), 2016/17 (190).

102 The latest stalking/harassment figures featured in this report combine data collected from the two years 2016/17 and 2017/18. This is referred to throughout the report as 2016/18. For more information, see the Technical Report.

103 Variable name: SH_0_1. Base: Victims of stalking and harassment (930).

104 Recorded crime in Scotland: 'Other sexual crimes', 2013-2014 and 2016-2017.

105 Computer viruses and unauthorised access to personal information, including hacking.

106 Crime in England and Wales, Year ending September 2018. Additional tables on fraud and computer misuse. The latest findings from the year ending September 2018 were included to pick up on recent methodological updates in the CSEW.

107Crime in England and Wales, Year ending September 2018. Additional tables on fraud and computer misuse. Published as experimental statistics.

108 Some other means includes writing and electronic communications.

109 The SCJS also collects details about experiences of stalking and harassment through a self-completion module. Further details on plans and timescales to publish those results are provided on the SCJS website in the information on the future SCJS reporting structure.

110 Further details on the insight the 2017/18 SCJS is able to shed on the relationship between the internet and crime and safety are outlined in the earlier section focusing on cyber-crime.

111 More in-depth analysis about the extent and nature of violent incidents in 2017/18 is provided in the ‘Focus on violent crime’ chapter, whilst an overview of verbal and physical abuse encountered in the workplace by public facing workers in 2017/18 is also provided in a bespoke section.

112 Figures for 2008/09 have been updated marginally since the 2016/17 SCJS report.

113 The 2017/18 SCJS found just 23 respondents who had experienced physical abuse at work, but 182 respondents who had experienced verbal abuse at work (while dealing with the public). These are sufficient to present results on verbal abuse, but not, for example, to break down results by type of employment.

114 The relatively small number of respondents reporting being offered other types of goods means it is not possible to provide analysis on location for these items.

115 The majority of drugs covered in this section are illicit, however some drugs which aren’t illegal to use are also included.

116 The 12 months prior to interview for each survey sweep.

117 This is due to issues with the illicit drug use section in the 2016/17 questionnaire which meant the categorisation and groupings of drugs was incorrect, and therefore the results were not accurate or comparable with previous years. This issue was resolved for the 2017/18 questionnaire.

118 http://www.thedrugswheel.com/

119 Excludes poppers, glues, solvents, gas and aerosols, and prescription only painkillers that were not prescribed to you.

120 This figure includes poppers, glues, solvents, gas or aerosols, and prescription only painkillers that were not prescribed to you. For a list of the drugs included in the survey, see Annex D.

121 Poppers, glues, solvents, gas or aerosols.

122 These are a range of substances which were previously described by some as ‘legal highs’, ‘designer drugs’, or ‘new drugs’ that have the same effects as drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy, or cocaine. They are herbal or synthetic substances that people take to get ‘high’. In May 2016, the Psychoactive Substances Act came into force, which intends to restrict the production, sale, and supply of novel psychoactive substances.

123 http://www.thedrugswheel.com/

124 A breakdown of the characteristics including these drugs is available in the online data tables.

125 A victim is defined as a respondent who reported crimes or offences in the main questionnaire (excluding sexual offences and threats) that are within the scope of the survey, took place in Scotland, and occurred within the reference period.

126 In Scotland, the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 legislates for the offence of stalking. Under the Act, an offence occurs when a person engages in a course of conduct on at least two separate occasions, which causes another person to feel fear or alarm, where the accused person intended, or knew or ought to have known, that their conduct would cause fear and alarm.

Unlike more clear-cut types of crime (for example, house-breaking or assault), the classification of stalking is more subjective, insofar as the offence is dependent on whether or not the victim felt afraid.

127 A victim is defined as a respondent who reported crimes or offences in the main questionnaire (excluding sexual offences and threats) that are within the scope of the survey, took place in Scotland, and occurred within the reference period.

128 Note that having intimate pictures of themselves shared online without their consent is not included in this due to the small number of respondents reporting this.

129 A ‘partner’ is defined in the SCJS is defined to be any husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, or civil partner.

130 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2018/5

131 Note that in the SCJS respondents are only asked the questions relating to partner abuse if they have had at least one partner since the age of 16, hence the base size for respondents in this section is 8,110.

132 The SCJS asks respondents if they have experienced a range of abusive physical behaviour. In 2012/13, the wording ‘thrown something at you’ was changed to ‘thrown something at you with the intention of causing harm’. This change may have contributed to a fall in the proportion of respondents reporting experience of this type of physical abuse.

133 The SCJS asks respondents if they have experienced a range of abusive physical behaviour. In 2012/13, the wording ‘thrown something at you’ was changed to ‘thrown something at you with the intention of causing harm’. This change may have contributed to a fall in the proportion of respondents reporting experience of this type of physical abuse.

134 A victim is defined as a respondent who reported crimes or offences in the main questionnaire (excluding sexual offences and threats) that are within the scope of the survey, took place in Scotland, and occurred within the reference period.

135 A victim is defined as a respondent who reported crimes or offences in the main questionnaire (excluding sexual offences and threats) that are within the scope of the survey, took place in Scotland, and occurred within the reference period.

136 In the 2016/17 and 2017/18 sweeps.

137 These terms are used for ease of reference and do not relate to the seriousness of the impact on the individual.

138 This is because the lower base number of respondents who experienced serious sexual assault in the 12 months prior to interview (17 respondents) prevents more detailed analysis.

139 Note that this is not the proportion of crimes reported in 2016/18. The incident may have happened and been reported to the police at an earlier time.

140 A victim is defined as a respondent who reported crimes or offences in the main questionnaire (excluding sexual offences and threats) that are within the scope of the survey, took place in Scotland, and occurred within the reference period.

141 A victim is defined as a respondent who reported crimes or offences in the main questionnaire (excluding sexual offences and threats) that are within the scope of the survey, took place in Scotland, and occurred within the reference period.

142 Above questions only asked of households who own one or more vehicles.

143 Categories based on The Drugs Wheel Version 2.0.7 http://www.thedrugswheel.com/

144 A full list of drugs currently classified under the Misuse of Drugs Act can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/controlled-drugs-list--2/list-of-most-commonly-encountered-drugs-currently-controlled-under-the-misuse-of-drugs-legislation

145 Amphetamines are a class B drug but move up to a Class A status if prepared for injection. The SCJS does not collect details of whether amphetamine was prepared for injection or in powdered form. All self-reported amphetamine use is included in Class B in the analysis that follows Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth) is a Class A drug and grouped separately on this list.

146 Steroids are not included in the drugs wheel but should be categorised as a separate category.

147 Poppers are not classified under the misuse of drugs act. However there are some controls on the sale of these items.

148 Solvents are not classified under the misuse of drugs act. However there are some controls on the sale of these items.

149 Prescription only painkillers can include a range of drug types including opioids (e.g. Morphine, Codeine, co-codamol, tramadol) and depressants (e.g. Gabapentinoids), therefore they are reported separately here.

150 Prescription only painkillers can include a range of drug which have different classifications.; including Class A (e.g. morphine and Oxycodone), Class B (some codine based drugs), Class C (e.g. Tramadol) and currently unclassified (e.g. Gabapentinoids). Some of the drugs which may be recorded in this category are exempt from virtually all Controlled Drug requirements because of their low strength.

151 i.e. this is generally how many people were asked the question for the results being discussed.