Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006: General Report

Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006: General Report


Crime Domain

The SIMD crime domain measures the rate of recorded SIMD crime at small area level using 2004 recorded crime data and is based on five indicators of broad crime types: crimes of violence; drug offences; domestic house breaking; minor assault; and vandalism. The indicators used were chosen on the basis of relevance to impact on the local neighbourhood and availability of data. The crime domain score is a sum of the recorded crimes in each of the indicators and is referred to as ' SIMD crime' rather than total crime, as it does not include all recorded crimes.

The SIMD crime rate uses the resident population as the denominator. As such the rates do not take into account short term increases in population, such as a city centre daytime increases due to workers and shoppers or an increase due to regular events such as football matches or less regular events such as music festivals. This should be taken into account when comparing results across data zones.

A crime domain was not included in the SIMD 2004 as small area recorded crime data was not available. As recommended by the long term strategy, appropriate data has been gathered from the eight police force areas within Scotland to create the crime domain. As this domain uses previously unpublished data, the domain received a small weight in terms of its contribution to the overall SIMD rank. A full list of indicators used to construct the domain is shown in Annex 2. For more information about the indicators included and how the domain was constructed see the SIMD 2006 Technical Report.

The crime domain is positively correlated with the employment, income, education and health domains of the SIMD 2006 (see Annex 4).

Key Points

  • This is the first time a crime domain has been included in the SIMD
  • Over 30 per cent of data zones in Glasgow City are in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime.
  • Over 20 per cent of the data zones in the Fife police force area are in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime
  • In the 15% most deprived areas in terms of crime, there is roughly one SIMD crime per six people compared to one SIMD crime per 26 people in the rest of Scotland.
  • The rate of total SIMD crime is highest in large urban areas, with 657 SIMD crimes per 10,000 population.
  • The rate of SIMD crime is higher in remote small towns than in accessible small towns.

SIMD crime by crime domain vigintiles

Chart 2.15 shows the distribution of SIMD crime rate by SIMD crime domain vigintiles. In the most deprived vigintile (the 5% most deprived areas in terms of crime) the SIMD crime rate is 2,447 SIMD crimes per 10,000 population, almost one SIMD crime per four people living in the area.

In the 15% most deprived areas the SIMD crime rate is 1,565 crimes per 10,000 population (roughly one crime per six people) compared to 361 crimes per 10,000 population in rest of Scotland (roughly one crime per 26 people).

Chart 2.15 Rate of SIMD crime, by crime domain vigintiles

image of Chart 2.15 Rate of SIMD crime, by crime domain vigintiles

Source: Total population from General Register Office for Scotland, SAPE 2004

Deprivation in terms of SIMD Crime in the SIMD 2006, by local authority area

Glasgow City has the highest number and share of data zones in the 15% most deprived in terms of SIMD crime (see Table 2.16). Of the 976 15% most deprived data zones in terms of crime 22 per cent (213 data zones) are in Glasgow City.

Fife has the second highest share of Scotland's data zones in the 15% most deprived in terms of SIMD crime, with 93 data zones (10 per cent) of the 15% most deprived in terms of SIMD crime across Scotland.

Within local authority areas (local share) Glasgow has the highest proportion of data zones in the 15% most deprived in terms of crime with 31 per cent followed by West Dunbartonshire with 23 per cent (27 data zones out of 118).

The Orkney Islands is the only local authority area with no data zones in Scotland's 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime.

Table 2.16 National and local share of data zones in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime, by local authority area

Local Authority

No of data zones in LA

15% Most deprived data zones in terms of crime: SIMD 2006

no. of data zones

national share (%)

local share (%)

Aberdeen City

267

59

6.0

22.1

Aberdeenshire

301

12

1.2

4.0

Angus

142

11

1.1

7.7

Argyll & Bute

122

13

1.3

10.7

Clackmannanshire

64

7

0.7

10.9

Dumfries & Galloway

193

24

2.5

12.4

Dundee City

179

32

3.3

17.9

East Ayrshire

154

23

2.4

14.9

East Dunbartonshire

127

7

0.7

5.5

East Lothian

120

9

0.9

7.5

East Renfrewshire

120

5

0.5

4.2

Edinburgh, City of

549

77

7.9

14.0

Eilean Siar

36

3

0.3

8.3

Falkirk

197

25

2.6

12.7

Fife

453

93

9.5

20.5

Glasgow City

694

213

21.8

30.7

Highland

292

26

2.7

8.9

Inverclyde

110

23

2.4

20.9

Midlothian

112

16

1.6

14.3

Moray

116

12

1.2

10.3

North Ayrshire

179

33

3.4

18.4

North Lanarkshire

418

58

5.9

13.9

Orkney Islands

27

0

0.0

0.0

Perth & Kinross

175

13

1.3

7.4

Renfrewshire

214

31

3.2

14.5

Scottish Borders

130

12

1.2

9.2

Shetland Islands

30

3

0.3

10.0

South Ayrshire

147

16

1.6

10.9

South Lanarkshire

398

51

5.2

12.8

Stirling

110

11

1.1

10.0

West Dunbartonshire

118

27

2.8

22.9

West Lothian

211

31

3.2

14.7

Scotland

6505

976

100.0

15.0

Source: Total population from General Register Office for Scotland, SAPE 2004

Deprivation in terms of SIMD Crime in the SIMD 2006, by police force area

The distribution of data zones in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime for police force areas are shown in table 2.17. Over 50 per cent of Scotland's 976 data zones in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime are within the Strathclyde police force area. A fifth of the data zones in the Fife police force area are in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime.

Deprivation in terms of SIMD Crime in the SIMD 2006, in urban and rural areas

The proportion and share of data zones in the 15% most deprived areas, in terms of SIMD crime, are highest in the large urban areas (see Table 2.18). There is a clear urban rural split in the distribution, with low proportions of data zones in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime in accessible and remote rural areas. The proportion of data zones in the 15% most deprived areas in terms of SIMD crime in remote small towns is almost double the proportion of data zones in the accessible small towns.

Table 2.19 shows the number of SIMD crimes and the SIMD crime rate for urban and rural areas. The SIMD crime rate is lower in rural areas (accessible and remote) than in urban areas and is highest in large urban areas, with 657 SIMD crimes per 10,000 population, roughly one SIMD recorded crime for every 15 people. The SIMD crime rate is higher in remote small towns (546 SIMD crimes per 10,000 population) than in accessible small towns (448 SIMD crimes per 10,000 population).

Table 2.17 Share of 15% most deprived data zones in terms of SIMD crime, by police force area

Police Force Area

Number of data zones in police force area

15% most deprived data zones in terms of SIMD crime

Number of data zones

% share of Scotland's 15% most deprived

% of data zones in police force area

Strathclyde

2,801

500

51.2

17.9

Lothian & Borders

1,122

145

14.9

12.9

Grampian

684

83

8.5

12.1

Tayside

496

56

5.7

11.3

Fife

453

93

9.5

20.5

Central

371

43

4.4

11.6

Northern

385

32

3.3

8.3

Dumfries & Galloway

193

24

2.5

12.4

Scotland

6,505

976

100.0

15.0

Table 2.18 Share of data zones in the 15% most deprived data zones in terms of SIMD crime, by urban-rural classification

Urban Rural

Number of data zones in urban/rural area

15% most deprived data zones in terms of SIMD crime

Number of data zones

% share of Scotland's 15% most deprived

% of data zones in urban/rural area

Large Urban Areas

2,456

495

50.7

20.2

Other Urban Areas

1,982

369

37.8

18.6

Accessible Small Towns

608

56

5.7

9.2

Remote Small Towns

256

46

4.7

18.0

Accessible Rural

771

8

0.8

1.0

Remote Rural

432

2

0.2

0.5

Scotland

6,505

976

100.0

15.0

Source: Scottish Executive Urban-Rural Classification 2005-2006

Table 2.19 Count and rate of SIMD crime, by urban-rural classification

Urban Rural

Total population 2004

Number of SIMD Crimes

SIMD crimes per 10,000 population

Large Urban Areas

1,976,907

129,864

657

Other Urban Areas

1,519,084

90,485

596

Accessible Small Towns

464,423

20,794

448

Remote Small Towns

190,092

10,384

546

Accessible Rural

603,614

15,805

262

Remote Rural

324,280

6,608

204

Scotland

5,078,400

273,939

539

Source: Scottish Executive Urban-Rural Classification 2005-2006
Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding

Back to top