Suspected Drug Deaths in Scotland: January to March 2024

Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2024

1. Background

The Scottish Government has a National Mission to reduce drug deaths and improve the lives of those affected by drugs. This quarterly report presents Police Scotland management information to provide an indication of current trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland.

2. Summary

There were 320 suspected drug deaths between January and March 2024. This was 8% (23) higher than the previous quarter and 7% (22) higher than during the same period of 2023. Following a downward trend from early 2021 to late 2022, the rolling 12-month total of suspected drug deaths has risen over the last year.

3. Main points

Number of Police Scotland suspected drug deaths by quarter and year, January 2018 to March 2024

Between January and March 2024:

• There were 320 suspected drug deaths, 7% (22) higher than during the same period of 2023.
• Males accounted for 73% of suspected drug deaths. This compares with 67% between January and March 2023.
• There were 86 suspected drug deaths of females, a decrease of 12% (12) compared to the same period in 2023.
• A majority (61%) of suspected drug deaths were of people aged between 35 and 54. This is broadly in line with previous quarters.
• There were 13 suspected drug deaths in the under 25 age group, 19% (3) fewer than between January and March 2023.
• The Police Divisions with the greatest number of suspected drug deaths were: Greater Glasgow (71), Edinburgh City (32), North East (30) and Renfrewshire & Inverclyde (30).

Note that numbers of suspected drug deaths fluctuate from quarter to quarter. Care should be taken not to interpret movements between individual calendar quarters as indicative of any long term trend.

• There were 1,219 suspected drug deaths over the 12 months to March 2024, 10% (114) more than the 12 months to March 2023.

More detail on the statistics presented above is available in the workbook presented alongside this report.

4. Methodology

The data in this report is operational information from Police Scotland who compile figures on the basis of reports from police officers attending scenes of death. This is management information and not subject to the same level of validation and quality assurance as Official Statistics. National Statistics on drug deaths in Scotland are published annually by National Records of Scotland.

More information on definitions, data sources, methodology and interpretation of the data, including the historical relationship between suspected drug death figures and drug misuse death statistics, can be found in the Methodology Annex.

5. Next update

Public Health Scotland (PHS) compile a Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) Quarterly report of drug-related indicators to inform action to prevent drug harms and deaths. PHS include weekly Police Scotland data on suspected drug deaths in their set of RADAR indicators. The next RADAR publication is due for release on 30 July 2024.

The next annual drug misuse deaths Accredited Official Statistics publication from National Records of Scotland is due to be released in Summer 2024.

6. Accessing help and support for problem drug use

If you or anyone you know is affected by drug use, support is available via the following organisations:

• Scottish Drugs Services Directory
• Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs
• Know the Score
• With You

Correspondence and enquiries

For enquiries about this publication please contact:

Population Health Analysis Unit Health & Social Care Analysis E-mail: HSCAnalysisHub@gov.scot

For general enquiries about Scottish Government statistics please contact: Office of the Chief Statistician E-mail: statistics.enquiries@gov.scot