User Guide to Recorded Crime Statistics in Scotland

19. Crimes and offences per population rates

Within the Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin the rates of crimes and offences per 10,000 population are given. This allows comparisons to be made between areas that take account of the underlying populations. For example, meaningful comparison can then be made between areas such as Glasgow City, where the 2020 mid-year population was 635,640, and the Orkney Islands, where the 2020 mid-year population was 22,6400.

Crimes and offences per 10,000 population rates are calculated as follows:

total number of recorded crimes / mid-year population estimate * 10,000 / 1

When calculating the rates of crimes and offences per 10,000 population, the relevant mid-year population estimates produced by the National Records of Scotland are used.

Index rates per 10,000 population are additionally presented in the Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin. The base figure used in all such indices is the Scotland figure, with Scotland having an index value of 100.

The indices are calculated as follows:

area of interest per 10,000 population rate / Scotland per 10,000 population rate * 100 / 1

The indices allow different geographic areas to be compared to each other in relation to how they compare to the Scottish level. An index value of over 100 means the area of interest has a higher level than Scotland and vice versa.