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The number of crimes committed in Scotland has fallen by 22% since 2008-09, according to the latest Scottish Government figures.
The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) 2012-13 reveals that of the 815,000 crimes measured by the SCJS in 2012-13, around 71% (579,000) were property crimes involving theft or damage to personal or household property (including vehicles). Around 236,000 were violent crimes of assault or robbery (accounting for 29% of crime).
The risk of being a victim of a crime has also fallen - down from 20.4% in 2008-09 to 16.9% in 2012-13. This means that around one in six adults aged 16 or over was the victim of at least one crime in that period.
Other findings from the survey show that in 2012-13:
* 39% of crimes were reported to the police, around the same rate as in recent years.
* Around two-thirds of respondents agreed that community sentencing is an effective way of dealing with less serious crime (66%) and that prisons are effective at protecting the public from crime (68%), however less than half were confident that the justice system deals with cases promptly and efficiently (43%) and that it gives punishments that fit the crime (32%).
* Violent crime is on a long-term downward trend, falling by 25% since 2008-09.
* People continue to believe the likelihood of being a victim of crime is higher than the reality – in most cases the perceived risk is two or three times higher than actual risk and for some crimes such as mugging or car theft the perceived risk was 20 times higher.
If you have been charged with a criminal offence and require specialist criminal defence advice, give us a call on 01383 730466 (Dunfermline) or 01592 640680 (Kirkcaldy) or contact us online here.
