How much crime is there in Scotland?
Recorded crime levels are among the lowest level since 1974, with Police Scotland recording 289,362 crimes in 2022/23. This number does not include many minor offences such as speeding and anti-social behaviour.
In 2022-23, there were 172,207 offences recorded by the police in Scotland. This was a 5% decrease from 2021-22.
However, it should be noted that the police in Scotland treat crimes and offences in the same way.
Recently, information on crime has been extended to reflect change in society, including greater public use of online social media and shopping. Official police-recorded crime statistics now include the rates of cyber-crime (crime related to use of the internet) in Scotland.
Cyber-crime accounted for 26% of sexual crimes, 8% of crimes of dishonesty and 3% of non-sexual crimes of violence. Overall, 5% of crime is recorded as cyber-crime.
Percentage of different types of crime:
In 2022/23, Police Scotland recorded crime as:
| Percentage of crimes recorded | Type of crime |
| 36% | dishonesty e.g. theft. Crimes of dishonesty are the largest single type of crime |
| 24% | non-sexual crimes of violence e.g. assault |
| 21% | crimes against society e.g. drug possession and supply |
| 15% | damage and reckless behaviour e.g. vandalism |
| 5% | sexual crimes |
| Percentage of crimes recorded | 36% |
|---|---|
| Type of crime | dishonesty e.g. theft. Crimes of dishonesty are the largest single type of crime |
| Percentage of crimes recorded | 24% |
|---|---|
| Type of crime | non-sexual crimes of violence e.g. assault |
| Percentage of crimes recorded | 21% |
|---|---|
| Type of crime | crimes against society e.g. drug possession and supply |
| Percentage of crimes recorded | 15% |
|---|---|
| Type of crime | damage and reckless behaviour e.g. vandalism |
| Percentage of crimes recorded | 5% |
|---|---|
| Type of crime | sexual crimes |
The crime statistics above are the official figures as recorded by Police Scotland.
Only crimes which are reported are recorded in official figures, not all crimes which have been committed. People do not always contact the police when they are the victims of crime. This could be because the crime is minor or because they don鈥檛 believe the police will be able to catch the offender.
In 2022-23, Police Scotland estimated only 40% of crime was reported to the police.
Other studies of crime also indicate that there is more crime in Scottish society than is officially recorded by the police, for example, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey(SCJS), which surveys people on their experiences of crime.
In 2022-23, the clear up rate for official recorded crime was 53.3%, slightly down from the previous period (54%).
Although there are some exceptions, a crime or an offence is recorded as cleared up where the police have collected sufficient evidence for the Procurator Fiscal to consider criminal proceedings.
All statistics in this section are from the Scottish Government unless otherwise stated.