Crime in Scotland falls to 32-year low
Crime in Scotland has fallen by 10% to its lowest level in 32 years — with police forces in Tayside and Fife posting results ahead of the national average.
- By James Williamson
- Published in the Courier : 08.09.10
- Published online : 08.09.10 @ 12.17pm
Justice minister Kenny MacAskill welcomed the new figures by praising police for tackling what he called Scotland's "bevy and blades culture."
The number of crimes reported to the police in Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross hit a new low between April 2009 and April this year at 22,759 — 13% down on last year.
It was a similar story in Fife, where the number of incidents police were called to fell by to 12% overall to 21,120.
Both forces showed a significant drop in the amount of violent crime.
Mr MacAskill welcomed the statistics, in the annual Recorded Crime in Scotland report, by announcing that the number of police officers on Scotland's streets had reached an all-time high.
Latest police strength figures also showed there are almost 17,500 policemen and women in Scotland, up by 1200 on March 2007.
"In my view, the link between these statistics is clear," Mr MacAskill said. "This government has exceeded our pledge to recruit 1000 additional police officers — and that extra police presence on the streets is having a direct impact in communities across Scotland, where crime has now fallen to its lowest level in more than three decades.
"I congratulate our police on their efforts to tackle all kinds of crime, particularly in tackling the bevy and blades culture that continues to blight Scotland."
The amount of violent crime reported in Tayside has dropped by a sixth, with consistent 12-13% falls in crimes of dishonesty, fire-raising and vandalism and other crimes, including drug and weapons offences.
The only class of crime to increase on last year was indecent crime, which rose by 1%. The number of minor offences, including speeding, also dropped by 13% overall to around 36,000.
Among Fife's highlights was a drop of one third in the amount of violent crime, but there was also a rise of 35% in the number of indecent crimes reported.
The number of minor offences there remained steady at just under 35,000.
However, the overall falls mean that it is the fifth year in a row that crime has fallen in the Tayside force area, and the sixth consecutive year in Fife.
Across Scotland crime fell to its lowest level in more than three decades, with the total number of crimes in the country dropping by more than 37,500 to a new low of 338,028.
Throughout Scotland just under half of all crime was cleared up by police, with both Tayside and Fife above the national average.
However, both forces struggled to resolve vandalism and fire-raising cases, posting 33% and 35% detection rates respectively.
The statistics only take into account crimes reported to the police.
Leading the praise was Central Fife MSP Tricia Marwick, who said, "I am very pleased that there has been yet another significant reduction in crime levels in Fife over the last year and Fife Constabulary deserves great credit for this.
"Communities across Fife will be feeling the difference of efforts to tackle crime at all levels from cracking down on anti-social behaviour on the streets, to tackling the problems of drug and alcohol related crime in our communities."
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