Professor John Robertson OBA
From Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2024-25 Official Statistics on clear up rates published yesterday:
In 2024-25 the clear up rate was 56.0%, up from 54.1% in 2023-24.
The large decrease seen between 2020-21 and 2021-22 likely reflected the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the types of crime recorded, with the volume of those crimes that have relatively lower clear up rates falling more sharply in 2020-21 than those with relatively higher clear up rates. The fall to 54.0% in 2021-22 from 59.3% in 2020-21 reflected a partial return to the volume of different crime types recorded prior to the pandemic (2019-20).
Non-sexual crimes of violence (68.4%) and Sexual crime (56.9%) continued to have higher clear up rates in 2024-25 than Crimes of dishonesty (35.1%) and Damage and reckless behaviour (31.0%).
England & Wales do not use the term ‘clear up‘ but rather ‘resolved with a charge/summons outcome.’
Assuming these terms are reasonably similar in their application to cases, the contrasts are shocking.
While an equivalent overall clear-up/resolved rate is not apparent, only round 40-50% non-sexual crimes of violence were resolved. For sexual crimes, only 3.6% were resolved, a clear-up rate one-sixteenth the rate in Scotland!
At first that seems implausible but bear in mind the huge numbers abused by grooming gangs – 1 400 girls in Rotherham alone – and the failure to clear-up thesr.

Sorry O/T.
Labour Two child cap no money
Waspi woman no money
Cuts to benefit
But we have this from Labour
UK to buy F-35 stealth jets that can carry US nuclear warheads……Plenty of money to kill people
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I hate to keep repeating my frustration with Swinney but here on Thursday was yet another example missed when raised at FM’s Q’s. Instead we got his usual stock answer about the increased funding and ‘his worry’ over this rise in Sex crime. On occasions like this I heart back to Salmond who would have crucified the opposition.
Robbo.
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