Professor John Robertson OBA

From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: November 2025 published on 27 November 2025:

Police recorded crime changed little between year ending June 2024 and year ending June 2025, increasing by 1%. The total number of crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in the year ending June 2025 was 303,343. This was 3,265 crimes (or 1%) higher than the level recorded in the year ending June 2024. The recording of crime remains below the position immediately prior to the pandemic (2019-20) and is down 51% from its peak in 1991.

Property and violent crime has fallen by 37% since 2008-09. Results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) show that one-in-five (19.9%) adults were estimated to have experienced at least one crime in 2023-24. This included property crime (10.3% of adults), violent crime (2.9%) and for the first time fraud and computer misuse (9.5%)

Recorded violent crime changed little in the most recent year. Non-sexual crimes of violence recorded by the police increased by 1%, from 71,349 in the year ending June 2024 to 71,915 in the year ending June 2025. Common assault (up 1%) made up the clear majority (83%) of all non-sexual crimes of violence recorded in the year ending June 2025. The SCJS showed that in 2023-24 the volume of violent crime increased by 73% since 2021-22. However, this is still 27% lower than 2008-09 and does not show a statistically significant change from 2019-20. It also showed that an estimated 44% of violent crime in 2023-24 was reported to the police.

Recorded sexual crimes increased in the most recent year. Sexual crimes increased by 5%, from 14,417 in the year ending June 2024 to 15,129 in the year ending June 2025. Sexual crimes have been increasing in the long term. Multiple factors lie behind the long term increase in recorded sexual crime including for example – historical reporting, more online offending and the impact of new legislation. 

*New* Number of victims of homicide at the lowest level since 1976. There were 45 homicide victims recorded by the police in Scotland in 2024-25, a 21% decrease from 2023-24 and a 24% decrease from 2015-16.

Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-and-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-november-2025/pages/statistics-on-crime-in-general/

Comparisons from ONS for same year.

Overall 6.6 million, TWICE the level, per head in Scotland – 300 000 times 11.

Source: https://justicedata-prod.apps.live-1.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk/justice-in-numbers