From Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 31 March 2026 published tody:

Scotland’s Chief Statistician has published statistics on Police Officer Quarterly Strength, which gives the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland. The key findings of the statistics are: there were 16,430 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland on 31 March 2026 and this is an increase of 196 FTE police officers (+1.2%) from the 16,234 FTE police officers recorded at 31 March 2007. https://www.gov.scot/publications/police-officer-quarterly-strength-statistics-31-march-2026/

You can see in the graph above how overall crime in Scotland has plummeted since 2002 but, crucially, has continued to do so in Scotland since 2007 under the SNP while in England & Wales it climbed again after the Conservative victory in 2010 and massive police staffing cuts.

Some will quickly say not all crime is reported to the police.

True, but:

From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: March 2026:

Public perception that the crime rate in their local area had decreased or stayed the same over the last couple of years has increased since 2008/09. The SCJS found that almost three quarters (72%) of adults in 2024-25 said that the crime rate in their local area had decreased or stayed the same over the last couple of years. This is higher than the 60% in 2008/09 but unchanged since 2023/24.

Most adults feel safe walking alone after dark. The SCJS found that three quarters (75%) of adults said that they felt very or fairly safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark in 2023-24. This is an increase from 66% in 2008-09 but has been stable since 2016-17

Fall in emergency hospital admissions due to assault since 2015-16. In 2024-25, there were 1,554 emergency hospital admissions due to assault, including 376 due to assault with a sharp object. These were, respectively, 36% and 33% lower than in 2015-16. https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-and-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-march-2026/pages/statistics-on-community-safety/

and finally:

From the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2024/25: Main findings published yesterday, see the above striking images. From the first year of SNP-rule until their 18th in 2023/2024, worry about all forms of violent crime, based on what people say themselves and not the often under-reported police figures, has fallen, in the case of physical violence of a personal nature, by around just under half.

Imagine the media coverage if these trends went the opposite way.

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is a large scale social survey which asks people about their experiences and perceptions of crime and the justice system. The survey is conducted in person, within respondents’ homes. Sections addressing sensitive topics are filled out by the respondents themselves, using the interviewer’s laptop or tablet.

This report presents the results for the twelfth SCJS, with interviews conducted between April 2024 and April 2025. The 2024/25 survey is based on 4,948 face-to-face interviews with adults (aged 16 or over) living in private households in Scotland.

These statistics are accredited official statistics. The Office for Statistics Regulation has independently reviewed and accredited these statistics as complying with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-crime-and-justice-survey-2024-25-main-findings/pages/introduction/

See that last bit? You can trust this stuff unlike 99% of that which the opposition parties and their media chums try to tell you.

So, police reports, what people actually feel, what people actually report to researchers and hospital A&E admissions due to violent crime, all saying the same thing – By any measure crime really is down under the SNP.