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Indicator 22. Crime
Total number of crimes
Crimes recorded by the police
Crimes recorded by the police (000's)
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|
Total crimes | 517 | 500 | 476 | 452 | 421 | 432 | 436 | 423 | 421 | 427 | 407 |
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Domestic housebreaking (dwellings) | | 40 | 34 | 32 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 18 |
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Source: Scottish Executive
The relevance of the indicator
Reducing crime is an important element in creating sustainable communities.
Detailed definition and source details
The indicator is defined as the total number of recorded crimes. The data is taken from the quarterly crimes made known return sent to the Scottish Executive Justice Department by the eight police forces in Scotland and published in the annual statistical bulletin Recorded Crime in Scotland1.
The quarterly crimes made known statistical return is a simple count of the numbers of crimes and offences recorded and cleared up by the eight police forces in Scotland. One return is made every quarter for each Council in Scotland and these are aggregated to give police force and national totals. Each crime/offence is recorded under an individual category and these categories can then be aggregated to form various crime/offence groups.
Trends
In 2003, the number of crimes recorded by the police decreased by 5 per cent, more than reversing the slight increase recorded in 2002. The number of crimes in 2003 (406,979) was the lowest level recorded for nearly a quarter of a century. The number of recorded crimes in 2003 was 3 per cent lower than the previous ten year low figure of 420,642 in 1997 and was 29 per cent lower than the peak 1991 figure. Movements in recorded crime are influenced by trends in 'Crimes of Dishonesty' which includes the crime of 'Domestic housebreaking (dwellings)'.
Further disaggregation
Crimes per 100,000 population are higher for urban councils than rural councils. Between 1996 and 2003, the number of crimes recorded fell by 10% in urban councils and by 8% in rural councils. Recorded crime figures are available from 1930 to 2003. Further disaggregation by type of crime is provided in the annual recorded crime statistical bulletins 2.
Number of crimes recorded by the police in urban and rural Council areas per 100,000 population
Crimes/100,000 population
Year | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
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Urban Councils | 100.6 | 94.6 | 97.7 | 98.9 | 96.0 | 94.9 | 96.3 | 90.9 |
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Rural Councils | 60.4 | 54.4 | 54.8 | 55.0 | 53.9 | 55.2 | 56.5 | 55.7 |
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Scotland | 88.8 | 82.7 | 85.0 | 85.9 | 83.6 | 83.2 | 84.5 | 80.5 |
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Source: Scottish Executive
Target
10% reduction in domestic housebreaking in dwellings by April 2004. The 2004 figure will be compared to the average figure for the years 1997-2000. Local targets for other crimes are being set by police forces.
Action
The Deputy First Minister announced the target for a reduction in domestic housebreaking on 2 May 2001. This target encourages local authority crime prevention issues, improvements in housing design and a focus on areas of high incidence by the police. A significant reduction in the number of incidences was recorded in 2002-03 following reductions in 2001-02.
Footnotes1 Available on the Scottish Executive website at http:// www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00338-00.asp.
2 Recent copies are available on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk
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