Crime in Scotland rises for first time in 12 years as sex crime hits record levels

Crime in Scotland has increased for the first time in 12 years and sex crimes have surged to a record high, according to official figures.

Scottish Government statistics showed crime increased by two per cent in 2017/18 if a new offence of handling an offensive weapon is included.

But the total still increased by one per cent if this was omitted, with fewer than half (49.5 per cent) solved after the clear-up rate to the lowest level since Police Scotland was established.

Sexual crimes surged by 13 per cent in a single year and have almost doubled in a decade. They are at their highest level since comparable figures were first produced in 1971.

This was partly due to 421 offences involving “revenge porn” following new legislation last year. However, rape and attempted rape increased by 20 per cent compared to 2016/17.

The proportion of sex crimes cleared up by the police has also fallen to the lowest level since 1981, with four out of ten cases not solved. 

Liam Kerr, Scottish Tory Shadow Justice Minister

Among the other crimes to experience increases over the past year are robbery (eight per cent), shoplifting (nine per cent) and common assault (one per cent).

Humza Yousaf, the Justice Minister, said the small rise in overall crime was "disappointing" but argued it remained at historically low levels.

But Holyrood's opposition parties said the increase still translated into thousands of incidents and attacked the SNP government for cutting front-line policing.

Liam Kerr, the Scottish Tories' Shadow Justice Minister, said: "The police always do the best they can but the SNP simply have to resource them properly.

“The situation in Scotland now is that, should you commit a crime, you have more chance of not being caught than being brought to justice."

Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour's justice spokesman, said: "With crime sky rocketing by double digits in some areas, and more than half of crimes going unsolved, it is clear something is going seriously wrong." 

The figures showed the number of sexual assaults increased by 13 per cent last year and by two-thirds since 2011/12.

Rapes and attempted rapes have doubled since 2010/11 and a fifth over the past year to 2,255 cases.

Other sexual crimes, including public indecency and possessing and distributing indecent photos of children, have almost trebled since 2010/11 and surged by 14 per cent in 2017/18.

The report said at least 40 per cent of the 12,487 sexual crimes recorded in 2017/18 involved a victim under the age of 18.

But the clear-up rate for rape and attempted rape fell five points to 54.6 per cent, while it dropped by 1.8 points for other sexual crimes.

Crimes of dishonesty accounted for almost half (47 per cent) the overall total and increased by one per cent last year. Only 37 per cent were solved.

However, housebreaking dropped by seven per cent in 2017/18 and has fallen by 41 per cent over the past decade.

The council with the biggest increase in recorded crime last year was Falkirk, up 15 per cent, followed by East Renfrewshire (14 per cent), Scottish Borders (12 per cent) and Edinburgh (11 per cent).

Mr Yousaf highlighted research showing muggings have halved over the past decade and argued Scotland's streets are now safer.

He said the Scottish Government has "set up an expert group looking at new action to prevent sexual crime, of which we know increases are being driven by a growth in online crime, greater confidence in reporting and a long-term rise in historical cases."

Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: "The increase in recorded sexual crime suggests victims feel more confident coming forward to report to us and we want to support and encourage people to continue doing this."