John Swinney’s boast that crime in Scotland is at 40-year-lows has been exposed by new data which showed that serious violent crime is actually rising across the country. More than 1,000 incidents are being reported every month in SNP’s soft-touch justice country.
The damning figures are driven by a spate of assaults and robberies in the five biggest cities: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen and Dundee. Crime being reported include murder and culpable homicide, domestic abuse, death by dangerous driving and robbery.
Police Scotland’s quarterly crime data covers April to June 2023, with violent crime at its highest level since records began in April 2017. Glasgow and Edinburgh city centres are consistently at the top for violence, although Inverness Central is now in third place thanks to a big surge in the last six years, with 89 incidents reported in the 12 months to June 2023.
It is measured by crimes per 1,000 population, meaning it is on a par with Edinburgh and Aberdeen. George Street and Harbour in Aberdeen had 132 incidents, while Tillydrone/Seaton and Old Aberdeen also ranked high.
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The Times report that Dundee’s Maryfield, Coldside and Lochee were also violent hotspots as was Anderston/City/Yorkhill in Glasgow with 378 serious violent crimes in the year to June 2023, a 35% rise in six years. Edinburgh city centre rose 22% to 248 incidents in the most recent 12- month period.
There were 57 homicides in Scotland in 2023/24, five more than the previous year but the third lowest since comparable records began in 1976. Ten homicides last year were in Glasgow, with 86 robberies being reported which is a joint record with the 12 months leading up to June 2019.
Edinburgh City Centre
Anderston/City/Yorkhill in Glasgow
Inverness Central
George Street and Harbour in Aberdeen
Tillydrone/Seaton and Old Aberdeen
Dundee’s Maryfield
Dundee Coldside
Dundee Lochee
Mr Swinney claimed at First Minister’s Questions earlier this year that levels of crime are at 40-year lows but this has been disputed by fact-checkers who pointed out that figures have actually risen in the last few years, meaning it is misleading to suggest this. There has been a significant drop in prostitution crimes, as well as drugs possession, mainly due to how police deal with this in modern times.
Sharon Dowey, the Scottish Conservative spokeswoman for victims and community, said violent crime “is spiralling out of control across Scotland” and urged the SNP government to abandon its “soft-touch justice approach”.
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She said: “This has given the green light for violent criminals to wreak havoc across our communities as they know they often won’t be properly punished. With officer numbers continuing to be around their lowest level since 2008, SNP cuts mean hardworking officers do not have the resources they need to keep communities safe.”
Liam McArthur, the Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, described the rising violence as “deeply concerning” and said it “comes after many years of the SNP neglecting our justice system”. He said: “The thin blue line of Scottish policing is stretched like never before.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said any level of violence was “unacceptable” and that the relative decline since the days when Scotland was the most violent country in the developed world would be “little comfort to victims”. She added: “Recorded crime is at one of the lowest levels since 1974 and violence-related hospital admissions, knife-carrying, homicide rates and anti-social behaviour are all down over the long term.”
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