Crime Statistics in Scotland 2025 | Key Facts

Crime in Scotland 2025

Scotland continues to witness evolving patterns in criminal activity throughout 2025, with police recorded crime statistics revealing both encouraging progress and emerging challenges. The comprehensive data collected by Police Scotland and analyzed by the Scottish Government provides essential insights into the safety and security landscape affecting communities across the nation. Understanding these trends helps residents, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies work collaboratively toward building safer neighborhoods and implementing effective crime prevention strategies.

The landscape of crime in Scotland 2025 reflects decades of sustained effort in policing, community engagement, and justice system reforms. Current figures show that recorded crime remains significantly below historical peaks, representing one of the lowest levels since the 1970s. The 299,111 crimes recorded by police in the year ending March 2025 demonstrates relative stability compared to the previous year, though specific crime categories show notable variations requiring targeted responses and continued vigilance from authorities and communities alike.

Interesting Stats & Facts about Crime in Scotland 2025

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25; Homicide in Scotland 2024-25; Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023-24

The statistics for Scotland 2025 reveal a complex crime landscape where traditional violent crimes reach historic lows while digital-era offences and certain property crimes present ongoing challenges. The remarkable achievement of recording only 45 homicides represents the culmination of sustained violence reduction strategies, particularly in Glasgow City which has seen homicides fall 66% since 2005-10. However, the 16,095 sexual crimes recorded highlight increased victim confidence in reporting and the growing prevalence of online sexual offending requiring innovative policing responses.

Scotland’s improving 56.0% clear up rate in 2025 demonstrates enhanced investigative effectiveness and efficient allocation of police resources. The exceptionally high 93.8% clear up rate for crimes against society reflects the nature of offences where perpetrators are often caught in the act. Meanwhile, the 37% decrease in property and violent crime since 2008-09 measured by the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey shows genuine reductions in victimization experiences across Scottish communities, providing reassurance that long-term crime prevention strategies are delivering tangible benefits for residents throughout Scotland 2025.

Total Recorded Crime in Scotland 2025

The total number of crimes recorded by Police Scotland provides the foundational measure of criminal activity requiring police attention and resources. In 2024-25, police recorded 299,111 crimes, representing a minimal decrease of 679 crimes (less than 1%) compared with the 299,790 crimes recorded in 2023-24. This stability follows a decade of relatively consistent crime levels, with total recorded crime in Scotland 2025 showing a 2% decrease over the past ten years since 2015-16.

The longer-term perspective reveals substantial progress in reducing crime across Scotland. Current recorded crime levels remain 51% below the peak recorded in 1991, demonstrating sustained improvements in community safety over three decades. The figures for Scotland 2025 also sit below the position immediately prior to the pandemic, with crime remaining at one of the lowest levels recorded since comprehensive statistics began in the 1970s.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

The stability in total recorded crime across Scotland 2025 masks important variations across different local authorities and crime categories. Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, recorded crime decreased in 21 local authorities, increased in seven, and changed very little (less than 1%) in four. East Renfrewshire experienced the largest percentage increase at 9%, while Shetland Islands saw the largest decrease at 17%, demonstrating significant geographic variation in crime patterns.

Over the longer ten-year period from 2015-16 to 2024-25, recorded crime patterns shifted across Scotland, with 19 local authorities experiencing decreases and 13 seeing increases. Scottish Borders recorded the largest percentage increase at 22%, while Shetland Islands achieved the largest decrease at 49%. These variations reflect differing demographic trends, economic conditions, policing strategies, and community characteristics across Scotland’s diverse regions. The crime rate per 10,000 population varies substantially by local authority, with urban areas typically showing higher rates than rural regions, though this pattern does not hold universally across all crime types in Scotland 2025.

Non-Sexual Crimes of Violence in Scotland 2025

Non-sexual crimes of violence represent some of the most serious offences affecting Scottish communities, encompassing murder, culpable homicide, serious assault, common assault, robbery, domestic abuse crimes, and other violent acts. In 2024-25, police in Scotland recorded 63,728 non-sexual crimes of violence, showing a less than 1% decrease from 63,893 offences in 2023-24. This category has increased 11% compared to 2015-16, though it remains below the peaks recorded between 2003-04 and 2011-12.

The composition of non-sexual violence crimes in Scotland 2025 is dominated by common assault, which accounts for 83% of all offences in this category. This reclassification occurred in 2021-22 when common assault and stalking were moved from the miscellaneous offences group to the non-sexual crimes of violence group, enhancing the accuracy of violent crime measurement.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25; Homicide in Scotland 2024-25

The homicide statistics for Scotland 2025 represent a remarkable achievement in violence reduction. With 45 victims recorded in 2024-25, this marks the lowest figure since comparable records began in 1976 and represents a 21% decrease from the 57 victims in 2023-24. The reduction has been particularly dramatic among male victims, which decreased 50% over the five-year period from 2005-10 to 2020-25, while female victims decreased 40% over the same period. In 2024-25, 67% of homicide victims were male (30 victims), with females accounting for 33% (15 victims).

Glasgow City recorded the highest number of homicide victims in Scotland 2025 with 13 deaths, representing 29% of Scotland’s total despite containing only 12% of the population. However, Glasgow has achieved remarkable progress, with the 48 homicides recorded over 2020-21 to 2024-25 representing a 66% decrease compared to the 142 homicides from 2005-06 to 2009-10. Most homicides in Scotland 2025 occurred in residential locations (58%), with 31% taking place in outdoor public places such as streets and footpaths. All 45 homicide cases recorded in 2024-25 were solved, demonstrating excellent investigative outcomes. The 55 persons accused of homicide in Scotland 2025 represents the lowest number since 1976, with 91% being male. The clear up rate for non-sexual crimes of violence improved to 68.4% in 2024-25, up from 68.0% in 2023-24.

Sexual Crimes in Scotland 2025

Sexual crimes continue to show a long-term upward trend in Scotland 2025, driven by multiple factors including increased historical reporting, growing online offending, impact of new legislation, and improved victim confidence in reporting. Police in Scotland recorded 16,095 sexual crimes in 2024-25, representing a 2% increase from 15,820 sexual crimes in 2023-24. This continues the sustained rise observed over the past two decades, with sexual crimes consistently reaching or near record high levels in recent years.

The increase in recorded sexual crimes does not necessarily indicate rising prevalence of sexual victimization in Scotland 2025. The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey data for 2018-20 estimated that 3.6% of adults experienced at least one serious sexual assault since age 16, unchanged from 2008-09, suggesting stable underlying victimization rates.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25; Scottish Crime and Justice Survey

The nature of sexual crimes recorded in Scotland 2025 encompasses a wide range of offences including rape and attempted rape, sexual assault, communicating indecently, disclosing or threatening to disclose intimate images, and various other sexual offences. New legislation, particularly the Online Safety Act 2023 which introduced offences related to intimate image abuse, has created additional categories of recordable sexual crimes. The Domestic Abuse Scotland Act 2018 also captures sexual crimes occurring within coercive controlling relationships.

Multiple factors contribute to the long-term increase in recorded sexual crimes across Scotland 2025. Historical reporting plays a significant role, with victims of historical sexual abuse increasingly coming forward, sometimes decades after the offence occurred. The high-profile investigations and prosecutions of historical abuse in institutions have encouraged other victims to report. Online offending represents a growing component, with crimes such as communicating indecently through social media and sharing intimate images without consent becoming more prevalent. New legislation has expanded the range of behaviors classified as sexual crimes, capturing conduct that previously may not have been recorded. Finally, improved police recording practices, specialist victim support services, and public awareness campaigns have increased victim confidence in reporting to authorities in Scotland 2025.

Crimes of Dishonesty in Scotland 2025

Crimes of dishonesty constitute the largest single crime group in Scotland 2025, accounting for 37% of all recorded crime. This category includes theft, shoplifting, housebreaking, fraud, and other dishonest acquisitions. Police in Scotland recorded 110,913 crimes of dishonesty in 2024-25, showing no change compared with 110,883 crimes in 2023-24. Despite remaining the most common crime type, dishonesty crimes have decreased substantially over the longer term, falling 48% since 2006-07 when 213,392 crimes were recorded.

The year ending June 2025 data shows 112,421 crimes of dishonesty, representing less than 1% increase from 112,384 in year ending June 2024, and a 26% increase compared to year ending June 2021 when 89,259 crimes were recorded.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

Shoplifting represents the most significant growth area within dishonesty crimes in Scotland 2025, with 30,952 offences recorded in 2024-25, marking a 5% increase from the previous year and a 23% increase over ten years. This upward trend reflects multiple factors including economic pressures, organized retail crime, and changing retail environments. Shoplifting now accounts for 28% of all dishonesty crimes and 10% of total recorded crime in Scotland 2025.

Fraud has also increased substantially, with 19,329 fraud crimes recorded in 2024-25, showing a 1% increase from 2023-24 and a 24% increase since 2015-16. Fraud now represents 17% of all dishonesty crimes in Scotland 2025. The growth in fraud offences reflects increasing sophistication of fraudsters, greater online activity creating new opportunities for fraud, and improved reporting and recording by police. Common fraud types include online payment fraud, banking fraud, identity fraud, and benefit fraud.

In contrast, housebreaking has declined significantly over the longer term, with 14,518 offences recorded in Scotland 2025, down 3% from 2023-24 and down 33% since 2015-16. This positive trend reflects improved home security, greater use of alarm systems and CCTV, neighborhood watch schemes, and targeted policing operations. Vehicle-related theft has also decreased, with theft of motor vehicles down 3% to 4,447 offences and theft from motor vehicles down 3% to 5,771 offences in Scotland 2025. The clear up rate for dishonesty crimes remains relatively low at 37.6% in 2024-25, though this represents an improvement from 36.0% in 2023-24, reflecting the challenging nature of investigating property crimes where offenders are often unknown to victims.

Fire-Raising, Vandalism and Malicious Mischief in Scotland 2025

Fire-raising, vandalism and malicious mischief crimes include deliberately starting fires, damaging property, and other acts of destructive behavior. Police in Scotland recorded 31,632 crimes in this category during 2024-25, representing no change compared with 31,677 crimes in 2023-24. This crime group accounts for 11% of all recorded crime in Scotland 2025 and has shown substantial long-term decline, falling 54% since 2005-06 when 68,478 crimes were recorded.

The year ending June 2025 data shows 31,970 fire-raising and vandalism crimes, a 1% increase from 31,671 in year ending June 2024, but 49% lower than year ending June 2006 when 62,653 crimes were recorded.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

Vandalism dominates this crime group, accounting for 91% of offences with 28,851 crimes recorded in Scotland 2025. Vandalism includes deliberate damage to property such as graffiti, broken windows, damaged vehicles, and destruction of public property. The relatively stable level of vandalism in recent years contrasts with the sharp declines observed between 2005-06 and 2015-16, when vandalism fell 55%. Fire-raising offences, which include arson and reckless fire-raising, totaled 2,781 crimes in Scotland 2025, representing a 3% decrease from the previous year and accounting for 9% of this crime group.

The substantial long-term decline in fire-raising and vandalism crimes reflects multiple factors including improved street lighting, increased CCTV coverage, community engagement initiatives, restorative justice programs for young offenders, and greater community pride in local areas. The clear up rate for fire-raising and vandalism improved to 28.7% in 2024-25 from 27.5% in 2023-24, though it remains among the lower clear up rates across crime groups due to the often opportunistic and anonymous nature of these offences. Geographic variations exist, with some local authorities experiencing increases while others see decreases, reflecting local circumstances and policing priorities across Scotland 2025.

Crimes Against Society in Scotland 2025

Crimes against society represent offences where there may not be a direct individual victim but where society as a whole is harmed. This category includes drug offences, weapons possession, crimes against public justice, and other offences. Police in Scotland recorded 76,743 crimes against society in 2024-25, representing a 1% decrease from 77,347 crimes in 2023-24. This crime group accounts for 26% of all recorded crime in Scotland 2025 and has shown significant growth over the past decade, increasing 35% since 2015-16.

Crimes against society achieve by far the highest clear up rate of any crime group at 93.8% in 2024-25, up from 93.1% in 2023-24. This exceptionally high rate reflects the fact that many of these crimes come to police attention through proactive policing activity such as stop and search, drug enforcement operations, and custody searches, meaning perpetrators are often caught in the act or immediately identified.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

Drug crimes represent the largest component of crimes against society, with 39,103 offences recorded in Scotland 2025, accounting for 51% of this crime group and 13% of all recorded crime. Drug crimes decreased 3% from 2023-24 but remain 22% higher than 2015-16. The level of drug crimes is heavily influenced by police priorities and operational activity rather than necessarily reflecting changes in drug use prevalence. Within drug crimes, possession offences account for approximately 68% while supply and production offences account for 32% in Scotland 2025.

Crimes against public justice increased substantially to 28,726 offences in Scotland 2025, up 2% from 2023-24 and up 65% since 2015-16. This category includes offences such as threatening or obstruction of police, bail offences, perjury, and other acts that obstruct the course of justice. The significant growth reflects both genuine increases in certain behaviors such as threats toward emergency workers and improvements in recording practices. Legislation such as the Emergency Workers Scotland Act 2005 has created specific offences providing greater protection for police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other emergency responders.

Weapons possession offences totaled 5,639 crimes in Scotland 2025, showing a 1% decrease from 2023-24 and remaining relatively stable over the past decade with a 2% decrease since 2015-16. This category includes possession of offensive weapons, carrying knives and bladed articles, and firearm offences. The stable trend reflects sustained enforcement efforts and community safety initiatives. Scotland has implemented robust knife crime prevention strategies including stop and search powers, education programs in schools, and diversionary activities for young people at risk of weapon carrying. The clear up rate for weapons possession offences is exceptionally high at 98.2% in Scotland 2025, as these crimes are typically discovered through proactive policing or during arrest for other offences.

Crime Victimization from Scottish Crime and Justice Survey in Scotland 2025

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey provides complementary data to police recorded crime by measuring crime victimization experiences directly from adults living in private households across Scotland. The survey captures crimes whether or not they were reported to police, providing important insights into the hidden figure of crime and long-term victimization trends. The latest published survey data covers 2023-24, with interviews conducted between April 2023 and March 2024.

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023-24 estimated that 19.9% of adults aged 16 and over (approximately one in five adults) experienced at least one crime in the 12 months prior to interview. This figure remained stable compared to 2021-22 when 19.6% of adults experienced crime. Breaking down by crime type, 10.3% of adults experienced property crime, 9.5% experienced fraud or computer misuse, and 2.0% experienced violent crime in Scotland 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023-24

The long-term trend from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey shows substantial reductions in victimization over the past 15 years. Comparing 2008-09 with 2023-24, the combined measure of property and violent crime decreased 37%, from 31.5% of adults experiencing crime to 19.9% in Scotland 2025. This genuine reduction in crime victimization provides reassurance that the improvements in community safety are real and not simply artifacts of recording practices.

Property crime victimization has declined particularly sharply, falling from 23.0% of adults in 2008-09 to 10.3% in 2023-24, a 55% reduction. This dramatic fall reflects the substantial decreases in housebreaking, vehicle crime, and other traditional property offences over this period. Violent crime victimization has also decreased, from 3.4% of adults in 2008-09 to 2.0% in 2023-24, a 41% reduction, demonstrating progress in violence reduction across Scotland 2025.

Fraud and computer misuse have emerged as significant concerns in Scotland 2025, with 9.5% of adults experiencing these crimes in 2023-24. This category has shown relative stability in recent years but represents a substantially higher proportion of crime victimization than in the past, reflecting the growth of online criminal activity. Common experiences include online banking fraud, identity theft, computer viruses, and email or social media hacking. The survey also revealed that 8.9% of adults reported experiencing at least one serious assault since age 16, including partner abuse, stranger violence, and assault by acquaintances. Among those who experienced serious assault, 15% reported the most recent incident to police, highlighting that the majority of violent victimization remains unreported, meaning police recorded crime substantially undercounts the true prevalence of violence in Scotland 2025.

Hate Crime in Scotland 2025

Hate crime represents criminal offences motivated by prejudice or hostility based on protected characteristics including race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity. Police in Scotland recorded 8,362 hate crimes in 2024-25, showing a 4% increase from 8,034 hate crimes in 2023-24. The year ending June 2025 data shows 7,697 hate crimes, a 5% increase from 7,346 in year ending June 2024, indicating a consistent upward trend in recorded hate crime across Scotland 2025.

Hate crime statistics must be interpreted with caution, as increases in recorded figures often reflect improved reporting by victims, better recording by police, increased awareness of hate crime, and enhanced victim support services, rather than necessarily indicating rising prejudice or hostility in society. Race-related hate crime remains the most common category, accounting for approximately 68% of all hate crimes recorded in Scotland 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25; Hate Crime Statistics

The composition of hate crime in Scotland 2025 shows that race-related offences dominate, accounting for approximately 68% of all hate crimes. These include crimes motivated by hostility toward ethnicity, nationality, or race, encompassing both racist abuse and xenophobic offences targeting migrants and foreign nationals. Sexual orientation hate crime represents approximately 14% of total hate crime, religion-related hate crime accounts for approximately 8%, disability hate crime represents approximately 6%, and transgender identity hate crime accounts for approximately 4% of recorded hate crimes in Scotland 2025.

The nature of hate crimes includes a wide range of offences, with common assault, threatening behavior, and vandalism representing frequent crime types. Many hate crimes occur in public spaces including streets, public transport, and shopping areas, though online hate crime is an emerging concern with social media platforms enabling anonymous harassment and abuse. The clear up rate for hate crime is generally higher than for many other crime types, reflecting the often known relationship between victim and perpetrator and police prioritization of hate crime investigations in Scotland 2025.

Legislative developments have shaped hate crime recording and prosecution in Scotland 2025. The Hate Crime and Public Order Scotland Act 2021, which came into force in April 2021, consolidated and extended hate crime legislation, creating statutory aggravations for age and variations in sex characteristics while strengthening protections for existing characteristics. The Act also created a new offence of stirring up hatred, though this has proven controversial. Police Scotland and the Crown Office continue to work on improving hate crime data quality, victim support, and investigative outcomes, recognizing the devastating impact hate crimes have on victims and communities across Scotland 2025.

Drug-Related Crime in Scotland 2025

Drug-related crime represents a significant component of crimes against society, with police activity and enforcement priorities heavily influencing recorded levels. Police in Scotland recorded 39,103 drug crimes in 2024-25, representing a 3% decrease from 40,390 drug crimes in 2023-24. Despite this recent decrease, drug crimes remain 22% higher than 2015-16 when 32,110 drug crimes were recorded. Drug offences account for 13% of all recorded crime and 51% of crimes against society in Scotland 2025.

The year ending June 2025 data shows 39,502 drug crimes, a 2% decrease from 40,194 in year ending June 2024. This stability follows a period of increased drug crime recording during 2019-20 to 2021-22, possibly influenced by changing policing priorities during and after the pandemic. Drug crime levels are heavily dependent on police operational activity including stop and search, warrant execution, custody searches, and intelligence-led operations, meaning recorded figures reflect police activity as much as or more than underlying drug use prevalence in Scotland 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

Drug possession offences account for approximately 68% of all drug crimes in Scotland 2025, totaling around 26,590 offences in 2024-25. These include possession of cannabis, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and other controlled substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Cannabis remains the most commonly detected drug, though Class A drug detections have increased in recent years reflecting both changing drug markets and police targeting of more serious drugs. Possession offences are typically discovered through stop and search, vehicle stops, custody searches, and as secondary discoveries during other police investigations.

Drug supply and production offences represent approximately 32% of drug crimes, totaling around 12,513 offences in Scotland 2025. These more serious offences include cultivation (particularly cannabis farms), production of controlled drugs, possession with intent to supply, and supply or offering to supply. Police Scotland prioritizes disrupting drug supply networks through intelligence-led operations, warrant executions at suspected production sites, and targeting organized crime groups involved in drug trafficking. The clear up rate for drug crimes is exceptionally high at 98.9% in 2024-25, as offenders are almost always identified at the time of detection, whether through arrest, formal warning, or other police action.

Scotland faces significant public health challenges related to drug use, particularly drug-related deaths which have been among the highest in Europe. While police recorded drug crime statistics provide information on enforcement activity, they do not directly measure drug use prevalence or harms. The Scottish Government’s drug policy focuses on treating drug use as a health issue while maintaining enforcement against supply and organized crime. Initiatives include expanding treatment services, implementing drug consumption rooms in some areas, improving harm reduction provision, and increasing access to overdose prevention medication. The relationship between enforcement activity and drug-related harms remains complex, with Scotland 2025 seeing continued efforts to balance public health and criminal justice approaches to addressing drug issues.

Domestic Abuse in Scotland 2025

Domestic abuse represents one of the most harmful crime types affecting Scottish communities, with incidents often occurring behind closed doors and characterized by patterns of controlling and coercive behavior. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 came into force in April 2019, creating a specific offence of engaging in a course of abusive behavior toward a partner or ex-partner. Police in Scotland recorded 2,573 crimes under this Act in 2024-25, representing a 5% increase from 2,442 crimes in 2023-24 and the highest level since the Act’s implementation. The number of crimes has increased 53% since 2019-20 when 1,681 crimes were recorded.

The year ending June 2025 data shows 2,502 Domestic Abuse Act crimes, a 4% increase from 2,401 in year ending June 2024. This sustained upward trend reflects growing awareness of the Act among police and public, increased victim confidence in reporting, improved police identification and recording of domestic abuse patterns, and enhanced understanding of coercive control as a criminal behavior in Scotland 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25; Domestic Abuse Statistics

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 crime represents only part of the domestic abuse picture in Scotland 2025. Police also record many other crimes with a domestic abuse aggravator, including common assault, serious assault, threatening behavior, and sexual crimes occurring within domestic relationships. When combining the Domestic Abuse Act crimes with other offences flagged as domestic abuse-related, the total number of domestic abuse crimes is substantially higher, though comprehensive figures require annual detailed statistical releases.

Police Scotland recorded 65,251 incidents with a domestic abuse marker in 2024-25, representing all situations where police attended and identified domestic abuse elements, whether or not a crime was recorded. This broader measure increased 1% less than from 66,058 incidents in 2023-24 and provides insight into the volume of police demand related to domestic abuse situations in Scotland 2025. Many domestic abuse incidents do not result in crime recording due to victim non-cooperation, insufficient evidence, or the matter being resolved through other means, though police still provide support and referrals to specialist services.

The characteristics of domestic abuse in Scotland 2025 show clear patterns, with 82% of victims being female and 18% male, reflecting the gendered nature of domestic abuse where women are disproportionately affected. Repeat victimization is common, with many victims experiencing multiple incidents over time, often escalating in severity. The clear up rate for Domestic Abuse Act crimes is high at 87.4% in 2024-25, as perpetrators are almost always known to victims and police. However, securing prosecutions can be challenging due to victim vulnerability, intimidation, relationship complexities, and evidential difficulties. Police Scotland has implemented specialist domestic abuse training, risk assessment tools, dedicated domestic abuse investigation units, and partnership working with support organizations to improve outcomes for victims in Scotland 2025.

Cybercrime in Scotland 2025

Cybercrime represents an evolving and growing threat across Scotland 2025, encompassing a wide range of offences where computers, networks, or digital devices play an essential role in the crime’s commission. Police Scotland has enhanced its recording of cyber-enabled crime by flagging offences with a cyber marker, providing greater visibility of the digital dimension of criminal activity. The year ending June 2025 data shows 18,522 crimes with a cyber marker, representing 6% of all recorded crime and showing substantial growth in identified cyber criminality.

Cybercrime spans multiple crime categories, with sexual crimes, crimes of dishonesty (particularly fraud), and miscellaneous offences (including communications offences) most commonly involving cyber elements. The growth in identified cybercrime partly reflects genuine increases in online offending as more of life moves digital, improved police recognition and flagging of cyber elements, and enhanced victim reporting of online crimes in Scotland 2025.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

Sexual crimes represent a significant component of identified cybercrime in Scotland 2025, with offences including online grooming of children, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, communicating indecently through social media or messaging apps, and causing persons to view sexual images. The Online Safety Act 2023 introduced new offences related to intimate image abuse, creating specific criminal provisions for sharing intimate images without consent and threats to share such images. These legislative developments have increased the recordable sexual crimes with cyber elements, reflecting the growing challenge of online sexual offending.

Fraud represents another major cybercrime category in Scotland 2025, with online banking fraud, payment card fraud, identity theft, phishing attacks, and investment fraud all involving cyber elements. Criminals exploit digital vulnerabilities, use social engineering techniques, deploy malware and ransomware, and operate sophisticated fraud schemes targeting individuals and businesses. The borderless nature of cybercrime creates investigation challenges, as perpetrators often operate internationally while victimizing Scottish residents. Police Scotland works with the National Cyber Crime Unit, international law enforcement partners, and private sector organizations to combat cyber fraud.

Communications offences have proliferated with social media ubiquity, including threatening messages, harassment through digital platforms, malicious communications, and online hate speech. These offences can cause significant psychological harm to victims while being relatively easy for perpetrators to commit from anonymity. Young people are particularly vulnerable both as victims and perpetrators of online communications offences. Police Scotland has developed specialized cyber investigation capabilities, invested in digital forensics, trained officers in cyber evidence gathering, and established partnerships with technology companies to address the growing cyber threat landscape in Scotland 2025. However, resource constraints, evolving criminal techniques, and the volume of cyber-enabled crime present ongoing challenges for law enforcement.

Geographic Variations in Crime Across Scotland 2025

Crime levels and patterns vary substantially across Scotland’s 32 local authority areas, reflecting differences in population density, demographics, socioeconomic conditions, urban versus rural characteristics, and local circumstances. In 2024-25, Glasgow City recorded the highest number of crimes with 45,841 crimes, accounting for 15% of Scotland’s total recorded crime despite containing 12% of the population. The crime rate per 10,000 population provides a more meaningful comparison across areas of different sizes.

Glasgow City recorded 703 crimes per 10,000 population in 2024-25, the highest rate among local authorities in Scotland 2025. Other local authorities with relatively high crime rates include Dundee City with 619 crimes per 10,000 population, Edinburgh City with 533 crimes per 10,000 population, and Aberdeen City with 475 crimes per 10,000 population. These urban areas experience higher crime rates than rural regions, reflecting greater population density, more opportunities for crime, anonymity factors, and socioeconomic challenges.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

Rural and island local authorities generally experience lower crime rates than urban areas in Scotland 2025. Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) recorded the lowest crime rate at 210 crimes per 10,000 population, followed by Orkney Islands at 252 and Shetland Islands at 245. These remote communities benefit from close-knit social networks, lower population density, strong community identity, and limited opportunities for certain crime types. However, they face unique challenges including limited policing resources, geographic isolation, and difficulties accessing specialist support services.

Year-on-year changes between 2023-24 and 2024-25 varied significantly across local authorities. East Renfrewshire recorded the largest percentage increase at 9%, from 3,298 crimes to 3,602 crimes. Shetland Islands achieved the largest percentage decrease at 17%, from 675 crimes to 558 crimes. These variations reflect local circumstances, police operations, population changes, and year-to-year volatility particularly in smaller local authorities where individual incidents can substantially affect percentage changes.

Over the ten-year period from 2015-16 to 2024-25, 19 local authorities experienced decreases in recorded crime while 13 saw increases. Scottish Borders recorded the largest percentage increase at 22%, from 3,780 crimes to 4,618 crimes, while Shetland Islands achieved the largest decrease at 49%, from 1,103 crimes to 558 crimes. Understanding these geographic patterns helps Police Scotland and local authorities allocate resources effectively, develop targeted interventions, and address specific local crime challenges across Scotland’s diverse communities in Scotland 2025.

Clear Up Rates in Scotland 2025

The crime clear up rate measures the percentage of recorded crimes that police have solved through charging or reporting individuals to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, or through other resolution methods such as fiscal warnings or fixed penalties. Scotland’s overall crime clear up rate improved to 56.0% in 2024-25, up from 54.1% in 2023-24, demonstrating enhanced investigative effectiveness across Police Scotland. This represents the highest clear up rate recorded in recent years, indicating improvements in investigation quality, prioritization, and resource allocation.

Clear up rates vary substantially by crime type, reflecting different levels of investigative difficulty, victim and witness cooperation, evidence availability, and police prioritization. Crimes against society achieve the highest clear up rate at 93.8% because perpetrators are typically caught in the act during proactive police operations. In contrast, crimes of dishonesty achieve only 37.6% clear up as property crimes often involve unknown offenders with limited evidence.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

The exceptionally high clear up rates for crimes against society reflect the nature of these offences and how police detect them in Scotland 2025. Drug crimes achieve 98.9% clear up because individuals are almost always identified when drugs are discovered, whether through arrest, formal warning, or recorded police warning. Similarly, weapons possession offences clear up at 98.2% as discovery typically occurs during stop and search, custody searches, or vehicle stops where the individual in possession is immediately identified. Crimes against public justice also achieve high clear up rates as offenders are usually known from the outset, such as individuals arrested for threatening police officers or breaching bail conditions.

Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 crimes achieve an 87.4% clear up rate in Scotland 2025, reflecting that perpetrators are almost always known to victims and police. However, securing evidence and prosecutions can be challenging despite knowing the perpetrator, due to victim vulnerability, relationship complexities, intimidation, and difficulties proving patterns of coercive control over time. Non-sexual crimes of violence achieve 68.4% clear up, with common assault and serious assault often involving known relationships between victims and offenders, facilitating identification though not always resulting in prosecution.

Sexual crimes present significant investigative challenges, achieving 56.9% clear up in Scotland 2025. Many sexual crimes involve known perpetrators (acquaintances, partners, family members), but securing evidence, victim cooperation, and successful prosecution is difficult. Historical sexual abuse cases, which constitute a growing proportion of recorded sexual crimes, are particularly challenging to investigate and prosecute due to time elapsed, memory degradation, absence of physical evidence, and deceased witnesses. Online sexual offences present modern challenges including international jurisdiction, anonymity, encryption, and technical complexity.

Crimes of dishonesty achieve only 37.6% clear up in Scotland 2025, reflecting the challenging nature of property crime investigations where perpetrators are often unknown to victims, no witnesses exist, limited forensic evidence is available, and stolen property is difficult to trace. Shoplifting typically achieves higher clear up than other theft types when offenders are caught in stores or identified through CCTV. Housebreaking and vehicle theft often have lower clear up rates due to unknown offenders operating opportunistically. Fraud investigations are complex, frequently involving sophisticated criminals, online elements, and cross-border dimensions requiring specialist resources.

Fire-raising and vandalism achieve the lowest clear up rate at 28.7% in Scotland 2025, as these crimes are often opportunistic, occur without witnesses, leave limited forensic evidence, and involve unknown offenders. Improving clear up rates across all crime types remains a priority for Police Scotland, with initiatives including enhanced forensic capabilities, better intelligence sharing, improved digital investigation skills, partnership working with communities, and targeted operations focusing on prolific offenders contributing to better investigative outcomes in Scotland 2025.

Youth Crime and Offending in Scotland 2025

Young people as both victims and offenders represent an important dimension of crime statistics in Scotland 2025. While comprehensive detailed statistics on youth offending require specialist publications, police recorded crime data provides insights into certain age-related patterns. The Children’s Hearings System handles most youth offending in Scotland for children under 16, meaning many young offenders do not appear in criminal justice statistics. For those aged 16-17, decisions about prosecution versus referral to Children’s Hearings depend on offense seriousness and individual circumstances.

Police in Scotland increasingly use early and effective intervention approaches for young people involved in offending, including diversion from prosecution, restorative justice programs, youth justice assessments, and multi-agency support. These approaches recognize that most young people age out of offending naturally, and that formal criminal justice processing can be counterproductive by labeling youth as criminals, disrupting education and employment, and embedding them in criminal networks.

Data Source: Scottish Government – Youth Justice Statistics; Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25

Scotland raised the age of criminal responsibility from 8 years to 12 years in 2019, though this remains among the lowest ages in Europe and continues to attract criticism from children’s rights organizations. Children under 12 cannot be prosecuted for criminal offenses, though they can still be referred to Children’s Hearings on welfare grounds if involved in harmful behavior. For children aged 12-15, prosecution occurs only in exceptional circumstances for very serious offenses, with most being dealt with through Children’s Hearings which focus on understanding the child’s needs and providing support rather than punishment.

Young people aged 16-17 occupy a transitional position in Scotland’s youth justice system in 2025. They can be prosecuted in adult criminal courts, particularly for serious offenses, but can also be referred to Children’s Hearings depending on circumstances. Procurators Fiscal consider the young person’s age, maturity, offense seriousness, previous behavior, and best interests when deciding how to proceed. Many 16-17 year olds receive diversion from prosecution, fiscal warnings, or community-based interventions rather than formal prosecution.

Youth offending trends have generally declined in Scotland over recent decades, with fewer young people entering the criminal justice system and fewer proceeding through to prosecution and conviction. This reflects societal changes including better youth services, improved mental health and substance abuse support, educational engagement initiatives, and youth work provision. However, certain types of youth offending remain concerning, including knife carrying, gang involvement in some urban areas, online offending and cyberbullying, and substance abuse. Police Scotland works with local authorities, education services, social work, and voluntary organizations to implement early intervention programs, diversionary activities, mentoring schemes, and targeted support for vulnerable young people at risk of offending or victimization in Scotland 2025.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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