Collection

Suspected drug deaths: statistics

Directorate: Population Health Directorate
Topic: Health and social care

This quarterly report presents Police Scotland management information to provide an indication of current trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland.

Introduction

Discontinuation of ‘Suspected drug deaths in Scotland’ management information publication

The Scottish Government has discontinued publication of its ‘Suspected drug deaths in Scotland’ management information report. The final release was in March 2026 and covered deaths up to the end of 2025.

Scottish Government statisticians made this change because Public Health Scotland (PHS) now releases equivalent suspected drug death data within the harm indicators section of their Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) Quarterly reports. Improvements, including the introduction of the Databelt system, mean that PHS is now able to provide the same detailed breakdowns - age, sex, and police division - that were previously only available in this Scottish Government publication. The Databelt system improves data accuracy, reduces human error and increases available police officer time for prevention and frontline duties. Moving to a single source of suspected drug death reporting removes duplication and supports clearer communication on drug-related harms in Scotland.

Quarterly management information

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Information

Introduction

Quarterly management information