Publication - Statistics
Recorded Crime in Scotland: December 2020
Official Statistics on crimes and offences recorded by the police in Scotland for December 2020.
Part of
Tables
Table 1: Crimes recorded by the police, Scotland, December 2019 and December 2020
Table 2: Offences recorded by the police, Scotland, December 2019 and December 2020
Table 3: Crimes recorded by the police by local authority, Scotland, December 2019 and December 2020
Table 4: Crimes recorded by the police, Scotland, April to December 2019 and April to December 2020
Notes for these tables
- The symbol 'n/r' is used to denote where a percentage change figure is not reported. This is done if the denominator is less than ten as any resulting figure may be misleading.
- Please note that tables 1, 2, 4 and 5 can be accessed at local authority level online via the following link: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/978-1-80004-594-1
| December | % Change since December 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime group | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Total crimes1 | 19,209 | 18,229 | -5% |
| Non-sexual crimes of violence | 723 | 698 | -3% |
| Homicide etc. | 6 | 9 | n/r |
| Attempted murder & serious assault | 335 | 260 | -22% |
| Robbery | 123 | 125 | 2% |
| Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 | 134 | 128 | -4% |
| Other violence | 125 | 176 | 41% |
| Sexual crimes | 968 | 885 | -9% |
| Rape & attempted rape | 175 | 142 | -19% |
| Sexual assault | 341 | 278 | -18% |
| Crimes associated with prostitution | 6 | 7 | n/r |
| Other sexual crimes | 446 | 458 | 3% |
| Crimes of dishonesty | 8,502 | 7,767 | -9% |
| Housebreaking | 1,019 | 862 | -15% |
| Theft by opening a lockfast place (OLP) | 154 | 115 | -25% |
| Theft from a motor vehicle by OLP | 200 | 173 | -14% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 381 | 346 | -9% |
| Shoplifting | 2,377 | 1,829 | -23% |
| Other theft | 3,090 | 2,591 | -16% |
| Fraud | 905 | 1,497 | 65% |
| Other dishonesty | 376 | 354 | -6% |
| Fire-raising, vandalism etc. | 3,930 | 3,605 | -8% |
| Fire-raising | 217 | 181 | -17% |
| Vandalism etc. | 3,713 | 3,424 | -8% |
| Other crimes | 5,086 | 5,274 | 4% |
| Crimes against public justice | 1,728 | 1,928 | 12% |
| Handling offensive weapons | 716 | 656 | -8% |
| Not used in other criminal activity | 313 | 326 | 4% |
| Used in other criminal activity | 403 | 330 | -18% |
| Drugs | 2,627 | 2,677 | 2% |
| Other | 15 | 13 | -13% |
1. The total figure for recorded crime excludes the new crimes being recorded under the recently enacted coronavirus legislation. Please see the Crimes recorded under coronavirus legislation section for more information.
| December | % Change since December 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime group | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Total offences | 20,597 | 18,374 | -11% |
| Miscellaneous offences | 10,938 | 9,382 | -14% |
| Common assault | 5,175 | 4,185 | -19% |
| Breach of the peace etc. | 4,197 | 3,703 | -12% |
| Drunkenness and other disorderly conduct | 280 | 254 | -9% |
| Urinating etc. | 222 | 37 | -83% |
| Other miscellaneous offences | 1,064 | 1,203 | 13% |
| Motor vehicle offences | 9,659 | 8,992 | -7% |
| Dangerous and careless driving | 1,009 | 893 | -11% |
| Driving under the influence | 693 | 578 | -17% |
| Speeding | 1,733 | 1,561 | -10% |
| Unlawful use of vehicle | 3,306 | 3,602 | 9% |
| Vehicle defect offences | 568 | 436 | -23% |
| Seat belt offences | 125 | 83 | -34% |
| Mobile phone offences | 131 | 86 | -34% |
| Other motor vehicle offences | 2,094 | 1,753 | -16% |
| December | Change since December 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Aberdeen City | 934 | 929 | -1% |
| Aberdeenshire | 521 | 491 | -6% |
| Angus | 202 | 279 | 38% |
| Argyll & Bute | 149 | 190 | 28% |
| Clackmannanshire | 178 | 142 | -20% |
| Dumfries & Galloway | 462 | 504 | 9% |
| Dundee City | 805 | 804 | 0% |
| East Ayrshire | 489 | 452 | -8% |
| East Dunbartonshire | 215 | 230 | 7% |
| East Lothian | 292 | 352 | 21% |
| East Renfrewshire | 177 | 139 | -21% |
| Edinburgh City | 2,259 | 1,964 | -13% |
| Falkirk | 563 | 534 | -5% |
| Fife | 1,052 | 1,175 | 12% |
| Glasgow City | 3,300 | 2,732 | -17% |
| Highland | 655 | 590 | -10% |
| Inverclyde | 322 | 268 | -17% |
| Midlothian | 320 | 344 | 8% |
| Moray | 227 | 240 | 6% |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 65 | 42 | -35% |
| North Ayrshire | 475 | 543 | 14% |
| North Lanarkshire | 1,480 | 1,394 | -6% |
| Orkney Islands | 25 | 18 | -28% |
| Perth & Kinross | 382 | 396 | 4% |
| Renfrewshire | 619 | 586 | -5% |
| Scottish Borders | 311 | 322 | 4% |
| Shetland Islands | 24 | 39 | 63% |
| South Ayrshire | 390 | 296 | -24% |
| South Lanarkshire | 1,121 | 1,041 | -7% |
| Stirling | 315 | 243 | -23% |
| West Dunbartonshire | 325 | 335 | 3% |
| West Lothian | 555 | 615 | 11% |
| Scotland1 | 19,209 | 18,229 | -5% |
1. The total figure for recorded crime excludes the new crimes being recorded under the recently enacted coronavirus legislation. Please see the Crimes recorded under coronavirus legislation section for more information.
| Crime group | April to December 2019 | April to December 2020 | % Change since 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total crimes1 | 187,513 | 176,562 | -6% |
| Non-sexual crimes of violence | 7,191 | 6,677 | -7% |
| Homicide etc. | 94 | 75 | -20% |
| Attempted murder & serious assault | 3,260 | 2,681 | -18% |
| Robbery | 1,279 | 1,300 | 2% |
| Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 | 1,300 | 1,167 | -10% |
| Other violence | 1,258 | 1,454 | 16% |
| Sexual crimes | 10,159 | 9,469 | -7% |
| Rape & attempted rape | 1,849 | 1,676 | -9% |
| Sexual assault | 3,803 | 2,989 | -21% |
| Crimes associated with prostitution | 71 | 36 | -49% |
| Other sexual crimes | 4,436 | 4,768 | 7% |
| Crimes of dishonesty | 83,717 | 72,804 | -13% |
| Housebreaking | 9,524 | 7,906 | -17% |
| Theft by opening a lockfast place (OLP) | 1,328 | 941 | -29% |
| Theft from a motor vehicle by OLP | 2,065 | 1,681 | -19% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 3,694 | 3,372 | -9% |
| Shoplifting | 23,715 | 16,125 | -32% |
| Other theft | 31,933 | 26,180 | -18% |
| Fraud | 7,879 | 12,907 | 64% |
| Other dishonesty | 3,579 | 3,692 | 3% |
| Fire-raising, vandalism etc. | 36,649 | 32,760 | -11% |
| Fire-raising | 2,092 | 2,033 | -3% |
| Vandalism etc. | 34,557 | 30,727 | -11% |
| Other crimes | 49,797 | 54,852 | 10% |
| Crimes against public justice | 14,720 | 19,368 | 32% |
| Handling offensive weapons | 7,413 | 7,875 | 6% |
| Not used in other criminal activity | 3,408 | 3,639 | 7% |
| Used in other criminal activity | 4,005 | 4,236 | 6% |
| Drugs | 27,503 | 27,481 | 0% |
| Other | 161 | 128 | -20% |
1. The total figure for recorded crime excludes the new crimes being recorded under the recently enacted coronavirus legislation. Please see the Crimes recorded under coronavirus legislation section for more information.
| Crime group | April to December 2019 | April to December 2020 | % Change since 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total offences | 192,039 | 179,967 | -6% |
| Miscellaneous offences | 99,848 | 96,742 | -3% |
| Common assault | 44,474 | 40,112 | -10% |
| Breach of the peace etc. | 39,162 | 39,023 | 0% |
| Drunkenness and other disorderly conduct | 4,440 | 4,730 | 7% |
| Urinating etc. | 1,822 | 717 | -61% |
| Other miscellaneous offences | 9,950 | 12,160 | 22% |
| Motor vehicle offences | 92,191 | 83,225 | -10% |
| Dangerous and careless driving | 8,773 | 8,670 | -1% |
| Driving under the influence | 4,926 | 6,361 | 29% |
| Speeding | 22,301 | 16,150 | -28% |
| Unlawful use of vehicle | 28,974 | 29,664 | 2% |
| Vehicle defect offences | 5,278 | 4,813 | -9% |
| Seat belt offences | 2,262 | 1,382 | -39% |
| Mobile phone offences | 1,887 | 1,304 | -31% |
| Other motor vehicle offences | 17,790 | 14,881 | -16% |
Contact
Email: Justice_Analysts@gov.scot