Publication - Statistics
Recorded Crime in Scotland: March 2021
Official Statistics on crimes and offences recorded by the police in Scotland for March 2021.
Part of
Tables
Table 1: Crimes recorded by the police, Scotland, March 2020 to March 2021
Table 2: Offences recorded by the police, Scotland, March 2020 and March 2021
Table 3: Crimes recorded by the police by local authority, Scotland, March 2020 and March 2021
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: Recorded Crime in Scotland: March 2021
| Crime group | March 2020 | March 2021 | % change since March 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total crimes | 18,874 | 19,148 | 1% |
| Non-sexual crimes of violence | 702 | 795 | 13% |
| Homicide etc. | 9 | 7 | n/r |
| Attempted murder & serious assault | 302 | 262 | -13% |
| Robbery | 163 | 152 | -7% |
| Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 | 110 | 150 | 36% |
| Other violence | 118 | 224 | 90% |
| Sexual crimes | 1,106 | 1,278 | 16% |
| Rape & attempted rape | 152 | 225 | 48% |
| Sexual assault | 383 | 373 | -3% |
| Crimes associated with prostitution | 8 | 6 | n/r |
| Other sexual crimes | 563 | 674 | 20% |
| Crimes of dishonesty | 8,356 | 7,684 | -8% |
| Housebreaking | 1,128 | 661 | -41% |
| Theft by opening a lockfast place (OLP) | 116 | 100 | -14% |
| Theft from a motor vehicle by OLP | 282 | 142 | -50% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 450 | 310 | -31% |
| Shoplifting | 2,147 | 1,706 | -21% |
| Other theft | 2,870 | 2,593 | -10% |
| Fraud | 1,010 | 1,764 | 75% |
| Other dishonesty | 353 | 408 | 16% |
| Fire-raising, vandalism etc. | 3,897 | 3,753 | -4% |
| Fire-raising | 186 | 220 | 18% |
| Vandalism etc. | 3,711 | 3,533 | -5% |
| Other crimes | 4,813 | 5,638 | 17% |
| Crimes against public justice | 1,520 | 2,094 | 38% |
| Handling offensive weapons | 797 | 717 | -10% |
| Not used in other criminal activity | 353 | 321 | -9% |
| Used in other criminal activity | 444 | 396 | -11% |
| Drugs | 2,480 | 2,822 | 14% |
| Other | 16 | 5 | -69% |
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 | March 2020 | March 2021 | % change since March 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total offences | 18,359 | 19,772 | 8% |
| Miscellaneous offences | 9,755 | 9,797 | 0% |
| Common assault | 4,449 | 4,066 | -9% |
| Breach of the peace etc. | 3,845 | 3,885 | 1% |
| Drunkenness and other disorderly conduct | 348 | 413 | 19% |
| Urinating etc. | 123 | 61 | -50% |
| Other miscellaneous offences | 990 | 1,372 | 39% |
| Motor vehicle offences | 8,604 | 9,975 | 16% |
| Dangerous and careless driving | 863 | 933 | 8% |
| Driving under the influence | 552 | 627 | 14% |
| Speeding | 1,758 | 2,294 | 30% |
| Unlawful use of vehicle | 3,084 | 3,849 | 25% |
| Vehicle defect offences | 442 | 493 | 12% |
| Seat belt offences | 117 | 132 | 13% |
| Mobile phone offences | 101 | 117 | 16% |
| Other motor vehicle offences | 1,687 | 1,530 | -9% |
| March 2020 | March 2021 | % change since March 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen City | 884 | 1,114 | 26% |
| Aberdeenshire | 438 | 559 | 28% |
| Angus | 243 | 320 | 32% |
| Argyll & Bute | 178 | 222 | 25% |
| Clackmannanshire | 149 | 208 | 40% |
| Dumfries & Galloway | 620 | 586 | -5% |
| Dundee City | 738 | 863 | 17% |
| East Ayrshire | 443 | 449 | 1% |
| East Dunbartonshire | 247 | 252 | 2% |
| East Lothian | 267 | 327 | 22% |
| East Renfrewshire | 154 | 160 | 4% |
| Edinburgh City | 2,081 | 2,091 | 0% |
| Falkirk | 617 | 536 | -13% |
| Fife | 1,106 | 1,123 | 2% |
| Glasgow City | 3,356 | 2,943 | -12% |
| Highland | 604 | 534 | -12% |
| Inverclyde | 303 | 311 | 3% |
| Midlothian | 299 | 303 | 1% |
| Moray | 218 | 236 | 8% |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 22 | 41 | 86% |
| North Ayrshire | 542 | 519 | -4% |
| North Lanarkshire | 1,355 | 1,436 | 6% |
| Orkney Islands | 17 | 29 | 71% |
| Perth & Kinross | 386 | 373 | -3% |
| Renfrewshire | 570 | 532 | -7% |
| Scottish Borders | 242 | 341 | 41% |
| Shetland Islands | 27 | 51 | 89% |
| South Ayrshire | 407 | 403 | -1% |
| South Lanarkshire | 1,142 | 1,072 | -6% |
| Stirling | 242 | 266 | 10% |
| West Dunbartonshire | 310 | 377 | 22% |
| West Lothian | 667 | 571 | -14% |
| Scotland1 | 18,874 | 19,148 | 1% |
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 2019 to March 2020 | April 2020 to March 2021 | % change since previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total crimes1 | 244,433 | 228,502 | -7% |
| Non-sexual crimes of violence | 9,323 | 8,797 | -6% |
| Homicide etc. | 121 | 95 | -21% |
| Attempted murder & serious assault | 4,148 | 3,353 | -19% |
| Robbery | 1,731 | 1,685 | -3% |
| Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 | 1,690 | 1,569 | -7% |
| Other violence | 1,633 | 2,095 | 28% |
| Sexual crimes | 13,496 | 12,628 | -6% |
| Rape & attempted rape | 2,361 | 2,209 | -6% |
| Sexual assault | 5,009 | 3,936 | -21% |
| Crimes associated with prostitution | 96 | 54 | -44% |
| Other sexual crimes | 6,030 | 6,429 | 7% |
| Crimes of dishonesty | 109,574 | 93,704 | -14% |
| Housebreaking | 12,855 | 9,896 | -23% |
| Theft by opening a lockfast place (OLP) | 1,732 | 1,211 | -30% |
| Theft from a motor vehicle by OLP | 2,960 | 2,096 | -29% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 4,934 | 4,323 | -12% |
| Shoplifting | 30,572 | 20,496 | -33% |
| Other theft | 40,809 | 33,155 | -19% |
| Fraud | 10,957 | 17,818 | 63% |
| Other dishonesty | 4,755 | 4,709 | -1% |
| Fire-raising, vandalism etc. | 48,166 | 42,708 | -11% |
| Fire-raising | 2,638 | 2,596 | -2% |
| Vandalism etc. | 45,528 | 40,112 | -12% |
| Other crimes | 63,874 | 70,665 | 11% |
| Crimes against public justice | 19,279 | 25,224 | 31% |
| Handling offensive weapons | 9,668 | 9,748 | 1% |
| Not used in other criminal activity | 4,465 | 4,528 | 1% |
| Used in other criminal activity | 5,203 | 5,220 | 0% |
| Drugs | 34,714 | 35,541 | 2% |
| Other | 213 | 152 | -29% |
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 2019 to March 2020 | April 2020 to March 2021 | % change since previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total offences | 249,378 | 231,717 | -7% |
| Miscellaneous offences | 128,672 | 122,522 | -5% |
| Common assault | 57,715 | 51,081 | -11% |
| Breach of the peace etc. | 50,386 | 49,307 | -2% |
| Drunkenness and other disorderly conduct | 5,295 | 5,509 | 4% |
| Urinating etc. | 2,226 | 822 | -63% |
| Other miscellaneous offences | 13,050 | 15,803 | 21% |
| Motor vehicle offences | 120,706 | 109,195 | -10% |
| Dangerous and careless driving | 11,484 | 11,105 | -3% |
| Driving under the influence | 6,611 | 8,058 | 22% |
| Speeding | 28,431 | 21,107 | -26% |
| Unlawful use of vehicle | 39,087 | 40,309 | 3% |
| Vehicle defect offences | 6,929 | 6,188 | -11% |
| Seat belt offences | 2,631 | 1,664 | -37% |
| Mobile phone offences | 2,226 | 1,561 | -30% |
| Other motor vehicle offences | 23,307 | 19,203 | -18% |
Contact
Email: justice_analysts@gov.scot