Sources and further information

The data in this report is drawn from a range of Official Statistics sources. For fire and prisons statistics, more recent analysis of administrative data has been used, whilst recorded hate crime information comes from a Social Research publication.

Police activity:

• Quarterly Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin. This contains Accredited Official Statistics on crimes and offences recorded by the police in Scotland.
• Homicide in Scotland Statistics. Annual Accredited Official Statistics on crimes of homicide recorded by the police in Scotland.
• Domestic Abuse Recorded by the Police in Scotland Statistics. Annual Official Statistics on police recorded domestic abuse in Scotland.
• Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland. Quarterly Official Statistics on the number of full-time equivalent police officers in Scotland.
• Hate crimes recorded by the police in Scotland, 2024-25. The first annual report on hate crime recorded by police, under Section 15 of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

Courts and prisons data:

• Criminal Proceedings Statistics in Scotland. Annual Accredited Official Statistics on criminal proceedings concluded in Scottish courts and on a range of measures available as alternatives to prosecution.
• Reconviction Rates Statistics in Scotland. Annual Accredited Official Statistics on the reconviction rates of offenders in Scotland
• Biannual Civil Justice Statistics publication. This contains management information on civil business at Scottish courts as recorded by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).
• Scottish Prison Population statistics and projections. Accredited Official statistics on Scottish prison populations, exploring population levels and composition and change over time.
• Deaths in Prison Custody 2012-13 to 2023-24 - gov.scot. An Official Statistics in Development publication, exploring deaths in prison custody and composition and change over time.
• SCTS Statistics. Includes data on criminal and civil court activity as well as fines and financial penalty collection rates in Scotland.
• Journey Times in the Scottish Criminal Justice System. Assesses an accused person’s criminal justice journey time from offence date to case conclusion or verdict. Quarterly updates on journey times are available in the journey times interactive dashboard: https://scotland.shinyapps.io/sg-scottish-criminal-justice-system-journey-times-dashboard/

Other:

• The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is a large-scale social survey which asks people about their experiences and perceptions of crime and the justice system in Scotland. The most recent release was for 2024-25 – this is an Accredited Official Statistics publication.
• Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland. Annual Accredited Official Statistics on justice social work activity in Scotland.