Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/24: Main findings

Violent crime

What was the extent and prevalence of violent crime in Scotland in 2023/24?

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) estimates that 2.9% of adults were victims of violent crime[1] in 2023/24, within a margin of error between 2.2% and 3.5%.

As a sample survey of the general public, SCJS results on violence are estimates with wide margins of error, not exact counts. Analysis here is focused on the best estimates for each year of the survey. Further details are provided in the Background chapter and in the Technical Report.

Between 2008/09 and 2021/22, there was a long-term fall in violent crime victimisation, from 4.1% to 1.7% of adults. Between 2021/22 and 2023/24, there was an increase of 1.2 percentage points from 1.7% to 2.9% of adults being a victim of a violent crime. Despite this increase, the chances of being a victim of a violent crime is at a similar level to the pre-covid position in 2019/20. These results are shown in Figure 3.1.

Whilst it cannot be stated with certainty - it is possible that the 2021/22 survey was something of an outlier which may have resulted in lower crime estimates, as some of the reference period covered times when Covid restrictions were in place. For example, earlier analysis from the Scottish Victimisation Telephone Survey suggested that crime fell significantly during the first UK national lockdown.[2]

Figure 3.1: The proportion of adults experiencing violent crime in 2023/24 is similar to 2019/20. It has decreased since 2008/09 but increased since 2021/22.

Proportion of adults experiencing violent crime, 2008/09 and 2019/20 to 2023/24.

Variable: PREVVIOLENT.

The number of violent incidents in 2023/24 is estimated at 231,000[3],[4] – between a lower estimate of 170,000 and an upper estimate of 292,000. This is a 73% increase from 134,000 in 2021/22. However, it is still 27% lower than 2008/09 and does not show a statistically significant change from 2019/20. These results are shown in Figure 3.2 and Table 3.1.[5]

Violent crime accounted for one in five (20%) of all crime incidents estimated by the SCJS in 2023/24 – with the remainder being property crime, fraud, or computer misuse.

Figure 3.2: The estimated volume of violent crime in Scotland has increased since 2021/22, but is similar to 2019/20 and below levels seen in 2008/09.

Estimated number of violent incidents, 2008/09 to 2023/24.

Variable: INCVIOLENT.

Table 3.1: The estimated number of violent crimes increased by almost three quarters since 2021/22, but is similar to 2019/20 and has fallen by more than a quarter since 2008/09.

Estimated number of incidents of violent crimes (2008/09, 2019/20 to 2023/24) with percentage change, where significant, since 2008/09, 2019/20 and 2021/22.

	Estimated number of violent crimes				Change since
	2008/09	2019/20	2021/22	2023/24	08/09	19/20	21/22
Best estimate	317,000	194,000	134,000	231,000	Down 27%	No change	Up 73%
Lower estimate	275,000	147,000	91,000	170,000	-	-	-
Upper estimate	358,000	242,000	177,000	292,000	-	-	-
Number of respondents	16,000	5,570	5,520	4,970	-	-	-

Variable: INCVIOLENT.

What types of violent crime were most commonly experienced?

The vast majority (95%) of violent crime incidents were some form of assault or attempted assault. The most common category of violence is assault with no or negligible injury (three out of five crimes, 61%). Attempted assault and minor assault with injury were 13% each, with serious assault at 8% of all violent crime. The remaining 5% of violent crime is robbery. All of these are shown in Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.3: The majority of violent incidents in 2023/24 involved minor assault resulting in no or negligible injury.

Categories of crime as proportions of violent crime overall, 2023/24.

Variables: INCMINORASSNOINJURY; INCMINORASSINJURY; INCATTEMPTASSAULT; INCSERASSAULT; INCROB.

As over 93% of violent crime incidents have been assault since the SCJS began in 2008/09, similar trends are seen for assault and violent crime overall. Assault shows a 26% decrease from 2008/09, no change compared to 2019/20 but a 76% increase since 2021/22.

For crime types which occur in lower volumes (but which may often result in more severe physical injuries), like serious assault, the strength of the SCJS is in examining how prevalent such experiences are in the population (i.e. demonstrating that a relatively small proportion of the population are affected), rather than estimating the number of incidents of these types of crime that occur in a single year or over time. Therefore, the main body of the SCJS report focuses on the prevalence of such crimes. Estimates of the extent of these crimes are provided in the Annex tables (see Table A2).

Whilst sub-categories of violent crime such as robbery and serious assault are important events for victims, these crimes represent small proportions of violence overall and are experienced by small proportions of the population (and therefore of the SCJS sample), and so this means they have relatively large degrees of error around them.[6]

As (minor) assaults with less severe or no physical injuries account for the vast majority of violent crime, later sections looking at the characteristics of violent crime in general will also be mainly driven by these incidents.

In 2023/24, 2.6% of adults were victims of assault, unchanged from the pre-covid position in 2019/20. As with violence overall, this has decreased since 2008/09 but is higher than it was in 2021/22. The proportion of adults experiencing robbery was 0.2%, which is not statistically significant from earlier years, as shown in Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4: The proportion of adults experiencing assault increased since 2021/22, but is similar to 2019/20 and below what was seen in 2008/09.

Proportion of adults experiencing assault and robbery (2008/09, 2019/20 to 2023/24).

Variables: PREVASSAULT; PREVROB.

Whilst a small proportion of adults were victims of any sort of assault in 2023/24, experiences of more serious forms of violence were rarer still. This is in line with the finding that the vast majority of violent crime was accounted for by minor assaults. For instance, while 2.6% of adults experienced any assault, only 0.1% of adults experienced serious assault.

How did experiences of violent crime vary across the population?

As shown in Figure 3.5, those aged 60 and over had the lowest likelihood of experiencing violence in 2023/24, similar to 2019/20 and 2021/22. Fewer than 1 in 100 (0.9%) of those aged 60 and over experienced a violent crime, compared to about 1 in 14 (7.5%) of those aged 16 to 24. Since 2021/22, the victimisation rate for all age groups is unchanged, the apparent increases shown in Figure 3.5 are not statistically significant.

Adults aged 60 and over were less likely to experience a violent crime than all other age groups (which themselves were not different to each other). There were no other differences between groups that the survey covers. For example, in 2023/24, no difference is seen between males and females, between those living in the 15% most deprived areas and the rest of Scotland, between urban and rural areas, or adults with and without a disability.[7]

This is similar to 2021/22 but different from some earlier years. In 2019/20 there was higher victimisation for: men, people living in urban areas and people living in the 15% most deprived areas.

Figure 3.5: Adults aged between 16 and 24 have shown the largest decrease in victimisation rate since 2008/09.

Proportion of adults experiencing violent crime by age, 2008/09 to 2023/24.

Variables: PREVVIOLENT; QDAGE.

Since 2021/22 many groups have seen an increase in violent crime victimisation. This includes: males, people living out with the 15% most deprived areas, urban areas, and both disabled and non disabled people. However, for almost all of these groups the change is a return to levels similar to 2019/20. The only changes seen since 2019/20 for these breakdowns are a decrease in violent victimisation for those living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland.

Over the longer term – between 2008/09 and 2023/24, many population groups saw a reduction in the proportion of adults experiencing violent crime, whereas others saw no change. No group saw an increase. Decreases were seen for: males, those aged between 25 and 44, people living in the 15% most deprived areas, as well as the rest of Scotland, people living in urban areas, and people who are not disabled. No change was seen for: women, all other age groups apart from those aged 25 - 44, people living in rural areas, and disabled people.

Further information on how the prevalence of violence has changed over time for these sub-groups is shown in Figure 3.6 below.

Figure 3.6: Since 2008/09, the proportion experiencing violence has significantly decreased for males, both 15% most deprived areas and rest of Scotland, urban areas, and non-disabled people; while other groups haven’t seen a change.

Proportion of adults experiencing violent crime by sex, area deprivation, rurality and disability status, 2008/09 to 2023/24.

Variables: PREVVIOLENT; TABQDGEN; SIMD_TOP; TABURBRUR; TABQDISAB.

When considering findings by sex, it is important to note that victims of partner abuse may not report such experiences through the face-to-face element of the SCJS which produces the main survey prevalence rates. As such, questions on experiences of partner abuse (covering both physical and psychological abuses as well as sexual assault) are answered in a self-completion element of the survey.

Prior to the pandemic, findings from the self-completion module were always based on two-years’ worth of responses to increase the sample size and ensure sufficiently robust findings. Therefore had the pandemic not occurred, data collected on stalking, harassment and partner abuse from the 2020/21 and 2021/22 surveys would have been combined and presented as the 2020/22 cohort in the 2021/22 SCJS report. However no SCJS was conducted in 2020/21 due to COVID-19 and the requirement to restrict social contact (with the survey being based on face-to-face interviews).

The most recently published figures are for the combined 2018/19 and 2019/20 years, presented in the 2019/20 Main Findings Report. These figures showed that in the 12 month period prior to interview, experiences of partner abuse were more common for females than males (3.7% and 2.6%, respectively).

We are continuing to review the data collected for 2021/22 to determine if results of some value can be produced, or whether the challenges of the pandemic ultimately mean this isn’t possible. The next set of findings from the self-completion module will be published as part of the 2024/25 report (combining the 2023/24 and 2024/25 survey sweeps).

What can the SCJS tell us about repeat victimisation?

The SCJS estimates that most adults did not experience violent crime in 2023/24 (97%), whilst 2.9% of the population were victims of at least one violent crime.

The survey can estimate the proportion of victims who experienced a particular type of crime more than once during a year.[8] This is known as ‘repeat victimisation’.[9]

Less than 1 in every 100 adults (0.9%) were victims of repeated incidents of violence (i.e. two or more incidents), but their experiences accounted for the majority (61%) of violent crime in 2023/24.

Table 3.2 details repeat victimisation and the concentration of violent crime. It shows that 2.0% of adults were victims of a single violent incident in the year, while 0.9% experienced repeat victimisation (two or more incidents) and 0.3% of adults were high-frequency repeat victims, experiencing five or more incidents. Repeat victims averaged 3.5 violent crimes each.

Table 3.2: Around three in five of all violent crime incidents were experienced by repeat victims.

Proportion of all SCJS crime experienced by victims, by number of crimes experienced.

Number of crimes	% of population	% of violent crime
None	97.1%	0%
One	2.0%	39%
Two	0.4%	14%
Three	0.1%	6%
Four	0.1%	9%
Five or more	0.3%	32%
Two or more	0.9%	61%

Variables: PREVVIOLENT; INCVIOLENT.

Figure 3.7 shows trends in single and repeat violent victimisation over time. It shows:

• the proportion of adults experiencing only one incident of violence, is at a similar level to 2008/09 but has increased since 2021/22, however this remains unchanged from the pre-covid position in 2019/20. Findings comparing single years should be interpreted with caution and be considered within the wider context of broader trends
• the number of repeat victims has decreased since 2008/09 but has not changed significantly in recent years
• the number of high-frequency repeat victims of five or more violent incidents is not significantly different from 2008/09. This is a change from previous survey years – both 2019/20 and 2021/22 surveys showed a reduction from 2008/09

Figure 3.7: The proportion of adults experiencing only one violent incident increased from 2021/22 to 2023/24 but is unchanged from 2019/20 and 2008/09 and so is multiple victimisation.

Proportion of adults experiencing a number of violent crimes, 2008/09 to 2023/24.

Variables: PREVVIOLENT; INCVIOLENT. Note: the ‘five or more’ category is a sub-set of the ‘two or more’ category.

Expanding the evidence on repeat violent victimisation

A report, Repeat Violence in Scotland: A Qualitative Approach, was published in September 2023, alongside three briefing papers: alcohol-related and community violence; poverty, violence and the drug economy; and gendered violence and victimisation.

The research highlights the detrimental impact of violence on the everyday lives of those who experience it. The research has unpacked patterns of repeat violence and addressed an important knowledge gap, providing a detailed insight into:

• factors that increase vulnerability to repeat victimisation amongst high-risk groups, including people living in deprived areas, people with convictions, and people defined as having complex needs
• the lived experience of repeat violence and related forms of psychological trauma and social harm, including violent offending
• the support needs and experiences of people who experience repeat violence, who tend to be less likely to seek and access police and victim services

The research is being used to inform the implementation of the published Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland.

What were the characteristics of violent crime?

The most commonly reported location was at the victim’s work – estimated at almost half of violent incidents (48%) in 2023/24. This proportion has increased over the long term – from less than one in four (23%) in 2008/09, and around one in three (32%) in 2019/20 but remains at a similar level to 2021/22.

Meanwhile, incidents in other public places[10] that weren’t the victim’s workplace shows a long term fall from 45% in 2008/09 to 27% in 2023/24. A more detailed breakdown is shown in Figure 3.8, and change over time is shown in Figure 3.9.

Around a fifth (18%) of violent incidents took place in the respondent’s own home; which increases to 24% when also including immediately outside the respondent’s home, and to 25% when including any private space such as the home of a friend or relative. Other than at the home of a friend or relative, which has fallen since 2019/20, none of the other categories have changed significantly from the last two surveys or since the first survey in 2008/09.

Figure 3.8: The majority of violent incidents occurred within a public space with in/near the victim’s place of work as the largest category.

Proportion of violent crime incidents occurring in different locations, 2023/24.

Variables: QWH1; QWH3; QWH5; QWH7.

Figure 3.9: There has been a long term increase in the proportion of violent crime in the workplace and a decrease for other public space, although results can fluctuate each year.

Proportion of violent crime incidents occurring in different locations, 2008/09 and 2019/20 to 2023/24.

Variables: QWH1; QWH5; QWH7.

Almost two-fifths (37%) of violent crime took place at the weekend, with the rest taking place during the week or the respondent didn’t know. This has not changed much in recent years, but is lower than 2008/09 (when 55% of incidents took place at the weekend).

The SCJS doesn’t ask directly about hate crime, but victims of crime are asked if they believed the incident might have been motivated by factors including the respondent’s personal characteristics.[11] The majority (87%) of violent crimes in 2023/24 were thought to have been motivated by none of these. More detail on harassment and discrimination is discussed in the Focus on harassment and discrimination chapter.

Respondents who had experienced violent crime were asked if the incident involved the internet, any type of online activity or an internet enabled device. In 2023/24, 4% of violent crime incidents involved a cyber element. Cyber crime is discussed in more detail in the Fraud and Computer Misuse chapter.

What do we know about perpetrators of violent crime?

In 97% of violent incidents reported in 2023/24, respondents could provide details about the offender. Key findings include:

• 80% of violent crime involved at least one male offender, 31% involved at least one female offender, and 11% involved a mixed sex group of perpetrators [12]
• perpetrators were mostly younger, with only 20% of incidents involving offenders aged 40 or over. The proportion of offenders who were 40 or over in 2021/22 was 36% - which is unusually high. This has now reduced back to a level similar to both the pre-covid position in 2019/20, and 2008/09
• the proportion of offenders aged under 16 was 31%, which is the highest recorded by the SCJS for this age group. This is an increase from 14% in 2008/09 and 8% in 2021/22. It is unusual to see such a large change in a single survey year. As this is based on a small number of respondents it will be important to see if this is a one off or a trend continued in future surveys
• incidents where the perpetrator was under 16 and took place at the victim’s workplace, accounted for 23% of all violent crime in 2023/24. This is a change from previous surveys – 5% for both 2019/20 and 2021/22
• the number of victims interviewed is too small to provide a further breakdown, but it appears these workplace-based violent crimes with perpetrators under 16 are mainly against workers in education or care roles. Being based on a relatively small number, this may fluctuate more each year depending on who happens to be interviewed
• therefore this result should be treated with some caution and compared with other available statistics, for example Changes over time in the Behaviour in Scottish schools: research report 2023 showed that most primary and secondary staff types reported increases in physical aggression and physical violence between 2016 and 2023
• the proportion of offenders aged between 16 and 24 was 23%. This has remained at similar levels in recent years but has fallen over the long term, from 46% in 2008/09

Figure 3.10 illustrates the range of age groups involved in these crimes.

Figure 3.10: There was a large increase in offenders under 16 in 2023/24.

Proportion of violent crime incidents involving offenders of each age group, 2008/09, 2019/20 to 2023/24.

Variable: QDAGE. Incidents can have more than one perpetrator so may add up to more than 100%.

Most violent incidents (59%) in 2023/24 were committed by people who the victims knew or had seen before. Where offenders were known by the victim, just over three-quarters of incidents (76%) were said to have involved people ‘known well’. This has increased over the long term from 57% in 2008/09.

Those who said they knew the offender in some way were asked about their relationship to the offender.[13] Figure 3.11 shows the range of relationships between victims and offenders.

Figure 3.11: The most common relationship of violent offenders to the victim was either ‘other’ or through work.

Relationship of offender to victim as a proportion of violent incidents where the offender was known in some way, 2023/24.[14]

Variable: QRE2.

This is based from 74 respondents in 2023/24. The small size means that the figures can fluctuate between years. They have wide confidence intervals which make it more difficult to track changes over time.

Looking at only incidents where the respondent knew or had seen the offender before; there were long term decreases between 2008/09 and 2023/24 in the proportion where the offender was: a current or former partner, from 36% to 13%; or a friend, from 17% to 6%.

When considering these findings, it is important to note that victims of partner abuse may not report such experiences through the face-to-face element of the SCJS. As such, questions on experiences of partner abuse (covering both physical and psychological abuse) are answered in a self-completion element of the survey – with the latest key findings on this topic from 2018/19 and 2019/20 combined presented in the 2019/20 Main Findings Report.

What do we know about the role of alcohol, drugs and weapons in violent crime?

Where the victims were able to say something about the offender in 2023/24, they believed that:

• 45% of offenders were under the influence of drugs
• 35% of offenders were under the influence of alcohol
• 31% were under the influence of both alcohol and drugs
• 38% were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs

This has changed over the time covered by the survey (2008/09 to 2023/24), as shown in Figure 3.12:

• the proportion of violent crime involving drugs has risen since 2008/09: from 29% to 45%; while the proportion with drugs only has risen from 5% to 15%
• the proportion of violent crime involving alcohol has fallen since 2008/09: from 63% to 35%. This is even more significant for crime with alcohol only: falling from 39% to 4%
• the proportion of violent crime involving neither alcohol or drugs has risen since 2008/09, from 24% to 38%

As shown in Figure 3.12 below, it should be noted that in 12% of violent incidents (where victims were able to say something about the offender) the victim did not know if the offender was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or not.

Figure 3.12[15]: Violent crime where the offender was under the influence of drugs has increased since 2008/09, while for alcohol it has fallen.

Proportion of violent crime with offenders perceived to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, 2008/09 to 2023/24.

Variable: QAL; QDR.

Where a violent incident involved someone seeing or hearing what was going on, over a quarter (29%) in 2023/24 involved a perpetrator with a weapon. This proportion fell from 2010/11 from one in four (25%) to one in eight (12%) in 2017/18. Since then it has increased to its current level which is similar to that in 2008/09.

When combining categories (in a similar way to the police recorded crime statistics) the SCJS found that bladed/pointed articles[16] were used in 10% of violent incidents where someone saw or heard what was happening. Due to small sample sizes, sub-group data can fluctuate.

What was the impact of violent crime?

Where violent crime resulted in some sort of injury (49% of all violent incidents, 56% of incidents where force was used), the most common injury sustained was minor bruising or a black eye (74%). More serious injuries like broken bones and internal injuries occurred much less frequently, as shown in Figure 3.13.[17] This comes from a small sample size of 55 participants, so confidence intervals are high.

Figure 3.13: The injuries commonly reported by victims are consistent with the finding that the majority of violent incidents are cases of minor assault resulting in no or negligible injury.

Type of injuries sustained as a proportion of violent incidents resulting in injury, 2023/24.

Variable: QINW.

What proportion of violent crime was reported to the police?

The 2023/24 SCJS estimates that less than half of violent incidents (44%) were brought to the attention of the police. This is unchanged from all previous surveys since 2008/09.

The reporting rate was significantly higher than for property crime in 2023/24, which was around one in four (24%). This is a change from 2021/22 where no difference was found for reporting rates between these crime groups.

There can be a range of factors which influence whether or not an individual reports a crime to the police, not least how the victim views their own experience. The SCJS found that in just over half of violent incidents in 2023/24 (52%) victims thought their experience should be described as ‘a crime’, as shown in Figure 3.14 below.

Figure 3.14: In over half of incidents, victims thought their experience was a crime, with over one in five thinking it was just something that happens.

Victim's description of violent crime incidents experienced, 2023/24.

Variable: QCRNO.

When asked directly why they did not report their experience to the police, victims cited a range of reasons. The most common reasons were: [18]

• the matter was dealt with personally by the victim (44%)
• it was too trivial/ not worth reporting (23%)
• it was reported to other authorities/organisations (23%)
• Police would not have bothered/ not been interested (21%), Police could have done nothing (20%), or dislike/ fear of police (10%)

What consequences did victims believe offenders should have faced?

Regardless of police reporting, 46% of victims felt the offender should have been prosecuted, a proportion unchanged since 2008/09. Among those not favouring court:

• 30% because the offenders were children / too young – an increase from 9% in 2021/22.
• 30% said it was because there was no loss, damage or harm, and 21% thought the incident was too trivial.
• 27% thought courts are inappropriate for this offence – an increase from 4% in 2021/22. Detailed views on the criminal justice system are covered in the Public Perceptions of the Scottish criminal justice system chapter.