Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2024/25: Main findings

Executive summary

The 2024/25 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey shows around one-in-five adults were a victim of at least one crime covered by the survey: property crime, violent crime or fraud and computer misuse.

Both property and violent crime have seen a large reduction in both prevalence and volume since 2008/09 but have been stable in recent years. However some differences are seen in the characteristics of crime, particularly violence, such as a long term increase in violence in the workplace.

The latest figures also show that while most people continue to feel safe in their local communities, most measures of confidence in the police and justice system show a decline in recent years, although many remain positive overall, most are similar to the position in 2008/09.

Around one-in-five adults were a victim of at least one SCJS crime

Most adults (79.2%) were not victims of any crime covered by the survey in 2024/25. The remaining 20.8% were estimated to have experienced at least one SCJS crime: violence, property crime or fraud or computer misuse.

The proportion of adults who experienced any SCJS crime, as well as for property and violent crimes individually, has remained at the same level as in 2023/24. Over one-in-ten adults (11.5%) experienced a fraud or computer misuse crime which has increased from 9.5% in 2023/24.

The victimisation rate and volume of property and violent crime has fallen over the long term but has stabilised in recent years

In 2024/25, 11.4% of adults experienced at least one property or violent crime. This has decreased from 20.4% in 2008/09 and has remained at a similar level for all surveys since 2019/20.

Around half of crimes in 2024/25 were fraud and computer misuse

The SCJS estimates that 1,199,000 crimes occurred in Scotland in 2024/25, including fraud and computer misuse. This remains at a similar level to 2023/24.

When looking at the number of crimes rather than number of victims: almost half (49%) were fraud and computer misuse, around a third (34%) were property crime and the rest (17%) were violent crime. Most property crime was either vandalism, other household theft (i.e. not housebreaking) or personal theft; while bank and credit card fraud accounted for 45% of fraud and computer misuse. The majority of violent crime, 60%, was minor assault with no injury.

The estimated number of property and violent crime incidents continues to be lower than in 2008/09 (down 42%) but has remained at a similar level since 2019/20.

More information on this topic is provided in the Overview of crime in Scotland chapter.

The estimated volume of property and violent crimes individually have both fallen over the longer term, down 43% and 37% respectively since 2008/09. Both of these measures remain at a similar position to the previous survey in 2023/24.

More information on these topics are provided in the Violent crime and Property crime chapters.

The nature of violent crime has changed in recent years, even while the overall volume has remained stable

Violent crime at the victim’s workplace has steadily increased over time, from less than one in four (23%) in 2008/09 and around one in three (32%) in 2019/20; to now almost half (46%) in 2024/25. Additionally, 38% of violent crime took place in other public spaces and 16% took place in private spaces, mostly in or outside the respondent’s home.

The proportion of violent crime offenders aged under 16 was 28%. This is similar to last year but has increased from the years before – up from 10% in 2019/20. Meanwhile, the proportion of perpetrators aged 16 to 24 was 11%, which has fallen in the long term from 46% in 2008/09.

For the first time, most perpetrators (56%) were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, continuing a long-term rise from 24% in 2008/09 and 28% in 2019/20. Meanwhile, 30% of offenders were under the influence of alcohol, reflecting a long-term decline from 63% in 2008/09.

The vast majority (98%) of violent crime incidents were some form of assault or attempted assault, while remaining 2% was robbery. The volume of robbery has fallen 82% since 2008/09 – the estimate for 2024/25 is the lowest recorded by the SCJS.

More information on this topic is provided in the Violent crime chapter.

Around one-in-sixteen adults experienced over half of all SCJS crimes

The majority of adults (79.2%) did not experience any crime measured by the SCJS (including fraud and computer misuse) in 2024/25. One-in-seven adults (14.9%) were victims of a single SCJS crime. Multiple victimisation (those experiencing two or more incidents) affected 5.8% of adults (one in sixteen), who collectively experienced 49% of all SCJS crimes.

Over one-in-ten adults were a victim of fraud or computer misuse

Over one-in-ten adults (11.5%) were a victim of at least one crime of fraud or computer misuse in 2024/25. The majority of the estimated 588,000 fraud and computer misuse crimes were fraud (494,000) with the remainder being computer misuse (95,000). Over two-fifths (45%) of all these crimes were bank and credit card fraud with around two-fifths (39%) being other types of fraud.

For fraud alone, this analysis shows that in Scotland:

• respondents who are disabled were more likely to be a victim compared to those who were not disabled (14.4% compared to 10.5% respectively) with no other demographic groups showing a significant difference
• there was contact between the victim and perpetrator in just over a fifth of cases (22%), with the most common means of contact being phone (40%), social media (25%) and email (14%)
• in over two-thirds of frauds (68%), the victim incurred the loss of money or property, with the vast majority of cases being money that was lost (93%)

More information on this topic is provided in the Fraud and computer misuse chapter.

Fewer than one-in-five SCJS crimes were reported to the police

Fewer than a fifth of all SCJS crimes (17%), including fraud and computer misuse, were estimated to have been reported to the police. When looking at property and violent crimes combined, 28% were reported to the police. This is unchanged from the position in 2023/24 but down from 2019/20 (40%).

Public confidence in local policing has fallen in recent years

Public views on the overall performance of the police in their local area and their effectiveness across a range of measures show mixed results – many remain broadly positive, but they have been falling in recent years.

Fewer than half of adults in Scotland (45%) believed the police in their local area were doing an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ job in 2024/25. While this remains unchanged from 2023/24 it has fallen over the longer term, down from 61% in 2008/09 and 49% in 2021/22.

Views on the public’s confidence in police effectiveness across a range of measures including preventing crime, responding to incidents, and supporting victims of crime were generally positive in 2024/25.

Views on whether the police treat people fairly or focus on issues important to the community have remained at similar levels to 2009/10.

More information on this topic is provided in the Public perceptions of policing chapter.

Most adults feel that crime has decreased or stayed the same and continue to feel safe in their local area

The majority of adults (72%) thought the crime rate in their local area had decreased or stayed the same in the last couple of years; although this has fallen from 76% in 2021/22 back to a similar level to the pre-covid position in 2019/20.

Around half of adults (48%) believed that crime had increased in Scotland overall in the last two years. This is higher than the quarter of adults (24%) who thought that crime in their local area had increased over the same period. In other words, people were much less likely to say crime had been stable or fallen nationally (43%) than in their local area (72%).

Most adults felt very or fairly safe walking alone in their local area after dark (76%) and when in their home alone at night (96%). Both these measures of feelings of safety have increased from their 2008/09 baseline position, however, males continue to feel safer than females.

More information on this topic is provided in the Public perceptions of crime and safety chapter.

How does the SCJS compare to other sources on crime and victimisation?

In 2024/25, the proportion of adults in Scotland estimated to have experienced crime, including fraud and computer misuse, was higher than in England and Wales (20.8% compared to 17.1%). When looking at property and violent crime alone, the victimisation rate for both Scotland and England and Wales have fallen over the longer term to a similar position in 2023/24.

Since 2008/09, property and violent crimes recorded by the police in Scotland fell by 51% while the estimate of comparable SCJS crimes fell by 49%.

More information on comparisons with the Crime Survey for England and Wales and Recorded Crime in Scotland is provided in the Comparison with other statistical sources chapter.

What other information is included in this report?

Further chapters of this report detail findings from questions relating to the wider Scottish criminal justice system and other related areas such as respondents awareness and contact with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), and perceptions of prisons and community sentences. Other findings are provided from questions on experiences of harassment and discrimination and an analysis of the veteran status of respondents.