Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2024/25: Main findings

Violent crime

High level summary

The overall level of violence in 2024/25 is lower than when the survey started in 2008/09 but stable in recent years - with no change compared to 2019/20 or the years since. However, underneath the headline figure, the previous survey (2023/24) showed changes in the nature of violent crime in Scotland, notably with increases in violence in the workplace and with perpetrators under the age of 16. The results from 2024/25 are broadly similar to what was seen in 2023/24.

Increased impact of fewer individuals on characteristics of violence and caution over year-to-year comparisons

As discussed in the background chapter, in recent years the SCJS has seen a greater impact on the estimated volume of violent crimes from a smaller number of highly weighted individuals who experienced a number of incidents. This has been driven over the longer term by falls in the target sample size and lower estimates of violent crime, compared to when the survey began in 2008/09.

In the latest year, one individual accounted for 15% of the estimated volume of violent crime. This is higher than in recent years, where, for example, in 2021/22 and 2023/24, the highest contributing individual accounted for between 4% and 6% of estimated violent crime. This issue impacts estimates of crime volumes, but not measures of crime victimisation. In this report we have decided not to report on changes which may have been disproportionately based on this one individual. It is possible this is just a single outlier but it we will monitor this in future years to see if it is a developing trend.

Given the above, we urge caution about interpretation of changes in the volume estimates of violent crime in Scotland, and suggest these are best done over the longer term (i.e. since 2008/09) and not short term, which can be prone to greater fluctuations between each survey sweep.

What was the extent and prevalence of violent crime in Scotland in 2024/25?

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) estimates that 2.5% of adults were victims of violent crime[1] in 2024/25, within a margin of error between 1.9% and 3.1%.

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.

Over the long term, violent crime victimisation is lower than 2008/09 – falling from 4.1% to 2.5% of adults being victims. However, most of that change was in the ten years following 2008. The results for 2024/25 show no change in victimisation from 2023/24 and are similar to results seen over the last decade (Figure 3.1).

In retrospect it looks likely that the 2021/22 survey was an outlier with 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 2024/25 is lower than 2008/209 but similar to the surveys over the last five years.

Proportion of adults experiencing violent crime, 2008/09 and 2019/20 to 2024/25.

Variable: PREVVIOLENT.

The number of violent incidents in 2024/25 is estimated at 199,000[3],[4] between a lower estimate of 124,000 and an upper estimate of 274,000. This is 37% lower than 2008/09  but similar to results in recent years.  (Figure 3.2 and Table 3.1).[5]

Violent crime accounted for under one in five (17%) of all crime incidents estimated by the SCJS in 2024/25 – with the remainder being property crime, fraud, or computer misuse.

Figure 3.2: The estimated volume of violent crime in Scotland has decreased since 20008/09 but is similar to volumes seen in recent years.

Estimated number of violent incidents, 2008/09 to 2024/25.

Variable: INCVIOLENT.

Table 3.1: The estimated number of violent crimes is not significantly different from recent years, but has fallen by 37% since 2008/09.

Estimated number of incidents of violent crimes (2008/09, 2023/24, 2024/25) with percentage change, where significant, since 2008/09 and 2023/24).

	Estimated number of violent crimes			Change since
	2008/09	2023/24	2024/25	08/09	23/24
Best estimate	317,000	231,000	199,000	Down 37%	No change
Lower estimate	275,000	170,000	124,000	-	-
Upper estimate	358,000	292,000	274,000	-	-
Number of respondents	16,000	4,970	4,950	-	-

Variable: INCVIOLENT.

What types of violent crime were most commonly experienced?

The vast majority (98%) 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, 60%), followed by minor assault with injury (23%) and attempted assault (10%). Serious assault is less common, at 6% of all violent crime. Only 2% of violent crime is robbery. All of these are shown in Figure 3.3.

Over 93% of violent crime incidents have been assault since the SCJS began in 2008/09, so trends for assault and violent crime overall are usually similar. 2.4% of adults were victims of assault – which has decreased since 2008/09 but is higher than it was in 2021/22 (1.6%). It shows no change from either 2023/24 or the pre-covid rate in 2019/20. Recent victimisation rates for assault and robbery are shown in Figure 3.4.

In 2024/25 the estimated number of robberies (3,000) was the lowest since the SCJS began, and 82% lower than 2008/09.

Figure 3.3: The majority of violent incidents in 2024/25 involved minor assault resulting in no or negligible injury.

Categories of crime as proportions of violent crime overall, 2024/25.

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

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).

Sub-categories of violent crime such as robbery and serious assault represent small proportions of violence overall and are experienced by small proportions of the population and the SCJS sample, meaning they have 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.

Figure 3.4: The proportion of adults experiencing assault and robbery are both similar to 2023/24 but have fallen since 2008/09.

Proportion of adults experiencing assault and robbery (2008/09, 2023/24, 2024/25).

Variables: PREVASSAULT; PREVROB.

How did experiences of violent crime vary across the population?

The likelihood of experiencing violence was highest for the youngest age groups  and lowest for the oldest age group, as seen in previous years and shown in Figure 3.5. About 1 in 16 (6.3%) of those aged 16 to 24 experienced a violent crime, compared to fewer than 1 in 100 (0.8%) of those aged 60 and over.

There were higher levels of violent victimisation seen for people in urban areas (2.8%) compared to those in rural areas (1.0%), and disabled people (4.1%) compared to non disabled people (2.0%).[7]

As in 2023/24, no difference is seen between males and females. In earlier years, males had significantly higher rates of violent victimisation than women, but whereas male victimisation has fallen compared to 2008/09, female victimisation has not.

No difference was seen between those living in the 15% most deprived areas and the rest of Scotland.

Figure 3.5: No age groups show significant change in their experiences of violent crime since 2008/09.

Proportion of adults experiencing violent crime by age, 2008/09 to 2024/25.

Variables: PREVVIOLENT; QDAGE.

Very few statistically significant changes are seen compared to the last few years, with none of the standard breakdowns of different populations (e.g. age, sex) showing change from the pre-covid (2019/20) position. Changes with sub-groups are less likely to be significant as the sample size is smaller and therefore confidence intervals are higher.

Over the longer term – between 2008/09 and 2024/25, 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, people living outwith the 15% most deprived areas, people living in both urban and rural areas, people who are not disabled, and people in owner occupied accommodation. No change was seen for: women, any specific age groups,  people living in the 15% most deprived areas, disabled people, and people living in private rented or social rented accommodation. Again, for some of these it may not be possible to see change due to the small breakdowns – such as where no age groups show a change despite a reduction in victimisation for the overall population.

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, people outwith the 15% most deprived areas, urban and rural areas, and non-disabled people; while their comparator groups haven’t seen a change.

Proportion of adults experiencing violent crime by sex, area deprivation, rurality and disability status, 2008/09 to 2024/25.

Variables: PREVVIOLENT; TABQDGEN; TABSIMD_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.

Self completion results for the combined years 2023/24-2024/25 is due to be published in a separate report later in 2026. This will be the first such publication[8] since 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).

What can the SCJS tell us about repeat victimisation?

The SCJS estimates that most adults did not experience violent crime in 2024/25 (97.5%), whilst 2.5% 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[9] - known as ‘repeat victimisation’.[10] However, this has higher uncertainty due to the small number of survey respondents who are repeat victims.

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 (62%) of violent crime in 2024/25.

Table 3.2 details repeat victimisation and the concentration of violent crime. It shows that 1.6% of adults were victims of a single violent incident in the year, while 0.9% experienced repeat victimisation (two or more incidents) and 0.2% of adults were high-frequency repeat victims, experiencing five or more incidents. Repeat victims averaged 3 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	97.5%	0%
One	1.6%	38%
Two	0.5%	21%
Three	0.1%	6%
Four	0.1%	8%
Five or more	0.2%	27%
Two or more	0.9%	62%

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, has fallen since 2008/09 but remains similar to recent years including 2023/24, 2021/22, and 2019/20.
• 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 (0.2%) is not significantly different from any previous survey years. With such a low figure the survey is unlikely to be able to detect a statistically significant result.

Figure 3.7: The proportion of adults experiencing two or more violent incidents is lower than 2008/09 but unchanged in recent years

Proportion of adults experiencing a number of violent crimes, 2008/09 to 2024/25.

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

What were the characteristics of violent crime?

The most commonly reported location was at the victim’s work – estimated at a little less than half of violent incidents (46%) in 2024/25. This proportion has increased over the long term from less than one in four (23%) in 2008/09, though remains at a similar level to 2023/24.

38% of incidents happened in other public places[11] that weren’t the victim’s workplace. Up until the last survey (2023/24) this appeared to be decreasing but the 2024/25 results show no significant change over time. A more detailed breakdown is shown in Figure 3.8, and change over time is shown in Figure 3.9.

Around one in ten (12%) of violent incidents took place in the respondent’s own home; which increases to 14% when also including immediately outside the respondent’s home, and to 16% when including any private space such as the home of a friend or relative.

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, 2024/25.

Variables: QWH1; QWH3; QWH5; QWH7.

Figure 3.9: The proportion of violent crime in the workplace has increased since 2008/09, while other locations don’t show change.

Proportion of violent crime incidents occurring in different locations, 2008/09 and 2019/20 to 2024/25.

Variables: QWH1; QWH5; QWH7.

Around a third (32%) of violent crime took place at the weekend, with the rest taking place during the week or the respondent didn’t know. There has been a long term decrease in the proportion of violent crime taking place at the weekend, down from 55% in 2008/09.

What do we know about perpetrators of violent crime?

In 94% of violent incidents reported in 2024/25, respondents could provide details about the offender. Key findings include:

• 86% of violent crime involved at least one male offender, 15% involved at least one female offender, and 3% involved a mixed sex group of perpetrators, in line with findings in recent years [12]
• the proportion of perpetrators aged under 16 increased in the previous  survey, from 8% in 2021/22 to its highest ever level of 31% in 2023/24. In 2024/25 it has remained at a similar higher level, 28%.
• the proportion of perpetrators age 16-24 has continued its long term decrease to 11%, the lowest level seen by this survey. It has decreased from 46% in 2008/09 and 34% in 2019/20 but has remained stable since then. Of the four age bands used to report perpetrator ages, the 16-24 group was the most common for perpetrators in 2008/09 and is now the smallest.
• for the other two groups: 38% of perpetrators were 25-39, and 26% were 40 or over. Neither show significant change from previous surveys.
• incidents where the perpetrator was under 16 and took place at the victim’s workplace, accounted for 22% of all violent crime in 2024/25. This is similar to the previous survey (23% in 2023/24) but these were an increase from earlier surveys – 5% for both 2019/20 and 2021/22
• the number of victims interviewed is too small to provide a further breakdown, but across the last two survey years it appears that 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 increases in physical aggression and physical violence reported by primary and secondary school staff between 2016 and 2023

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

Figure 3.10: The proportion of perpetrators under 16 continues to be much higher than before 2023/24, while 16-24 shows a long term decrease.

Proportion of violent crime incidents involving offenders of each age group, 2008/09, 2019/20 to 2024/25.

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

More than half of violent incidents (55%) were committed by people who the victims knew well. This has increased from a third (33%) in 2008/09. When expanding this to look at incidents where victims knew or had seen the perpetrators before in some way this increases to 69%.

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 ‘work related’.

Relationship of offender to victim as a proportion of violent incidents where the offender was known in some way, 2024/25.[14]

Variable: QRE2.

This is based on 70 respondents in 2024/25. 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: 50% were work related, an increase from 36% in 2008/09. 21% were a current or former partner and 10% were other household members[15]

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.

These are reported with two survey years combined, with the survey years 2023/24 and 2024/25 due to be published later in 2026. The most recent published statistics are from the combined surveys of 2018/19 and 2019/20, 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, they reported:

For the first time, the majority of perpetrators (56%) were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This has shown a long term increase, from 24% in 2008/09 and 28% in 2019/20.

Just under one in three (30%) offenders were under the influence of alcohol. This has shown a long term decline, from almost two thirds (63%) in 2008/09. The proportion involving alcohol only (without drugs) has also fallen in the long term, from two in five (39%) to one in five (21%) in 2024/25. However it appears to have increased since 2023/24, from 4%, however the results from 2023/24 were unusually low so may be an outlier – this year’s result is closer to what is normally seen.

One in seven (14%) were under the influence of drugs, which is significantly lower than 45% in 2023/24 but similar to 2008/09. This year’s result is unusually low, and last year’s result was the highest ever seen, so it is likely some of these large changes are from fluctuation in survey results. As a result it is hard to determine a long term trend. 5% of violent incidents were reported to involve drugs only – without alcohol.

These results are shown in Figure 3.12 below. It also shows that in 10% 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: Violent crime where the offender was under the influence of alcohol has decreased since 2008/09[16].

Proportion of violent crime with offenders perceived to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, 2008/09 to 2024/25.

Variable: QAL; QDR.

Where a violent incident involved someone seeing or hearing what was going on, just over one in four (27%) involved a perpetrator with a weapon. This result is not significantly different from any of the previous surveys.

What was the impact of violent crime?

Where violent crime resulted in some sort of injury (58% of all violent incidents, 61% of incidents where force was used), the most common injury sustained was minor bruising or a black eye (59%). More serious injuries like broken bones and head injuries or severe concussion occurred much less frequently, as shown in Figure 3.13.[17] This comes from a small sample size of 50 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, 2024/25.

Variable: QINW

How likely were victims to report a violent crime to the police, and what actions did they think should be taken?

The 2024/25 SCJS estimates that less than one in three violent incidents (30%) were brought to the attention of the police. This does not have a statistically significant difference to recent surveys, but has shown a decline from the highest recorded by the SCJS which was just over half (51%) in 2010/11.

However, in 2012/13 three out of five (61%) victims thought what had happened was a crime, which has decreased to only 43% of victims in 2024/25 (see Figure 3.14 below).

When asked directly why they did not report their experience to the police, victims cited a variety of reasons. This is based on a small number of victims (60) and so it changes to a high degree from one year to the next. The most common reason given in 2024/25 was “the police could have done nothing”, with one in three (34%), followed by too trivial/not worth reporting (10%).

Regardless of police reporting, just over a third (35%) of victims felt the offender should have been prosecuted, down from over half (52%) in 2008/09

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

Victim's description of violent crime incidents experienced, 2024/25.

Variable: QCRNO.

Among those not favouring court, reasons given included: Offender was not responsible for their actions in some way (22%), it's a common event / just something that happens (21%), personal / private matter / dealt with it ourselves (19%), courts are inappropriate for this offence (15%) and incident too trivial (15%).

Detailed views on the criminal justice system are covered in the Public Perceptions of the Scottish criminal justice system chapter.