Scottish Victimisation Telephone Survey 2020: main findings

Summary infographics : Plain text

Key findings from the SVTS 2020 on: Overview of crime in Scotland

The SVTS estimates that between September 2019 and September 2020

• 445,000 crimes were experienced by adults in Scotland
• 9% of adults experienced crime

What type of crime was experienced?

• 67% was property crime
• 33% was violent crime
• 41% of the all crimes experienced by adults were reported to the police

A small number of victims experienced a high proportion of all crime

• 91% of adults did not experience any crime
• 6% of adults experienced one crime, corresponding to just under two-fifths (39%) of all crime
• 3% of adults experienced two or more crimes. These victims experienced three-fifths (61%) of all crime

9% of adults experienced crime. This rate varied across the population

• Those aged 60 and over were least likely to experience crime
• People living in urban areas were more likely than those living in rural areas to experience crime
• No difference between men and women was found in the likelihood of experiencing crime

Crime fell significantly after the UK’s first national lockdown, compared with the six months before

• 39% of crime occurred after the start of the UK’s first national lockdown on 23rd March 2020, and 61% in the period before the lockdown
• This means that crime fell significantly after the start of the first lockdown

Key findings from the SVTS 2020 on: Perceptions of crime, safety, and policing during the pandemic

Adults were more likely to think that there had been a change in the level of crime nationally than in their local area since the virus outbreak

Local Crime

• 23% of adults thought the local crime rate had gone down since the virus outbreak
• 15% of adults thought that the local crime rate had gone up since the virus outbreak

National Crime

• 34% of adults thought the national crime rate had gone down since the virus outbreak
• 21% of adults thought that the national crime rate had gone up since the virus outbreak

Fear of crime

• 75% of adults felt safe walking alone after dark in their local area
• Some sub-groups were less likely to feel safe than their comparator groups:
  
  • 65% of victims of crime felt safe walking alone after dark in their local area
    
  • 72% of people living in an urban area felt safe walking alone after dark in their local area
  • 58% of people living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland felt safe walking alone after dark in their local area
    
  • Women were less likely than men to feel safe walking alone after dark (62% compared to 89%)

Worry about being a victim of crime

• 15% of adults were worried that they might be a victim of crime
• Some sub-groups were more likely to worry than their comparator groups:
  • 24% of victims were worried that they might be a victim of crime again in the future
  • 16% of people living in an urban area were worried that they might be a victim of crime
  • 27% of people living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland were worried that they might be a victim of crime
  • Women were more likely than men to worry that they might be a victim of crime (20% compared to 10%)

Perceptions of policing

• 60% of people believed the police in their local area were doing an “excellent” or “good” job
• 74% of people were satisfied with the way the police in their local area were responding to the virus outbreak