§ Mr. Corrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of juveniles convicted for indictable offences in each of the past five years had committed offences involving (a) violence, (b) sex and (c) robbery and theft; and if he will give the same information for young adults and the numbers involved in each category.
§ Mr. YoungerThe term "indictable offences" is not used in Scottish criminal statistics. A broad equivalent would be "crimes". Information on persons aged under 16 and aged 16 to 20 against whom a crime was proved in Scottish courts in the years 1978 to 1982 is set out in the following tables.
Scotland Percentage Crime category 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 Persons aged under 16 against whom a crime was proved Non-sexual crimes of violence* 3 4 2 4 5 Crimes involving indecency 1 1 1 1 1 Robbery and theft 48 45 50 46 39 Number of persons (all crimes)(=100 per cent.) 932 598 609 569 437 Persons aged 16 to 20 against whom a crime was proved Non-sexual crimes of violence* 5 4 4 4 5 Crimes involving indecency 1 1 1 1 1 Robbery and theft 45 47 45 44 41 Number of persons (all crimes)(=100 per cent.) 18,563 17,012 19,898 21,395 24,650 *Excluding robbery.