§ Mr. MaxtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a table on a comparable basis to his answer in theOfficial Report, 9 December, columns 344–46, with information on crime rates in Scotland since 1979.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information requested is given in the table.
293W
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Total crimes and offences 800,380 822,370 858,228 855,601 902,031 959,063 Total crimes 461,970 463,837 481,230 469,986 493,385 535,864 Group 1 Non-sexual crimes of violence 15,090 15,705 18,350 17,871 18,374 18,234 Group 2 Crimes of indecency 5,741 5,354 5,266 5,057 5,742 6,034 Group 3 Crimes of dishonesty 342,349 342,522 356,527 344,509 355,525 385,152 Group 4 Fireraising, vandalism etc 79,545 78,891 76,444 73,518 79,062 86,457 Group 5 Other crimes 19,245 21,365 24,643 29,031 34,682 39,987 Total offences 338,410 358,533 376,998 385,615 408,646 423,199 Group 6 Miscellaneous offences 118,098 120,446 127,306 124,878 124,892 126,960 Group 7 Motor vehicle offences 220,312 238,087 249,692 260,737 283,754 296,239
Pencentage change 1979–90 Total crimes and offences 42 Total crimes 55 Group 1 Non-sexual crimes of violence 82 Group 2 Crimes of indecency 29 Group 3 Crimes of dishonesty 43 Group 4 Fireraising, vandalism etc. 54 Group 5 Other crimes 501 Total offences 29 Group 6 Miscellaneous offences 3 Group 7 Motor vehicle offences 45 Notes:
1. Data for 1979 have been regrouped on the basis of the current Scottish Office Home and Health Department classification of crimes and offences which was revised in 1980.
2. Prior to 1980, the return included crimes and offences reported to the Procurator Fiscal by agencies other than the police in which a prosecution was taken. Since 1980, these cases have been excluded. In 1982, there were about 6,400 such cases in Scotland, of a total of 762,483 crimes and offences.
3. Most of the increase in crimes in Group 5 is in recorded cases of re-offending while on bail which may in part be explained by changes in recording practice.
§ Mr. MaxtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of(a) total crimes and (b) violent crimes in (i) each police force area and (ii) across all of Scotland in 1979 and 1990, and the percentage increase in each authority area.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information requested is set out in the table. Figures for numbers of violent crimes recorded in 1979 provided on 27 March 1991,Official Report, columns 440–41, have been found to be in error, underestimating the amount of violent crime recorded in 1979. The following table contains revised figures for the number of violent crimes recorded in 1979.
294W
Number of crimes1, crimes and offences2 and violent crimes3 recorded in Scotland by police force area in 1979 and 1990 and the percentage change Police Force Area 1979 1990 Percentage change
1979–90
Central Crimes 13,844 22,957 66 Crimes and offences 28,398 46,078 62 Violent crimes 1,5384 3,277 113 Dumfries and Galloway Crimes 4,835 8,096 67 Crimes and offences 17,934 21,308 19 Violent crimes 4744 1,179 149
Police Force Area 1979 1990 Percentage change
1979–90
Fife Crimes 14,257 30,706 115 Crimes and offences 31,779 55,142 74 Violent crimes l,8014 3,063 70 Grampian Crimes 22,821 37,070 62 Crimes and offences 50,604 82,071 62 Violent crimes 3,5724 5,537 55 Lothian and Borders Crimes 62,502 87,548 40 Crimes and offences 116,828 152,445 30 Violent crimes 5,8054 8,765 51 Northern Crimes 8,711 13,132 51 Crimes and offences 27,104 35,467 31 Violent crimes 1,4654 2,042 39 Strathclyde Crimes 195,485 293,655 50 Crimes and offences 351,269 487,575 39 Violent crimes 23,6334 31,536 33 Tayside Crimes 24,225 42,700 76 Crimes and offences 50,039 78,977 58 Violent crimes 2,4604 3,923 59 Scotland Crimes 346,680 535,864 55 Crimes and offences 673,955 959,063 42 Violent crimes 40,748 59,322 46 Notes:
1 Comprises groups 1–5 of the Scottish Office Home and Health Department (SOHHD) classification of crimes and offences.
2 Comprises groups 1–7 of the SOHHD classification of crimes and offences, ie all crimes and offences.
3 Comprises group 1 (non-sexual crimes of violence), the sexual assault category from group 2 (crimes of indecency) and the petty assault category from group 6 (miscellaneous offences) of the SOHHD classification of crimes and offences.
4 Revised.
Details of the SOHHD classification are given in the SOHHD statistical bulletin "Recorded crime in Scotland 1990", a copy of which is in the library.