§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of crimes in a year not reported to the police.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe best estimate we have is from the Scottish crime survey. The first results of the 1993 survey, which were published on 22 April, suggest that the proportion of incidents reported to the police in 1992 for those crimes covered by the survey, which comprise crimes against persons and their property, was 52 per cent. The corresponding figures for 1981 and 1987 were 38 per cent. and 44 per cent. respectively. These figures suggest that the amount of crime not reported to the police has diminished over the period covered by the surveys.