§ Mr. Frank R. Whiteasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many indictable offences were committed in Scotland in each of the last five years; and what percentage of these offences was perpetrated by under 18-year-olds.
§ Mr. RifkindThe numbers of crimes made known to the police in Scotland in each of the last five years are shown in table 2.1 of "Criminal Statistics 1978"— Cmnd. 7676. "Crimes" in the Scottish classification are broadly equivalent to "indictable offences" in England and Wales.
Since a proportion of crimes made known to the police are not cleared up, information on the percentage of crimes committed by persons under 18 years of age is not available. Information on cases involving children under age 16 who were discovered to have committed a crime and where formal action was taken under criminal procedure, or by the children's panel, or by formal police warning and the juvenile liaison scheme is shown in chapter 5 and in the annual tables of "Criminal Statistics, Scotland 1978".