Crime rate by in Scotland in 2020, by region

Dundee city's crime and offence rate of 1,336 per 10 thousand people was the highest of any region of Scotland in 2019/20. The rate for the whole of Scotland was 910 per 10 thousand people, which appears to be driven by low crime in places such as the Orkney Islands, with almost all Scottish cities reporting higher than average crime rates.

South of the border

Although the overall crime rate in England and Wales has increased in recent years, Scotland has experienced a decline. The autonomy Scotland enjoys from the rest of the UK has enabled it to pursue a different approach to crime, treating it as a public-health issue rather than simply as a police enforcement problem.

A continuing trend?

There was a slight uptick in the number of crimes recorded by the Scottish police in 2019/20, when compared with 2013/14, with approximately 24 thousand less offences. Whether or not Scotland will soon have to contend with dramatic rise in crime seen in England and Wales remains to be seen.