Almost 1,700 new domestic abuse crimes recorded as crime levels remain static

New domestic abuse laws saw nearly 1,700 more offences recorded by Police Scotland last year as overall crime levels remain static.

Domestic abuse crimes have seen more than 1,700 new offences recorded.

Overall crime levels were 24 per cent lower in 2019/20 when compared with the year before despite the introduction of the new offences, with crime levels dropping 24 per cent over the past decade.

Crime statistics released by the Scottish Government showed the number of crimes recorded by Police Scotland rose by 36 to 246,516, despite the new domestic abuse laws and coronavirus regulations.

Domestic abuse laws saw the number of non-sexual violence offences rise by 16 per cent with other violent crimes dropping by 5 per cent, while there were a total of 107 offences issued under the Covid-19 laws at the start of the year.

Sexual offences decreased by 1 per cent, the first time since 2008/09 those figures have dropped, but remain at the second highest level since 1971.

Crimes of dishonesty such as shoplifting also dropped by 3 per cent, with fire-raising and vandalism decreasing by 1 per cent, their lowest levels since 1971 and 1974 respectively.

Motor-vehicle offences increased by 4 per cent and all other crimes such as drug possession rose by 3 per cent in 2019/20.

Overall offences recorded by the police in Scotland rose by 1 per cent to over 250,000.

Justice secretary Humza Yousaf welcomed the figures and said Holyrood would soon consider new legislation to give more powers to police to intervene in domestic abuse scenarios.

He said: “I am pleased that victims of domestic abuse have confidence in the collective actions of Scotland’s police and wider justice and third sector partners, to come forward and report these cases.

"Reports under these new laws, which reflect the reality of many domestic abuse victims, account for the rise in overall non-sexual violence recorded by police last year.

"We must learn from our success in reducing violence on our streets to help keep people safer in their homes, in particular those who are subjected to, or at risk of, domestic abuse.

“That requires not just a government response, but a commitment across families, friends, and colleagues.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director