Violent crime in Scotland has reached its worst level in a decade, new figures reveal.
According to the latest figures on recorded crime in Scotland, there were 9,842 recorded cases of violent crime in Scotland in 2021-22.
That was the highest number of violent crimes recorded since 2010-11, with the level of violent crime also at its highest level since Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister in 2014.
The rise has been fuelled by a large increase in crimes such as cruelty to children, abductions, threats and extortion.
Shadow Justice Secretary Jamie Greene has slammed the SNP’s soft-touch justice system for failing to keep Scotland’s streets safe.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Jamie Greene MSP, said: “These damning figures paint a shocking picture of the level of violent crime in Scotland.
“The first purpose of any government is to ensure that the public are being kept safe, but Nicola Sturgeon has completely failed to do so.
“Violent crime has now hit its highest level during her tenure as First Minister.
“Instead of standing up for public safety, or the victims of crime, the SNP would rather wrap criminals in cotton wool by handing out free mobiles to prisoners and automatically releasing them halfway through their sentence.
“Meanwhile, our police are being left to pick up the pieces with fewer local police officers as a result of the SNP’s police merger, as well as being hit with a real-terms cut to their capital budget.
“People across Scotland deserve to know that their streets are safe. The Scottish Conservatives will crack down on violent crime by boosting police numbers in our communities and getting tough on violent criminals with harsher sentences.”
Notes
Violent crime has risen to the highest level since Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister. In the full financial year of 2021-22, there were 9,842 violent crimes recorded. This is higher than any other year throughout Nicola Sturgeon’s time as First Minister. The previous high was in 2019-20, when 9,316 violent crimes were recorded. (Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland March 2022, 21 April 2022, link; Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland 2020-21, 28 September 2021, link).
This is the highest level of violent crime recorded for a decade. The 9,842 violent crimes recorded in 2021-22 is higher than any other year since 2010-11 where 11,437 violent crimes took place. (Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland March 2022, 21 April 2022, link; Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland 2020-21, 28 September 2021, link).