According to the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2014-15 the majority of adults (74%) felt very safe or fairly safe walking alone after dark, up from 66% in 2008/09 and 72% in 2012-13.
The likelihood of becoming a victim of crime in Scotland has also fallen to 14.5%, meaning one in seven adults are now at risk, lower than the equivalent in England and Wales.Ā The estimate number of crimes also fell by around a third since 2008-9 from 1,045,000 to 688,000 in 2014-15.
Other key findings include;
- One in seven adults were a victim of crime in 2014-15 compared to one in six adults in 2012-13 and one in five adults in 2008-09
- Peopleās perception that they could be a victim of crime continues to be higher than the actual risk ā for example nearly four per cent of people their vehicle being stolen while the risk is 0.1 per cent
- Confidence in police remains strong, with 70 per cent of people reporting confidence in police to investigate incidents
- Although the risk of crime in deprived areas has fallen from 26% in 2008-09 to 21% in 2014-15 it remains higher than in the rest of Scotland
Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Michael Matheson said,
āIt is extremely encouraging to see that the risk of becoming a victim of crime in Scotland continues to fall. The country is becoming a safer place thanks to the continued efforts of our community and law enforcement agencies and I am glad this message seems to be getting through to the public, with those surveyed claiming to feel safer in their neighbourhood than in previous years.ā
To read the survey results in full, please visit bit.ly/crime-and-justice-survey