Baillie urges Scottish Government to act on safer communities

By Lucy Ashton

The SNP Government has been urged to help keep communities safe after it was revealed that crimes involving use of weapons more than doubled in a year in West Dunbartonshire.

It comes after new figures show that crime in the area has risen by 15 per cent on last year, while those involving use of weapons shot up by 111 per cent.

Common assault cases are up by 90 on the 2022/23 figure, to 1,112, while crimes of serious assault and attempted murder have risen from 74 to 76.

Rape and attempted rape cases have also risen (47 crimes in 2023/24 up from 39 in 2022/23), alongside crimes of weapons possession(187 from 127), crimes where weapons are used (114 up from 54) and crimes against public justice.

Crimes against property were also on the rise, including housebreaking, theft from a lock-fast place, theft from a motor vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle.

In addition, cases of shoplifting also shot up, from 440 such offences in West Dunbartonshire in 2022/23 to 735 in 2023/24.

Cases of possession of drugs dropped, while supply crimes increased.

Cases of murder and culpable homicide remained stable at one each year from a high of two in 2020/21.

Official figures showing crime recorded by Police Scotland for 2023/24 also reveal that the total number of crimes rose from 5,180 in 2022/23 to 5,936 in 2023/24.

Detection rates also dropped, with Police Scotland clearing up just 57.6 per cent of crimes committed in 2023/24, down from 59.2 per cent the previous year.

Officers solved a high of 62.1 per cent of crimes in the area in 2015/16.

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie, pictured right, said: “These figures are the latest manifestation of the difficulties facing Police Scotland – and these are just the crimes which have been reported.

“It is particularly concerning that crimes of violence and crimes against property are on the rise, people need to feel safe in their communities and these sorts of crimes do the opposite.

“It is high time that the SNP got the message that our streets need to be safe again.

“It has been clear for some time that both Police Scotland and the justice system are in disarray, officer numbers are lower than ever and Police offices face being further centralised.

“Under the SNP’s watch, criminals are going unchecked, and the SNP Government must invest in the justice system to make our streets safe again.”

“A Labour government in Scotland would restore visible community policing and work across society to crack down on anti-social behaviour, as well as equip police with the latest technology so they can keep pace with modern threats.”

Police recorded 10,418 more crimes in 2023-34 compared to the previous year, also a rise of 4%.

The number of people caught carrying a weapon jumped 17% in the past year, while there was also a surge in crimes of dishonesty and cyber-crime.

Total recorded crimes in Scotland increased by 4%, from 289,362 to 299,780.
Non-sexual crimes of violence increased by 4%, from 68,870 to 71,463. Since 2014-15 this figure is up by 9%.
Crimes against society increased by 4% from 59,374 to 61,650. Most of these crimes relate to crimes against public justice (41%) or drug possession (34%).
In 2023-24, an estimated 16,910 cyber-crimes were recorded by the police in Scotland. This was an increase of around 2,000 crimes (or 14%) when compared to the estimated volume for 2022-23 (14,890). Levels also remain significantly above the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20.
The national rate of total recorded crime was 550 crimes per 10,000 population in 2023-24. This has increased from 531 in 2022-23.
Murder and culpable homicide crimes recorded increased 21% between 2022-23 and 2023-24, from 48 to 58 recorded crimes.
There was a 17% increase in the crime of Weapons Possession (not used) in the most recent year, from 4,064 in 2022-23 to 4,759 in 2023-24.