Figures released by the Scottish Government have indicated that convictions for violent crime, such as attempted murder, assault and armed robbery, have increased by over 20% for the year 2019/20.
Conviction rates for serious assault and attempted murder are at the highest level in over a decade with just under 1,300 convictions registered. However, the increase in convictions is likely to be more of a “blip” than the start of an established pattern according to Will Linden, deputy director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit.
According to statistics from the SVRU, violence remains consistently high, and the figures appear to suggest that 2018/19 was simply a “bad year”. Mr Linden added that “However, it [the increase] wasn’t consistent across Scotland. For example, Glasgow – which is always a main driver of violent crime in Scotland – showed very little change that year, whereas you had increases in Edinburgh and the Borders. Glasgow had an increase in robberies, whereas Edinburgh had a decrease, so there wasn’t a consistent picture for the country in terms of what was happening in that period”.