Justice Secretary ‘concerned’ by survey showing rise in violent crimes at work

Almost half of all violent crime now takes place in the victim’s workplace – with research also showing an increasing number of those carrying out such offences are aged under 16.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance  said she was “particularly concerned” that the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey found  the violent crime in the work place had “steadily increased”.

According the the latest survey, which covered 2024-25, 46% of violent crimes took place in the victims place of work – with this double the 23% recorded in 2008-09 and up from 32% in 2019-20.

The Justice Secretary also raised concerns about the proportion of violent crimes – such as assaults, attempted assaults and robberies – committed by children.

Almost three out of 10 (28%) of such offences were committed by those aged under 16, the latest survey found – with this total similar to the 2023-24 but up from 10% in 2019-20.

Ms Constance said: “I am particularly concerned about the higher proportion of violent crimes committed in the workplace and the increase in the proportion of violent incidents involving a child perpetrator.”

She added: “Reported levels of fraud and computer misuse also show the need for continued focus in this area.”

According to the survey, which questioned almost 5,000 adults across Scotland, more than one in 10 (11.5%) were the victim of at least one crime of fraud or computer misuse in 2024-25.

There were an estimated 494,000 fraud cases over the year, such as bank and credit card fraud, and an estimated 95,000 crimes involving computer misuse.

These were amongst the 1,119,000 crimes estimated by the research to have taken place in 2024-25 – which also included an estimated 199,000 violent crimes and 412,000 property crimes, such as housebreaking, vehicle theft and vandalism.

The overall volume of property and violent crimes was down by 42% since 2008-09, the research showed.

One in five people (20.8%) were estimated to have been the victim of at least one of the types of crimes covered by the survey – with one in 16 (5.8%) experiencing two or more such incidents.

However, less than a fifth (17%) of crimes included in the survey were estimated to have been reported to the police.

The research also found less than half of all adults (45%) thought the police in their area were doing an “excellent” or “good” job.

And, while this was unchanged from 2023-24, the total has fallen over the longer term, from 61% in 2008-09.

Speaking about the findings, Ms Constance said: “This flagship national survey shows property crime and violent crime 42% lower than in 2008-09 and people feeling safer in their local communities.

“This is consistent with other official data showing recorded crime at one of its lowest levels since 1974, with serious assaults and homicides at record lows.

“While more than 97% of people do not experience any crime, I am acutely aware of the impact on the very small proportion who fall victim to violent crime. ”

She stressed there had been “sustained investment in measures to prevent, reduce and tackle violence, including youth violence with more than £6 million of Scottish Government funding over the past three years”.

This comes on top of “record funding of more than £1.7 billion for policing over the next year”, the Justice Secretary added.

Overall, she said: “The long-term fall in crime is testimony to the efforts of police, justice and community safety partners and this Government’s investment in the criminal justice system.