DUNDEE has overtaken Glasgow as the violent crime capital of Scotland owing to a significant rise in both assaults and robberies.
The Times has reported there were more than 8300 crimes per 100,000 people in Dundee in June 2022, compared to about 7600 in Glasgow.
This represents almost twice the average for Scotland.
The cities’ crime rates have reversed. In 2018, there were more than 8400 criminal offences per 100,000 people in Glasgow and around 7400 in Dundee.
The decline of crime in Glasgow is primarily down to lower rates of shoplifting and other thefts.
Following the release of the latest crime statistics, it is believed the drop in crime in Glasgow was largely down to the consequence of people staying at home during the lockdowns.
However, when crimes of dishonesty are excluded, Dundee still remains the most crime-ridden city in the country.
Violent crime, excluding sexual crime, has risen by a third in Dundee, from about 1500 per 100,000 in 2018 to more than 2000 this year.
Glasgow has remained at a similar level of around 1900 per 100,000.
Crimes of violence increased in 22 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, with the rise in the Scottish Borders following Dundee but from a lower level.
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said it is working with police as well as other agencies “to help make the city a safer place for all of its people” and “tackle the complex challenges faced by the city”.
Statistics show that Aberdeen City and Perth & Kinross also saw a significant increase in the number of violent and sexual crimes between 2018 and 2022.
Aberdeen City saw 1796 violent and sexual crimes per head of population in 2018 compared to 2072 in 2022 – an increase of 276.
Meanwhile, Perth & Kinross saw 947 violent and sexual crimes in 2018 compared to 1209 in 2022 – an increase of 263.
Dundee is also the drugs capital of Scotland, with more deaths per head than anywhere else in Europe, although reported drugs crime has plummeted.
Reports of drugs possession in Dundee fell from 670 per 100,000 in 2018 to 420 this year.
Glasgow saw a more gradual decline, from more than 800 to around 700.
Deputy director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit Will Linden said: “Scotland has seen measures of some of the most serious forms of violence significantly reducing with murder and culpable homicide down 23% and serious assault and attempted murder down 11% from June 2018.
“Adults in Scotland are feeling safer to walk our physical streets. However, the world online has become a more treacherous place.
“Increasing levels of online extortion and threats are captured within Scotland’s violence figures.
“Every act of violence no matter where it happens can have devastating consequences.”
A Scottish government spokesman said: “We are committed to deliver the national mission to save and improve lives.
“National police numbers remain higher than at any time during the previous 1999-2007 administration.”
The Scottish Retail Consortium said the fall in shoplifting was down to Covid restrictions and store closures.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “A concerted focus in Glasgow on improving outcomes at every stage of the justice system has helped to oversee a steady decline in the city’s offending levels.
“The council and its partners in community justice seek to intervene as early as possible with offenders, and work to improve prison through care helps to ensure individuals receive the kind of support that directly challenges the root causes of offending.
“We continue to look for new ways in which we can improve outcomes for offenders and the city’s criminal justice system.”
