SNP politicians have welcomed recent crime stats which show Scotland’s recorded crime levels are at their lowest since 1974.
MSPs Natalie Don and Tom Arthur said the latest Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin for the year ending June 2022 were good news.
It shows recorded crime fell by five per cent compared to the same period last year and has fallen by 43 per cent since 2006-07.
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The year-on-year fall was mainly driven by a reduction in coronavirus restrictions crimes however the stats show that recorded crime is five per cent lower than before the pandemic.
The MSP for Renfrewshire North and West said: “Renfrewshire North and West continues to be a safe place to live, just like the rest of Scotland with thousands of fewer victims of crime than when the SNP took office, with a 43 per cent reduction since 2006-07.
“The Scottish Government’s commitment to keeping our streets safe is backed up by increasing the policing budget by £40.5 million for 2022-23, bringing the total budget to almost £1.4 billion.”
The publication is the first to show quarterly statistics on police recorded crime, covering a rolling 12-month period. The statistics provide information on recorded crimes up to year ending June 2022, and the previous four years.
Tom Arthur, SNP MSP for Renfrewshire South, added: “Under the SNP the number of police has also increased by 3.5 per cent compared to when we took office.
“There are also more police officers per head in Scotland than the rest of the UK with 32 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland compared to around 23 in England and Wales.
“There is of course always work to be done to ensure our streets are even safer and that is why the SNP Scottish Government has made £48 million available to organisations that support victims over the next three years, putting victims at the very heart of our justice system.
“Recorded crime across Scotland continues to fall and it demonstrates why it is only the SNP that can be trusted to keep Scotland safe.”
To see the statistics, go to https://www.gov.scot/news/crime-drops/
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