Written Question · S6W-10794 · Session 6
How many recorded incidents of motor vehicle theft there have been in each year since 2017, and, of those, how many resulted in a convictio…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government how many recorded incidents of motor vehicle theft there have been in each year since 2017, and, of those, how many resulted in a conviction.
The answer
Table 1 on Crimes recorded by the police, Scotland, 2012-13 to ? 2021-22, from the National statistics on Recorded crime in Scotland, includes the requested information on theft of a motor vehicle. This is available within the supporting document and the associated excel tables at: Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2021-2022
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
If useful, a rolling annual picture is also available in the shorter quarterly releases of National Statistics on recorded crime, based on the most recent 5 years. Figures for the years ending June 2018 to June 2022 are available at: Recorded Crime in Scotland: year ending June 2022
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Information on the number of people convicted for ‘theft of a motor vehicle’ is available in the Main tables (table 4b) of the National Statistics on Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2020-21 statistical publication available at Supporting documents
- Criminal proceedings in Scotland: 2020-2021
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The latest available information is for the financial year 2020-21.
It should be noted that the national lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent court closures resulted in significant reduced activity in both the number of reports being referred to COPFS and the number of proceedings going through Scottish courts. Consequently the 2020-21 figures should not be considered indicative of any long-term trends.
Whilst the Scottish Government do publish data on both recorded crimes and criminal proceedings in Scotland, these are based on distinct and unlinked data sets. Care should be taken when comparing different data sources relating to the criminal justice system. Detailed information on why these two data sources are not directly comparable can be found in Annex C, paragraph 14 of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2020-21 bulletin.
For example recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases which have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year, charges brought and court proceedings concluded in subsequent years. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only the main charge is counted in these court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
If useful, a rolling annual picture is also available in the shorter quarterly releases of National Statistics on recorded crime, based on the most recent 5 years. Figures for the years ending June 2018 to June 2022 are available at: Recorded Crime in Scotland: year ending June 2022
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Information on the number of people convicted for ‘theft of a motor vehicle’ is available in the Main tables (table 4b) of the National Statistics on Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2020-21 statistical publication available at Supporting documents
- Criminal proceedings in Scotland: 2020-2021
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The latest available information is for the financial year 2020-21.
It should be noted that the national lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent court closures resulted in significant reduced activity in both the number of reports being referred to COPFS and the number of proceedings going through Scottish courts. Consequently the 2020-21 figures should not be considered indicative of any long-term trends.
Whilst the Scottish Government do publish data on both recorded crimes and criminal proceedings in Scotland, these are based on distinct and unlinked data sets. Care should be taken when comparing different data sources relating to the criminal justice system. Detailed information on why these two data sources are not directly comparable can be found in Annex C, paragraph 14 of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2020-21 bulletin.
For example recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases which have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year, charges brought and court proceedings concluded in subsequent years. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only the main charge is counted in these court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S6W-10794 by reference.