Rural crime in Scotland: What can we learn from the Scottish Crime Survey and

Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics?

Susan McVieUniversity of Edinburgh

Structure

• Definition of terms• About the Scottish Crime Survey

– Profile of rural crime– Characteristics of victims– Issues for rural victims– Relationships with the police

• About Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics– Standard and advanced reports– Thematic maps and data downloads

Definition of Rural

Urban = Populations over 10,000

Accessible rural = Populations smaller than 10,000 but within 30 minute drive of larger settlement

Remote rural = Populations smaller than 10,000 and more than 30 minute drive of larger settlement

Definition of Rural Crime

• Crime that happens in rural areas

• Crimes that are more specific/common to rural areas e.g. wildlife crime

The Scottish Crime Survey• National survey of households in Scotland• One adult per household, sample=5000• Eight sweeps since 1982, every 3-4 years• Main aims are:

– Provide a comparative measure of crime to police statistics

– Examine trends in extent & nature of crime– Study risks of victimisation– Collect information on crime-related issues, such as

concern about crime and attitudes to the police.

Limitations of the survey

• Not all crime types are included • Not all victims are included• Some sample bias can’t be corrected• Small samples make low level analysis

problematic e.g. at police force area level• BUT the new Scottish Crime and Justice

Survey 2008 has improved design and sample size

Estimated number of crimes in Scotland 2005/06

UrbanAccessible

ruralRemote

ruralRatio

Rural:Urban

MV Vandalism 122197 37609 7802 1 : 2.7

Property vandalism 80478 21646 4059 1 : 3.1

All MV thefts 70848 28089 3182 1 : 2.3

Housebreaking 48766 15616 0 1 : 3.1

Other household theft 108582 41448 7530 1 : 2.2

Violence 263843 46864 9656 1 : 4.7

Other personal theft 103585 39222 10627 1 : 2.1

Total 798299 230492 42856 1 : 2.9

Breakdown of national estimates by area type in Scotland 2005/6

74%

22%

4%

Urban

Accessible rural

Remote rural

Crime in urban areas

All MV thefts9%

MV Vandalism15%

P roperty vandalism10%

Housebreaking6%

Other household theft14%

Violence33%

Other personal theft13%

Crime in accessible rural areas

All MV thefts12%

MV Vandalism16%

P roperty vandalism9%

Housebreaking7%Other household

theft18%

Violence21%

Other personal theft17%

Crime in remote rural areas

All MV thefts7%

MV Vandalism18%

P roperty vandalism9%

Housebreaking0%

Other household theft18%

Violence23%

Other personal theft25%

Rates of victimisation per 10,000 households or people 2005/06

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Motor vehicle vandalism

Property vandalism

Housebreaking

Other household thefts

Vehicle thefts

Assault

Robbery

Other personal theft

Hou

seho

ld c

rimes

Rates per 10,000 hh/ind

Remote rural areas

Accessible rural areas

Urban areas

Pers

onal

crim

es

Incidence of crime (i.e. number of crimes per victim)

UrbanAccessible

ruralRemote

ruralMotor vehicle vandalism 1.4 1.2 1.8

Property vandalism 1.9 1.6 2.3

Housebreaking 1.3 1.4 -

Other household thefts 1.4 1.4 1.1

Vehicle thefts 1.3 1.3 1.0

Assault 1.9 1.7 1.6

Robbery 1.7 1.0 1.0

Other personal theft 1.2 1.6 1.1

Any crime 1.8 1.7 1.5

Reporting to the police• Crimes in rural areas slightly more likely overall to be

reported to the police than crimes in urban areas (39% vs 35%)

• This is particularly the case for vehicle thefts and property vandalism

• The main reasons for reporting crimes are:– It’s the right thing to do/duty to report– Hope the offender gets caught/punished– Wish to avoid the crime happening again/to others– Insurance claim or desire to recover property

• No difference between urban and rural areas

Percentage of crimes reported to the police

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Any crime

Motor vehicle vandalismP roperty vandalism

HousebreakingOther household thefts

Vehicle thefts

AssaultRobbery

Other personal theft

% within area type

Rural

Urban

Reasons for not reporting crimes to the police

0 10 20 30 40 50

Reason was police related

Police could have done nothing

Police not bothered/interested

Dislike/fear of police

Bad experience of police/courts

Trivial/not worth reporting

Dealt with it ourselves

Private/personal matter

Inconvenient/too much trouble

% within area type

Rural

Urban

Relationship of victim to offender

0 10 20 30 40 50

Current/ex-partner

Relative

other know n w ell

Casual acquaintance

Know by sight only

Stranger

% within area type

Rural

Urban

How well did the police keep the victim informed?

0 10 20 30 40

Very well

Fairly well

Not very well

Not at all well

% within area type

Rural

Urban

How satisfied were victims with the way police handled the matter?

0 10 20 30 40

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

A bit dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

% within area type

Rural

Urban

Age/sex profile of victims• No sex difference overall between victims and non-victims in

urban or rural areas (approx 50:50)

• The average age of victims in urban and rural areas was the same (age 39), although rural respondents were slightly older overall

• Looking at violent crimes in particular:– Males are more likely to be victims in both urban and rural areas, but the

gender gap is narrower in rural areas– Males aged 16-24 made up one third of victims in urban areas, but one

quarter of victims in rural areas– Older males (45-59) made up a higher proportion of violence victims in

rural areas than in urban areas– Victims of violence in rural areas were about 5 years older, on average,

than urban victims– Female victims were slightly older than male victims in both urban and

rural areas

Issues considered a 'big problem' in Scotland today

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

Drug abuse

Alcohol abuse

Crime

Antisocial behaviour

Unemployment rates

Standards of housing

Standards of health care

Racial discrimination

Standards of public transport

Standards of education

% in each category

Remote rural

Accessible rural

Urban

Perceived change in crime rate in last 2 years

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

More Same Less

% o

f res

pond

ents

in e

ach

cate

gory

UrbanAccessible ruralRemote rural

Anxieties about crime• Most victims of crime in both urban and rural areas report

feeling ‘annoyed’ and ‘angry’ about their experience. • Less than 1 in 10 report ‘fear’.

• Those in remote rural areas are most likely to feel safe walking alone in their communities at night, urban residents feel least safe

• Most rural respondents also report feeling least worried about the possibility of being victimised in a range of ways

• BUT victims of crime in remote rural areas are most worried about being victimised again, particularly in relation to vehicle theft and vandalism