Figures show fall in recorded crime

Recorded crime has fallen by 3.2 per cent in the past year, new figures from Police Scotland showed.

There were a total of 49 murders - down six on the previous 12 months, to the lowest figure recorded using modern methods.

However, violent crime rose slightly and sexual crimes also increased - although police said many of these offences were historical.

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The figures for the year to the end of March showed that there were 246,243 recorded crimes in Scotland, with 127,126 crimes detected.

The detection rate has risen from 50.6 per cent to 51.6 per cent.

Crimes of violence rose by 5.3 per cent to 6,775, while Sexual crime increased by 6.2 per cent to 10,273.

Dishonesty was down by 7.8 per cent to 115,789, but fire-raising and malicious mischief went up up 4.4 per cent to 54,226

Other crimes were down 2.4 per cent to 59,180.

Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said the force had committed "significant resources" to the investigation of historical cases of sexual abuse, domestic abuse and rape.

He said: "The overall reduction in recorded crime is to be welcomed - it means fewer victims of crime in our communities.

"There were fewer than 50 murders last year across the whole of the country, with major investigation teams working closely with local policing officers to detect those crimes and manage the impact in communities. The loss of any life is a tragedy and we will continue to do all we can to reduce violent crime."

The recorded crime statistics are published on a quarterly basis, with the latest figures covering the period between January and March this year.

The findings provide a snapshot of recorded crime over the full year from April 2015.