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CrJ/2001/9 Published November 2001
Price £2.00
HOMICIDE IN SCOTLAND 2000
1. Introduction
1.1 This bulletin presents statistics on crimes of homicide recorded by the police in Scotlandin 2000, and the decade 1991 to 2000, as known at 26 October 2001. It includes statistics oncases of murder and common law culpable homicide, but excludes figures for statutoryhomicide, that is of causing death by dangerous or reckless driving.
1.2 Homicide data are given firstly in respect of cases, where a single case of homicide iscounted for each incident involving murder or culpable homicide, irrespective of the number ofperpetrators or victims. Information on victims and accused persons is then presented, followedby circumstances of homicides. In addition to details of the method, motive and relationshipbetween the accused and their victims, new information collected in 2000, including the drinkand drug levels of victims and accused is shown. Definitions of terms used are given in theannex.
Chart 1: Cases initially and currently recorded as homicide by the police, 1925-2000
1. The recording practice changed in 1978, when disaggregate information was first collected.2. See annex note 6 of for an explanation of the difference between cases initially and currently recorded ashomicide.
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1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
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Cases initially recorded as homicide
Cases currently recorded as homicide
A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication
Statistical BulletinCriminal Justice Series
SCOTTISH EXECUTIVEDept or Div name here
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CONTENTS
Page
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................…. 1
2. Key Points ...................................................................................................................…. 3
3. Homicide Cases (Tables A, B, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Charts 2, 3, 4) …………………….…. 4
4. Victims of homicide (Table 6, Charts 5, 6, 7, 8) ..........................……….…………… 6
Age and sex………………………………………………………………………………………... 6
Day of the week…………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Geographical location…………………………………………………………………………… 8
5 Persons accused of homicide (Tables C, 7, 8, 9, Chart 9) ……………..……………. 10
Age and sex …………………….………………………………………………………………… 10
Results of proceedings…………………………………………………………………………… 10
Appeals…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
6. Circumstances of homicides (Tables 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Chart 10,11,12).... .... 11
Method…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
Relationship of main accused to victim……………………………………………….………. 12
Motivation……………………………………………………………………………….………… 13
Drink/drug status..………………………………………………………………………………. 13
7. Time for homicide cases to be dealt with by the criminal justice system (Table 17) 14
8. International comparisons of homicide rates (Table 18) ……………………………. 14
9. Appendix of Tables ...................................................................................................….. 16
10. Annex: Notes on Statistics used in this Bulletin...............................................…....…. 31
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2. Key Points
• In 2000 there were 107 victims of 106 homicide cases, which represents 21 victims permillion population. This was a decrease on the 1999 figure of 118 victims.
• The highest homicide rate in 2000 was amongst infants aged under 1 year, with 111 victimsper million population.
• At 26 October 2001, 128 persons had been accused of homicides recorded in 2000, 87 percent of whom were male. The proportion of accused persons who were male aged 21 to 29,at 23 per cent, was the lowest observed within the last ten years.
• For most of the 106 victims where accused persons have been identified, the main accusedwas known to the victim; 34 per cent were presumed to have been killed by a partner orother relative, 51 per cent by an acquaintance and 10 per cent by a stranger. (For theremaining 5 victims the relationship was unknown).
• As for previous years, the use of a sharp instrument was the most common method of killingin 2000, accounting for 40 per cent of all victims. However, the number of stabbing victims,at 43, was notably lower than the 66 recorded in 1999 (the highest number recorded since1992).
• Of the 88 accused for homicides recorded in 2000 for whom the drink/drug status wasknown, almost three quarters (74 per cent) were drunk and/or on drugs; 52 per cent weredrunk, 13 per cent were on drugs and 9 per cent were both drunk and on drugs. Accusedpersons aged over 30 were most often drunk (67 per cent) whilst persons aged under 30 weremore likely than other accused to be under the influence of drugs (31 per cent).
• In 2000, 11 victims (10 per cent of all victims) were reported to have been killed in a drugrelated homicide. None of the homicides recorded in 2000 was reported to have a racial orhomophobic motivation.
• Sixty four per cent of the 106 homicide cases recorded in 2000 have so far resulted in 32convictions for murder and 32 convictions for culpable homicide. This represents a lowerproportion of convictions being for murder than in the previous two years when there werealmost twice as many as for culpable homicide. However, the split for 2000 was similar tothat for years between 1993 and 1997
• In 2000 the local authority area with the highest homicide rate was Glasgow City (56 victimsper million population). This compared with an overall rate for Scotland of 21 victims permillion. Over half (57 per cent) of homicide cases took place in the Strathclyde police forcearea, although this represents a lower proportion than in any year in the preceding decade,largely due to a particularly low number in the force area outside Glasgow.
• Over the 10 year period 1991-2000, 73 per cent of female victims of homicide were killedwithin a dwelling, and 80 per cent were killed by someone they knew.
• Between 1991 and 2000, almost two fifths (38 per cent) of all homicide victims were killedon a weekend.
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3. Homicide cases (Tables 1-5)
3.1 The statistics quoted in this section refer to cases currently (i.e. as at 26 October 2001)recorded as homicide. A case of homicide refers to one incident, and may involve more thanone victim or accused person.
3.2 The police recorded 106 cases of homicide in 2000, 11 less than in 1999. In all but oneof these cases the police had found a suspect. Of these cases of homicide, 56 have so farresulted in convictions, 28 for murder and 28 for culpable homicide. This represents a lowerproportion of convictions being for murder than in the previous two years when there werealmost twice as many as for culpable homicide. However, the split for 2000 was similar to thatfor years between 1993 and 1997
Table A: Status of cases currently recorded as homicide, as at 26 October 2001Crime and Status Year recorded
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All homicide cases 85 131 114 108 132 115 90 94 117 106
Cases resulting in conviction 55 95 68 77 90 90 64 62 68 56 Murder 23 36 34 40 48 43 24 39 44 28 Culpable Homicide 32 59 34 37 42 47 40 23 24 28
Other (1) 30 36 46 31 42 25 26 32 49 50 Murder 24 30 38 26 30 22 20 23 42 36 Culpable Homicide 6 6 8 5 12 3 6 9 7 14 (1) Includes cases which were either unsolved or pending at 26 October 2001, or where the accused had no proceedings taken against them or were acquitted.
3.3 Homicide cases involving more than one victim remain rare. There was only 1 suchcase in 2000, which is little different from the position in recent years (Table 2). Nineteen(almost a fifth) of the homicide cases recorded in 2000 involved more than one accused.
3.4 In 2000, 60 of the 106 recorded homicide cases were in the Strathclyde police forcearea. This represented a lower proportion than in any year in the preceding decade, largely dueto a particularly low number of homicides in the force area outside Glasgow. The number ofhomicides in Dumfries and Galloway (6) and Grampian (12) were higher than any other year inthe preceding decade.
3.5 The most common location of homicide cases in 2000 was within a dwelling (60 per centof all cases), followed by a street or footpath (25 per cent). This pattern has remained fairlyconsistent from year to year (Table 5). Chart 2 shows the distribution of homicide cases bylocation type over the 10 years covered by this bulletin.
Chart 2: Location of homicide cases, 1991-2000
Street footpath
29%Residential
56%
Other outdoor 8%
Licensed premises 3%
Other indoor 4%
5
3.6 The majority (69 per cent) of solved homicide cases in the decade 1991-2000 involvedmales killing males. Cases where the main accused and main victim were both female amountedto less than 2 per cent of homicide cases. Table B shows the distribution of the sex of mainaccused and main victim for all of the solved cases. Also given is the percentage of homicidesin each category which are currently recorded as murder. It can be seen that cases where a maleis killed by a female are less likely to be classified as murder, and most often result in a verdictof culpable homicide.
Table B: Sex of main accused and main victim in solved homicide cases, 1991-2000 Sex of main victim
Male FemaleSex of main accused
Male 745 214 (% murder) (59) (67)
Female 92 21 (% murder) (36) (62)
3.7 Chart 3 shows a breakdown of the relationships between the main accused and mainvictim in each of the categories of homicide shown in Table B. In the majority (63 per cent) ofcases where a male was accused of killing another male, the victim and accused wereacquaintances. In 63 per cent of cases where a female was accused of killing a male, theaccused and victim were partners. This was also the relationship in 49 per cent of cases where amale was accused of killing a female.
Chart 3: Relationships between main accused and main victim in homicide cases,1991-2000
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3.8 Homicides recorded by the police make up only a very small proportion of all violentcrime; 0.3 per cent between 1991 and 2000 (Table 4). The trend in the number of recordedhomicides followed a roughly similar pattern to trends for the number of recorded attemptedmurders and seriousassaults (Chart 4).
Chart 4: Trends in selected violent crimes, 1991-2000 (index 1991)
4. Victims of homicide (Table 6)
Age and sex (Table 6)4.1 In total there were 107 victims in the 106 homicide cases recorded in 2000, equivalentto a rate of 21 victims per million population. Seventy two per cent of these victims were agedbetween 16 and 49. The 6 homicide victims aged under 1 year represented a rate of 111 permillion population, the highest observed for this age group in the last ten years. The lowesthomicide rate was amongst the 5 to 15 age group.
4.2 Sixty nine per cent of homicide victims in 2000 were male. The overall homicide ratefor males was 30 victims per million population, almost two and a half times the femalehomicide rate of 12 per million population. For females aged 30 to 49, the rate of homicides of24 per million population was the highest recorded in the period 1991 to 2000.
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1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
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Homicide Attempted murder Serious assault
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Chart 5: Victims(1) per million population, by age and sex, 2000
Chart 6: Homicide victims(1), by age and sex, 1991-2000
1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.
1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.
1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.
Day of the week (Chart 7)4.3 Between 1991 and 2000, almost two fifths (38 per cent) of all homicide victims werekilled on a weekend.
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4.4 The proportion of homicide victims killed on a weekend as opposed to a week day wasmost pronounced for males aged 16-49 killing other males aged 16-49 where the main motivewas a fight/rage/quarrel. Almost half (46 per cent) of such killings occurred on a weekend.Homicides where the main accused was a partner or ex-partner of the victim, were more evenlyspread across the week, with 35 per cent occurring on a weekend and 65 per cent on a week day.
Chart 7: Homicide victims by the day of the week the homicide took place, 1991-2000
All victims
Male victims aged 16-49 where main accused Victims where main accused was partner male aged 16-49 and main motive rage/fight or ex-partner
Geographical location (Chart 8)4.5 Frequency of homicide varies considerably throughout Scotland. Chart 8 shows abreakdown by council area of average number of victims per million population for the ten yearscovered by this bulletin. Over this period the average homicide rate for Scotland as a whole was22 victims per million population. The highest rates of homicide victims per million populationwere observed in Glasgow (52), followed by Inverclyde (43), West Dunbartonshire (39) andRenfrewshire (31). The lowest rates were observed in Scottish Borders (5), South Ayrshire (7)and Midlothian (8). Of the main urban areas, Aberdeen had the lowest homicide rate, at 15victims per million population.
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Astron Cartographic Centre B22873 11/2001
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West DunbartonshireEast DunbartonshireNorth LanarkshireGlasgow CityEast RenfrewshireRenfrewshireInverclydeClackmannanshire
Homicide Rate
4-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40 and over
Chart 8: Homicide rates (victims per million population) by Council Area, 1991-2000
1. Homicide victims and base populations for the period prior to local government reorganisation on 1April 1996 have been mapped to current local authority areas on an estimated basis.2. Excludes the 17 victims of the shootings at Dunblane, which otherwise give Stirling a rate of 41 victims per million population.
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5. Persons Accused of Homicide (Tables 7-9)
Age and sex (Table 7)5.1 In total there were 128 accused persons in the homicide cases recorded in 2000. As inprevious years, most (87 per cent) of these were male.
5.2 In 2000, the total number of individuals accused of homicide equated to 28 per millionpopulation. Within age/sex groups, the rate was highest for males aged 16 to 20 (163 per millionpopulation) followed by males aged 21 to 29 (96 per million population). Although, in both ofthese groups the rates were lower than in 1999 (192 and 157 per million populationrespectively). For males aged 21 to 29 in particular, the rate for 2000 was the lowest of any yearin the preceding decade.
Results of Proceedings (Tables 8 and 9)5.3 Of the 128 persons accused in the homicide cases recorded in 2000, 32 (25 per cent)have had a charge of murder proved to date (i.e. as at 26 October 2001) all of whom were givena life sentence. A further 32 accused persons have had a charge of culpable homicide proved, ofwhom 22 were given a sentence of over 4 years imprisonment. This is in contrast to the previoustwo years where almost twice as many persons were convicted of murder as for culpablehomicide. However, the split for 2000 was similar to that for years between 1993 and 1997(Chart 9). To date, 8 accused persons (6 per cent) have been acquitted.
5.4 Over the last 10 years, 60 per cent (943) of accused persons in homicide cases had acharge proved against them and 16 per cent were acquitted. The remaining 24 per cent wereeither not proceeded against, died, had proceedings against them dropped, have their casepending, or are still to be charged. Of those persons with a charge proved against them, 87 percent were sent to prison or a young offenders institution, just over half of whom were given lifesentences. Only 37 (4 per cent) were given hospital orders and/or were judged to be insane.
Chart 9: Numbers convicted of murder and culpable homicide, 1991-2000
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Appeals5.5 There were 209 appeals against convictions for culpable homicide and 93 againstconvictions for murder between 1991 and 2000. Over a quarter (26 per cent) of appeals againstculpable homicide convictions resulted in a reduced sentence, with a further 9 per cent beingsuccessful in having the conviction quashed, a retrial ordered or another appeal sustained. Forthe remaining two thirds of cases the appeal was either dismissed or abandoned. For appealsagainst convictions for murder, the majority, 90 per cent, were dismissed or abandoned. Theremaining 10 per cent were successful in the conviction being quashed, reduced to culpablehomicide or a retrial ordered.
Table C: Appeals against convictions for murder(1) and culpable homicide, by outcome, 1991-2000Crime of which convicted before appeal
Murder Culpable homicideTotal (=100%) 209 93
Conviction quashed 2 2Conviction reduced 4 0Sentence reduced 0 26Retrial 3 4Other appeal sustained 0 2Dismissed 40 41
Abandoned(2) 50 251. Excludes appeals by persons convicted of murder appealing against the effective start date of their sentence.2. Includes, from September 1995 onwards, appeals refused at sift stage.
6. Circumstances of Homicides (Tables 10-14)
Method6.1 The most common method of killing in 2000, as in previous years, was a sharpinstrument, which gave rise to 43 victims, including 34 males. This was a notable decrease fromthe 66 stabbing victims in 1999, which was the highest recorded figure since 1992. Sharpinstruments were used in 45 per cent of homicides in the period 1991-2000. Males aged 16 to 49made up 86 per cent of these victims, amounting to over a third (38 per cent) of all victims ofhomicide.
6.2 Among the other methods of killing, hitting and kicking was the next most common in2000, accounting for 15 male deaths and 2 female deaths. The most common methods of killingof females were with a sharp instrument or strangulation/asphyxiation, accounting for 9 and 8victims respectively in 2000. In the ten year period 1991-2000, a sharp instrument was the mostcommon method of killing of both males and females, though as can be seen in chart 10, it wasmuch more predominant for males than for females.
Chart 10: Method of killing by sex, 1991-2000
Male victims Shooting 8%
Sharp instrument 51%
Blunt instrument 10%
Hitting & kicking 17%
Strangulation, drowning 4%
Fire 2%
Other 7%
Female victims
Sharp instrument 23%
Blunt instrument 15%
Other 14%
Shooting 8%
Fire 5%
Strangulation, drowning 20%
Hitting & kicking 15%
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Relationship of main accused to victim6.3 For 85 per cent of the victims of homicide recorded in 2000, the main accused personwas known to the victim (Table 11). For over half of the victims the main accused person wasan acquaintance. Just over a tenth of victims were killed by a stranger. The number of victimswho were allegedly killed by an acquaintance in 2000 was, at 54, slightly less than the figurerecorded for 1999 (61). Of these, 37 were killed by an acquaintance, 3 by a business or criminalassociate and 3 by a rival gang member. The number of victims for whom their partner was themain accused was 22 (7 males and 15 females), the highest number in the ten year period 1991-2000.
6.4 Chart 11 illustrates the trends over the last 10 years in homicide rates for male andfemale victims by their relationship to the main accused. The highest rate for males hasconsistently been killing by an acquaintance. For females the highest rate was generally killingby a partner. The most striking aspect of these trends is the fluctuation in the pattern for maleskilled by acquaintances, which fell between 1996 and 1998 from a high in 1995, beforeincreasing again in 1999 and then dropping in 2000. This type of killing was largely responsiblefor the overall fluctuation in the homicide rate recorded during this period. The rates for allother types of homicides remained relatively stable, and low, throughout the 1991-2000 period.
Chart 11: Homicide rates by sex of victim and relationship of main accused to victim(1),1991-2000
Relative
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1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.2. Includes the 17 victims (5 male and 12 female) of the Dunblane incident in 1996.
……… Male ________ Female
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6.5 Over the last 10 years, a total of 97 children under the age of 16 were victims ofhomicide. Of these, 62 per cent were killed by one of their parents (Table 12). Excluding thevictims of the Dunblane incident, this proportion was 74 per cent. The total includes 22 boysand 10 girls under a year old, all of whom were killed by a parent.
6.6 For homicides recorded in the last ten years, over half (54 per cent) of the femalevictims aged between 16 and 69 were killed by their partner and a further 6 per cent were killedby another relative. Only 15 per cent of female adults in this age group were killed by someoneunknown to them. For male victims aged 16 to 69, only 8 per cent were killed by their partner,and a further 7 per cent by a relative. The majority (62 per cent) of male victims aged 16 to 69in the past 10 years were killed by an acquaintance, and 22 per cent were killed by a stranger.
6.7 Of the 53 older people (aged 70 and over) who were victims of homicide in the 10 yearsfrom 1991 to 2000, 27 were female and 26 male. Over one third of these (20 victims) werekilled by a stranger, a higher rate than among younger adults. A total of 11 older people werekilled by their son or daughter, 6 by a partner and 16 by someone else known to them.
Motivation6.8 Eleven victims (10 per cent of all victims) were reported to have been killed in a drugrelated homicide case in 2000. Nine of these victims were male and 2 female.
6.9 None of the homicides recorded in 2000 were reported to have had a racial orhomophobic motivation.
6.10 The most common reasons recorded for homicide in 2000 were rage/fury orfight/quarrel, with 46 per cent of victims killed in such circumstances. Only two homicides wereattributed to the mental state of the accused, a decrease from 5 in 1999, and only 1 case wasreported to have had a sexual motive, the lowest figure of any year between 1991 and 2000.
6.11 The pattern of motives for homicides has generally changed little overall in the last 10years. In this period 505 homicides (45 per cent) were attributed to a rage/fight. Of thesevictims, 83 per cent were male, and of these males, 57 per cent were killed by an acquaintance.Where females were killed due to a rage/fight, the accused was most often their partner (65 percent of such incidents).
6.12 The most common set of circumstances in which females become victims of homicideare in a dwelling, in a rage/fight with a partner (Table 14). Males are more commonly victims insome other location, resulting from a rage/fight with an acquaintance. Only 27 per cent of allfemale victims in the period 1991-2000 were killed outwith a dwelling, compared with 54 percent of males.
Drink/drug status (Tables 15 and 16)6.13 New information on whether the accused and victims were under the influence of drinkor drugs at the time the homicide took place, was collected for the first time for homicidesrecorded in 2000. The drink/drug status was reported for 88 (69 per cent) of accused persons.Of these, almost three quarters (74 per cent) were drunk and/or drugs; 52 per cent were drunk,13 per cent on drugs and 9 per cent both drunk and on drugs. Where known, the proportion ofaccused who were drunk was highest for those aged over 30 (67 per cent), whilst the proportionof accused under the influence of drugs was highest for persons under 30 (31 per cent). (Chart12).
14
6.14 In most cases (86 per cent) where the main accused was drunk and/or on drugs, thevictim was also known to have been drunk and/or on drugs. Where the main motive was a fightor quarrel, 80 per cent of main accused for whom the drink/drug status was known were drunkand/or under the influence of drugs. In all of these cases the victim was also drunk and/or ondrugs at the time the homicide took place
6.15 In 6 of the 20 cases (30 per cent) where the main accused was known to be neither drunknor on drugs, the victim was reported to be drunk.
Chart 12: Drink/drug status of accused (where known), 2000
7. Time for cases to be dealt with by the criminal justice system (Table 17)
7.1 In the majority of homicide cases an accused person is charged within 1 month of thedate the homicide is recorded. For those persons charged with a homicide recorded in 2000, 89per cent were charged within a month of the date the homicide was recorded. For over half (56per cent) of persons charged with homicides recorded in 2000, the period from date of chargingto the completing of criminal proceedings was less than 6 months. This continued a downwardtrend in the proportion of persons where a final outcome was reached within 6 months, from 80per cent in 1996. This trend was mirrored by an increase from 12 per cent to 27 per cent ofpersons having a final outcome reached between 6 and 12 months.
8. International comparisons of homicide rates (Table 18)
8.1 While care must be taken in making international comparisons of crime statistics, dueto different counting rules and definitions, it is of interest to observe how Scotland’s homiciderate compares with those of other countries. The rates compared here are the average annualrates for the period 1997 to 1999, as these are the latest published data available for mostcountries. Scotland’s average yearly homicide rate between 1997 and 1999 was 20 victims permillion population. This was higher than the rate in England and Wales (15), lower than inNorthern Ireland (31) and comparable with the rates of Sweden (19) and Belgium (18).
Drunk & on drugs
9%
Neither drunk nor on drugs
26%
On drugs13%
Drunk52%
15
8.2 Glasgow had a homicide rate of 50 victims per million in between 1997 and 1999,similar to the rates in Belfast (52) and Amsterdam, (53), and a little over double the rate inLondon (24). Most other European cities had lower homicide rates than Glasgow. Incomparison with most American cities, however, the homicide rates in Scotland were relativelylow. Edinburgh’s homicide rate between 1997 and 1999 (19) was towards the low end ofhomicide rates in capital cities.
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9. Appendix of Tables
Table 1 Numbers of cases initially and currently recorded as homicide, 1991-2000
Table 2 Homicide cases by number of victims and number of accused, 1991-2000
Table 3 Homicide cases by police force, 1991-2000
Table 4 Crimes of violence recorded by the police, 1991-2000
Table 5 Homicide cases by location, 1991-2000
Table 6 Victims of homicide, by age and sex: numbers of victims and rates per millionpopulation, 1991-2000
Table 7 Persons accused in homicide cases by age and sex: numbers of accusedpersons and rates per million population, 1991-2000
Table 8 Persons accused in homicide cases by crime and outcome of proceedings,1991-2000
Table 9 Persons convicted in homicide cases by crime and sentence, 1991-2000
Table 10 Victims of homicide, by sex of victim and main method of killing, 1991-2000
Table 11 Victims of homicide, by sex of victim and relationship of main accused tovictim, 1991-2000
Table 12 Victims of homicide, by age and sex of victim and relationship of mainaccused to victim, 1991-2000
Table 13 Victims of homicide, by main motive and sex of the main accused, 1991-2000
Table 14 Victims of homicide, by sex of victim, main motive of the main accused,location of killing and relationship of main accused to victim, 1991-2000
Table 15 Persons accused in homicide case, by age and sex and whether drunk and/orunder influence of drugs, 2000
Table 16 Victims of homicide, by main motive of accused and whether main accuseddrunk and/or under influence of drugs, 2000
Table 17 Time taken for the criminal justice system to deal with homicide cases, 1991-2000
Table 18 Comparison of homicide rates in different countries and cities, 1997-1999
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Numbers of cases initially and currently recorded as homicide, 1978-2000 Table 1 Year Initially recorded No longer recorded Currently recorded as homicide (2)
Recorded as homicide as homicide (1) Total Murder Culpable Homicide1978 83 5 78 41 37 1979 81 7 74 38 36 1980 90 4 86 44 42 1981 88 3 85 38 47 1982 88 9 79 47 32 1983 96 5 91 51 40 1984 91 5 86 45 41 1985 84 5 79 37 42 1986 83 4 79 47 32 1987 106 8 98 47 51
1988 (3) 88 8 80 34 46 1989 101 9 92 39 53 1990 86 6 80 35 45 1991 88 3 85 47 38 1992 137 6 131 66 65 1993 116 2 114 72 42 1994 112 4 108 66 42 1995 137 5 132 78 54 1996 120 5 115 65 50 1997 95 5 90 44 46 1998 101 7 94 62 32 1999 127 10 117 86 31 2000 106 0 106 64 42
1. As at 26 October 2001.2. See note 10.6 of annex for explanation of why some cases are ’no longer recorded as homicide’.3. 1988 figures exclude the case of the Lockerbie disaster.
Homicide cases(1) by number of victims and number of accused, 1991-2000 Table 2Number of victims Year recordedand accused persons 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All homicide cases 85 131 114 108 132 115 90 94 117 106
Cases by number of victims 1 83 126 112 105 131 112 90 96 116 105 2 - 5 2 3 1 1 - 2 1 1 3 2 - - - - 1 - - - - 17 - - - - - 1 - - - - Total number of victims 89 136 116 111 133 134 90 100 118 107
Cases by number of accused Unsolved 5 1 1 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 58 90 87 74 93 85 65 65 88 86 2 15 21 12 12 23 13 17 20 11 16 3 4 7 6 11 8 7 2 1 10 2 4 3 6 6 2 4 4 2 5 4 1 5 - 5 2 4 1 - - 1 2 - 6 - 1 - - 1 1 1 - 1 - 7 - - - 1 1 1 1 1 - - 10 - - - - - 1 - - - - Total number of accused 112 208 163 166 197 171 126 140 172 128 1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.
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Cases currently(1) recorded as homicide, by police force, 1991-2000 Table 3
Police force (and district(2)) Year Recorded
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
All Homicide Cases 85 131 114 108 132 115 90 94 117 106
Central 1 6 6 5 6 8 8 4 4 3
Dumfries and Galloway 1 2 2 - 1 1 1 2 3 6
Fife 5 5 4 5 3 3 3 3 1 3
Grampian 3 6 7 3 6 8 4 3 7 12 Aberdeen City 2 1 3 2 4 7 2 2 7 3 Rest of Grampian 1 5 4 1 2 1 2 1 - 9
Lothian and Borders 14 10 14 12 21 9 11 13 16 11 City of Edinburgh 9 8 10 9 16 5 8 8 9 5 Rest of Lothian and Borders 5 2 4 3 5 4 3 5 7 6
Northern 2 5 3 5 3 6 - 3 1 4
Strathclyde 55 87 67 69 85 70 59 61 81 60 Glasgow City 33 34 34 35 49 24 27 31 34 34 Rest of Strathclyde 22 53 33 34 36 46 32 30 47 26
Tayside 4 10 11 9 7 10 4 5 4 7 Dundee City 2 7 7 6 3 4 2 3 2 2 Rest of Tayside 2 3 4 3 4 6 2 2 2 5 1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.2. Figures for Dundee City and Glasgow City refer to slightly different areas before 1996 and from 1996, due to local government reorganisation in 1996.
Selected crimes of violence recorded by the police, 1991-2000 Table 4Year Recorded
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Homicide(1) 88 140 122 113 137 135 95 100 128 108 Attempted murder 518 663 545 623 632 661 625 638 712 587 Sexual assault 1,429 1,604 1,626 1,603 1,638 1,729 1,979 2,154 1,933 1,822 Abduction 199 207 215 248 259 251 244 288 297 289 Serious assault 6,297 6,836 5,799 5,917 6,101 6,149 5,296 5,836 6,323 6,232 Robbery 6,213 6,807 5,582 5,297 5,330 5,254 4,484 4,951 5,075 4,420 Simple assault 41,022 42,469 41,339 45,083 46,604 47,605 50,088 50,958 53,989 54,751
Total violent crime(2) 55,766 58,726 55,228 58,884 60,701 61,784 62,811 64,925 68,457 68,209
Homicide as proportion 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
of all violent crime(1)
1. Figures differ from figures on the number of cases initially recorded as homicide in table 1 as some cases with more than one victim are counted as individual crimes in the figures recorded by the police.2. Violent crime is defined to be crimes classified in the categories shown in the above table.
19
Homicide cases(1) by location, 1991-2000 Table 5
Location 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All homicide cases 85 131 114 108 132 115 90 94 117 106
Residential 49 73 63 55 63 64 55 54 70 71 House, dwelling etc. 64 Garden of house 2 Close, common stair 2 7 3 3 2 1 4 6 9 2 Hostel, hotel, lodging house - 1 2 - 1 - - 1 - 3
Public place indoors 5 9 9 10 17 8 4 3 8 4 Licensed premises (bar, club etc.) 2 4 5 6 4 4 3 1 3 3 Other commercial premises - School, hospital, church 3 5 4 4 13 4 1 2 5 - Transport (car, train, taxi, etc.) 1
Public place outdoors 31 49 42 43 52 41 31 37 39 31 Street or footpath 23 41 33 31 42 30 25 30 32 27 Open outdoor area 8 8 9 12 10 11 6 7 7 4
Unknown - - - - - 2 - - - - 1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.
47 65 58 52 60 61 47 51 63
20
Victims of homicide(1), by age and sex - numbers of victims and rates per million population, 1991-2000 Table 6Sex and age Year recordedof victim 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Number:All victims 89 136 116 111 133 134 90 96 118 107 Under 1 year 4 6 4 2 3 1 2 2 2 6 1 to 4 9 1 - 2 3 4 2 1 - 2 5 to 15 1 2 5 2 4 19 2 4 1 2 16 to 29 24 53 42 48 50 41 29 35 40 30 30 to 49 32 44 37 32 53 51 38 39 55 47 50 to 69 15 18 24 22 15 13 10 10 16 15 70 and over 4 12 4 3 5 5 7 5 4 5
Males 62 113 85 90 104 97 72 75 97 74 Under 1 year 4 4 2 2 2 - 2 1 2 3 1 to 4 6 - - 1 1 1 2 1 - 1 5 to 15 - 2 2 2 3 7 1 3 1 2 16 to 29 16 49 34 44 42 35 22 28 35 27 30 to 49 27 35 27 21 42 43 32 32 42 29 50 to 69 8 15 19 19 10 10 8 8 16 10 70 and over 1 8 1 1 4 1 5 2 1 2
Females 27 23 31 21 29 37 18 21 21 33 Under 1 year - 2 2 - 1 1 - 1 - 3 1 to 4 3 1 - 1 2 3 - - - 1 5 to 15 1 - 3 - 1 12 1 1 - - 16 to 29 8 4 8 4 8 6 7 7 5 3 30 to 49 5 9 10 11 11 8 6 7 13 18 50 to 69 7 3 5 3 5 3 2 2 - 5 70 and over 3 4 3 2 1 4 2 3 3 3
Rate per million population:All victims 17.4 26.6 22.7 21.6 25.9 26.1 17.6 18.8 23.1 20.9 Under 1 year 60.7 89.8 62.3 31.7 49.6 17.0 33.3 34.5 35.3 111.1 1 to 4 34.7 3.9 - 7.7 11.5 15.7 8.1 4.1 - 8.5 5 to 15 1.4 2.9 7.1 2.8 5.6 26.6 2.8 5.6 1.4 2.8 16 to 29 21.6 48.7 39.4 46.0 49.0 41.0 29.6 36.6 42.6 32.6 30 to 49 23.1 31.2 25.8 21.9 35.7 34.0 25.3 25.9 36.2 30.8 50 to 69 14.1 17.0 22.7 20.8 14.2 12.3 9.3 9.1 14.5 13.5 70 and over 7.7 22.7 7.5 5.6 9.3 9.2 12.9 9.1 7.3 9.0
Males 25.1 45.7 34.3 36.2 41.8 39.0 29.0 30.2 39.0 29.8 Under 1 year 118.1 117.5 61.1 62.0 64.7 - 64.9 33.6 69.1 107.8 1 to 4 45.1 - - 7.5 7.5 7.7 15.9 8.0 - 8.3 5 to 15 - 5.6 5.5 5.5 8.2 19.1 2.7 8.2 2.7 5.5 16 to 29 28.4 88.6 62.8 82.9 80.9 68.8 44.2 57.5 73.3 57.6 30 to 49 39.0 49.8 37.8 28.9 56.8 57.6 42.9 42.7 55.6 38.2 50 to 69 15.9 30.0 37.9 37.8 19.9 19.9 15.5 15.3 30.2 18.7 70 and over 5.3 41.8 5.2 5.1 20.2 5.0 24.6 9.7 4.8 9.5
Females 10.2 8.7 11.7 7.9 11.0 14.0 6.8 8.0 8.0 12.5 Under 1 year - 61.1 63.5 - 33.8 35.0 - 35.5 - 114.5 1 to 4 23.8 7.9 - 7.8 15.7 24.0 - - - 8.8 5 to 15 2.9 - 8.7 - 2.9 34.4 2.9 2.9 - - 16 to 29 14.7 7.5 15.3 7.8 16.0 12.2 14.6 14.9 10.9 6.6 30 to 49 7.2 12.7 13.9 15.0 14.8 10.6 8.0 9.2 17.1 23.5 50 to 69 12.5 5.4 9.0 5.4 9.0 5.4 3.5 3.5 - 8.6 70 and over 9.0 11.9 8.9 5.9 2.9 11.8 5.9 8.8 8.8 8.8 1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.
21
Persons accused in homicide cases(1) by age and sex: numbers of accused personsand rates per million population, 1991-2000 Table 7Sex and age of accused Year recorded
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Number:All accused 112 208 163 166 197 171 126 140 172 128 Under 16 2 7 1 8 3 9 3 8 5 4 16 to 20 29 69 42 47 54 47 29 43 37 29 21 to 29 44 79 61 53 73 51 41 49 52 33 30 to 49 31 46 52 51 58 58 47 37 69 53 50 and over 6 7 7 7 9 6 6 3 9 9
Male 103 188 152 148 182 152 117 119 155 111 Under 16 1 7 1 8 2 9 3 7 4 4 16 to 20 25 66 41 45 53 43 27 37 32 27 21 to 29 42 72 59 46 70 47 40 47 49 29 30 to 49 31 37 46 43 49 47 41 26 62 44 50 and over 4 6 5 6 8 6 6 2 8 7
Female 9 20 11 18 15 19 9 21 17 17 Under 16 1 - - - 1 - - 1 1 - 16 to 20 4 3 1 2 1 4 2 6 5 2 21 to 29 2 7 2 7 3 4 1 2 3 4 30 to 49 - 9 6 8 9 11 6 11 7 9 50 and over 2 1 2 1 1 - - 1 1 2
Rate of accused per million population:All accused 24.4 45.3 35.4 36.0 42.6 37.0 27.3 30.3 37.2 27.6 Under 16 4.0 13.9 2.0 15.5 5.8 17.3 5.8 15.5 9.6 7.6 16 to 20 81.1 202.2 128.9 148.7 171.7 149.4 91.6 133.5 113.3 89.0 21 to 29 58.5 105.8 82.6 73.0 103.4 74.4 62.0 77.3 85.0 55.5 30 to 49 22.3 32.6 36.3 35.0 39.1 38.7 31.3 24.5 45.5 34.7 50 and over 3.8 4.4 4.4 4.4 5.6 3.7 3.7 1.8 5.4 5.4
Male 46.7 85.2 68.7 66.7 81.8 68.3 52.5 53.4 69.4 49.5 Under 16 3.9 27.1 3.8 30.2 7.5 33.8 11.3 26.5 15.1 14.9 16 to 20 137.0 377.9 245.3 278.2 329.4 267.3 166.9 225.4 192.4 163.1 21 to 29 110.1 190.1 157.5 124.7 195.3 135.1 119.0 145.6 157.4 95.7 30 to 49 44.8 52.6 64.4 59.2 66.3 63.0 54.9 34.7 82.1 58.0 50 and over 5.8 8.7 7.2 8.6 11.4 8.5 8.4 2.7 10.9 9.4
Female 3.8 8.4 4.6 7.5 6.3 7.9 3.8 8.8 7.1 7.1 Under 16 4.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.9 0.0 0.0 4.0 4.0 0.0 16 to 20 22.9 18.0 6.3 13.0 6.5 26.0 12.9 38.0 31.2 12.5 21 to 29 5.4 19.0 5.5 19.6 8.6 11.9 3.1 6.4 10.0 13.7 30 to 49 0.0 12.7 8.3 10.9 12.1 14.6 8.0 14.5 9.2 11.7 50 and over 2.2 1.1 2.2 1.1 1.1 0.0 0.0 1.1 1.1 2.21. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.
22
Persons accused in homicide cases(1) by crime and outcome of proceedings, 1991-2000 Table 8Crime and outcome of Year recordedproceedings 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
All accused persons 112 208 163 166 197 171 126 140 172 128
Murder 61 107 101 109 121 100 66 86 126 75 Suspect yet to be charged - 2 1 1 - 2 1 2 6 2 Death of suspect 3 8 4 1 2 4 - 1 3 1 Acquitted 16 32 35 33 32 16 12 13 12 4 Charge proved 29 44 36 47 57 56 29 52 53 32
Other(2) 13 21 25 27 30 22 24 18 52 36
Culpable Homicide 43 83 48 51 65 57 55 41 40 50 Suspect yet to be charged - - - - - - - 3 - 2 Death of suspect - - - - 1 - - - - - Acquitted 5 7 6 3 6 1 6 3 1 3 Charge proved 36 70 39 43 51 53 43 27 30 32
Other(2) 2 6 3 5 7 3 6 8 9 13
Other Crime 8 18 14 6 11 14 5 13 6 3 Acquitted 1 3 1 1 - - - 3 - 1 Charge proved 7 15 10 5 11 14 5 10 5 2
Other(2) - - 3 - - - - - 1 -
Persons convicted in homicide cases(1) by crime and sentence, 1991-2000 Table 9Year recorded
Crime and sentence 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
All accused with charge proved 72 129 85 95 119 123 77 89 88 66
Murder 29 44 36 47 57 56 29 52 53 32 Insanity/ hospital order(3) 1 2 3 3 1 - 1 2 2 - Imprisonment/YOI - Up to 4 yrs - - - - - - - - 1 - Imprisonment/YOI - Life 28 42 33 44 56 56 28 50 50 32
Culpable Homicide 36 70 39 43 51 53 43 27 30 32 Admonition or fine 3 4 2 1 3 1 1 - - - Remit to childrens hearing - - - - - - - - - 1 Absolute discharge - - - - - - - - 1 - Probation or community service 3 3 4 6 4 4 6 1 4 1 Guardianship order - - - - - - - - - 1
Insanity/ hospital order(3) 4 4 - 1 1 3 4 3 2 - Detention of child or referred to reporter - 1 1 - - 1 - - 1 - Imprisonment/YOI - Up to 4 yrs 5 13 17 7 12 17 5 9 4 7 Imprisonment/YOI - 4 to 10 yrs 17 42 12 24 29 25 26 14 17 21 Imprisonment/YOI - Over 10 yrs 3 2 3 3 2 2 - - 1 - Imprisonment/YOI - Life 1 1 - 1 - - 1 - - 1
Other Crime 7 15 10 5 11 14 5 10 5 2 Admonition or no order made - 1 3 - - 1 - 3 - - Probation or community service 2 4 1 1 - 4 - 2 3 - Imprisonment/YOI - Up to 4 yrs 5 9 6 3 10 8 5 3 2 2 Imprisonment/YOI - 4 to 10 yrs - 1 - 1 1 1 - 2 - - 1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.2. Includes no proceedings, proceedings dropped or case pending.3. Includes persons acquitted on the ground of insanity.
23
Victims of homicide(1), by sex of victim and main(2) method of killing Table 10Sex of victim and main(2) Year recordedmethod of killing 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
All victims 89 136 116 111 133 134 90 96 118 107 Shooting 7 5 9 9 11 26 6 9 5 2 Sharp instrument 34 70 44 58 58 58 35 42 66 43 Blunt instrument 11 17 18 12 11 13 10 11 12 10 Hitting and kicking 17 25 28 14 26 18 16 14 15 17 Strangulation/asphyxiation 12 Drowning 3 Fire 3 6 4 2 3 5 4 6 - - Poisoning 3 Other or unknown 17
Male 62 113 85 90 104 97 72 75 97 74 Shooting 5 5 9 8 9 13 6 7 4 2 Sharp instrument 28 66 38 53 50 48 29 40 61 34 Blunt instrument 7 11 11 8 8 9 8 5 11 7 Hitting and kicking 13 20 18 10 19 17 14 12 12 15 Strangulation/asphyxiation 4 Drowning 2 Fire - 5 3 1 2 2 3 5 - - Poisoning 2 Other or unknown 8
Female 27 23 31 21 29 37 18 21 21 33 Shooting 2 - - 1 2 13 - 2 1 - Sharp instrument 6 4 6 5 8 10 6 2 5 9 Blunt instrument 4 6 7 4 3 4 2 6 1 3 Hitting and kicking 4 5 10 4 7 1 2 2 3 2 Strangulation/asphyxiation 8 Drowning 1 Fire 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 - - Poisoning 1 Other or unknown 9
1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.2. See note 10.8 of annex for definition of ’main method of killing’.
4
10
10
3
6
7
1 3 3 4 2 3 5 1
7 3 4 4 6 4 2 5
10 6 8 4 3 3 4 8
6 2 4 2 6 3 2 2
5 6 9 11 8 11 9 9
13 5 8 6 12 7 4 7
24
Victims of homicide (1), by sex of victim and relationship of main accused to victim Table 11Sex of victim and relationship Year recordedof main accused to victim 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
All victims 89 136 116 111 133 134 90 96 118 107
All victims (solved cases) 84 135 115 107 132 131 88 95 116 106 Main Accused:
Partner(2)
Partner 11 15 21 19 20 17 8 15 17 21 Ex-partner 1 3 - 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 Relative Son, daughter 2 8 4 2 3 7 4 2 4 2 Parent 12 9 6 4 9 4 4 5 4 8 Other blood relative 5 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 Acquaintance Friend or social acquaintance 37 Business or criminal associate 3 Rival gang member 3 Other known person 11 Stranger Victim known to accused 1 Victim unknown to accused 10 Unknown - - - - - 1 - - - 5
Male victim (solved cases) 58 112 84 87 103 95 71 74 95 73 Main Accused:
Partner(2)
Partner 1 8 7 8 6 10 2 9 7 7 Ex-partner 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Relative Son, daughter - 6 3 1 3 4 4 2 2 2 Parent 10 6 2 3 5 1 3 3 4 4 Other blood relative 2 4 5 2 4 4 2 3 4 4
Acquaintance Friend or social acquaintance 30 Business or criminal associate 2 Rival gang member 3 Other known person 10
Stranger Victim known to accused 13 29 12 21 22 27 18 17 20 1 Victim unknown to accused 6
Unknown - - - - - - - - - 4
Female victim (solved cases) 26 23 31 20 29 36 17 21 21 33
Main Accused:
Partner(2)
Partner 10 7 14 11 14 7 6 6 10 14 Ex-partner - 2 - 1 - 1 1 0 1 1
Relative Son, daughter 2 2 1 1 - 3 - - 2 - Parent 2 3 4 1 4 3 1 2 - 4 Other blood relative 3 - - 1 - - 1 1 - -
Acquaintance Friend or social acquaintance 7 Business or criminal associate 1 Rival gang member - Other known person 1
Stranger Victim known to accused 2 4 5 - 5 17 4 6 5 - Victim unknown to accused 4
Unknown - - - - - 1 - - - 1
Unsolved 5 1 1 4 1 3 2 1 2 1
1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.2. See note 10.9 of annex for the definition of ’partner’ (Ex-partner only includes ex-spouse pre-2000)
25 27 44 22 23
57
15 33 17 21
38
7
31
61 63 69 53 46 46 62
6 3 5 7 5 6 4 4
58 55 52 63 49 42 58 40
25
Victims of homicide(1), by age and sex of victim and relationship of main accused to victim, 1991-2000 Table 12Sex and age Relationship of main accused to victim
of victim Son,daughter Parent Partner(2) Other relative Acquaintance Stranger Total(3)
All victims (solved) 38 65 173 40 549 238 1109 Under 1 year - 32 - - - - 32 1 to 4 - 21 - 1 1 1 24 5 to 15 - 7 - 2 11 21 41 16 to 29 - 3 37 14 236 91 384 30 to 49 7 1 107 16 216 68 418 50 to 69 20 1 23 5 71 37 157 70 and over 11 - 6 2 14 20 53
Males 27 41 67 34 493 186 853 Under 1 year - 22 - - - - 22 1 to 4 - 12 - - - 1 13 5 to 15 - 3 - 1 9 10 23 16 to 29 - 3 14 13 215 78 326 30 to 49 5 1 36 15 201 61 321 50 to 69 15 - 14 4 61 28 122 70 and over 7 - 3 1 7 8 26
Females 11 24 106 6 56 52 256 Under 1 year - 10 - - - - 10 1 to 4 - 9 - 1 1 - 11 5 to 15 - 4 - 1 2 11 18 16 to 29 - - 23 1 21 13 58 30 to 49 2 - 71 1 15 7 97 50 to 69 5 1 9 1 10 9 35 70 and over 4 - 3 1 7 12 27 1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.2. See note 10.9 of annex for the definition of ’partner’.3. Includes 6 victims where the relationship is unestablished.
26
Victims of homicide(1), by main motive and sex of the main accused, 1991-2000 Table 13Sex of main accused person Year recorded
and main(2) motive for killing 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
All victims 89 136 116 111 133 134 90 96 118 107
All victims (solved) 84 135 115 107 132 131 88 95 116 106 Rage, fury 17 Fight or quarrel 32 Jealousy 9 10 12 13 14 10 5 7 8 3 Sexual 4 2 5 4 3 3 4 3 3 1 Financial (theft, gain) 3 19 10 10 6 2 5 7 10 4 Feud, faction rivalry 4 14 10 12 12 15 7 5 9 14 Insanity 4 8 4 4 5 18 6 2 5 2 Suicide pact or mercy killing 3 - - - 1 - - - - - Contract killing 1 Other 12 Unknown 9 16 11 15 23 23 10 17 16 20
Male 77 121 107 97 120 117 80 79 102 93 Rage, fury 15 Fight or quarrel 26
Jealousy 7 10 12 11 12 9 5 5 8 2 Sexual 4 2 5 4 3 3 4 3 3 1 Financial (theft, gain) 3 19 9 10 6 2 5 7 9 4 Feud, faction rivalry 4 13 10 12 12 15 7 5 9 14 Insanity 3 4 2 2 4 18 5 - 4 1 Suicide pact or mercy killing 3 - - - 1 - - - - - Contract killing 1
Other 11 Unknown 8 16 11 15 20 20 8 13 13 18
Female 7 14 8 10 12 14 8 16 14 13 Rage, fury 2
Fight or quarrel 6 Jealousy 2 - - 2 2 1 - 2 - 1 Sexual - - - - - - - - - - Financial (theft, gain) - - 1 - - - - - 1 - Feud, faction rivalry - 1 - - - - - - - - Insanity 1 4 2 2 1 - 1 2 1 1 Suicide pact or mercy killing - - - - - - - - - - Contract killing -
Other 1
Unknown 1 - - - 3 3 2 4 3 2
Unsolved 5 1 1 4 1 3 2 1 2 1
1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.2. See note 10.8 of annex for the definition of ’main motive’.
55 40 43 43 65 56 45 55
41 56 51 39 48 45 37 37
54
48
2 9 5 6 6 10 3 6 7
9 8 4 1 7 4 14 5 9
5 1 7 4 14 5 11 11 10
1 - - - - - 2 2 2
27
Victims of homicide(1), by sex victim, main motive(2) of the main accused, location of killingand relationship of main accused to victim, 1991-2000 Table 14
Main(2) motive of main accused
Rage or Jealousy or Sexual Financial Insanity Other or All fight revenge / feud unknown Motives
Male victimsHomicide in dwelling 205 58 13 26 16 73 391 Partner(3) 44 4 1 - 2 7 58 Relative 41 6 1 - 13 24 85 Acquaintance 114 43 8 17 1 34 217 Stranger 6 5 3 9 - 7 30 Homicide not in dwelling 214 108 3 29 12 96 462 Partner(3) 5 2 1 - 1 - 9 Relative 11 2 - - 2 2 17 Acquaintance 126 90 1 9 3 47 276 Stranger 70 14 1 20 6 45 156 Total 419 166 16 55 28 169 853
Female victimsHomicide in dwelling 76 19 9 13 16 54 187
Partner(3) 51 14 1 - 8 21 95 Relative 16 2 - 1 6 12 37 Acquaintance 9 3 4 4 1 16 37 Stranger - - 4 8 1 4 17 Homicide not in dwelling 10 8 7 8 14 22 69 Partner(3) 5 5 - - - 1 11 Relative - - - - 1 3 4 Acquaintance 5 2 4 1 1 6 19 Stranger - 1 3 7 12 12 35 Total 86 27 16 21 30 76 256 1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.2. See note 10.8 of annex for the definition of ’main motive’.3. See note 10.9 of annex for the definition of ’partner’.4. Totals include victims where relationship is unknown.
28
Pesons accused in homicide cases(1), by whether drunk and/or under influence of drugs and age and sex, 2000 Table 15
Drink/drug status of accused
Sex and age Drunk and Neither drunk of accused Drunk On drugs on drugs nor on drugs Unknown Total
All accused 46 11 8 23 40 128 Under 16 1 0 1 1 1 4 16 to 20 7 4 1 4 13 29 21 to 29 10 4 3 6 10 33 30 to 49 22 3 3 11 14 53 50 and over 6 0 0 1 2 9
Male 37 9 6 20 39 111 Under 16 1 0 1 1 1 4 16 to 20 6 4 0 4 13 27 21 to 29 8 2 3 6 10 29 30 to 49 17 3 2 9 13 44 50 and over 5 0 0 0 2 7
Female 9 2 2 3 1 17 Under 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 to 20 1 0 1 0 0 2 21 to 29 2 2 0 0 0 4 30 to 49 5 0 1 2 1 9 50 and over 1 0 0 1 0 21. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.
Victims of homicide(1), whether main accused drunk and/or under influence of drugs, by motive of main accused, 2000 Table 16
Motive of main accused
Feud, faction Rage, Fight Other or
rivalry Fury or quarrel unknown TotalAll victims 14 17 32 44 107
Accused drunk 7 8 16 10 41 Victim drunk 4 7 16 8 35 Victim not drunk or on drugs 2 - - 2 4 Not known 1 1 - - 2
Accused on drugs - 2 1 4 7 Victim drunk - 1 1 - 2 Victim on drugs - - - 3 3 Victim not drunk or on drugs - 1 - 1 2
Accused drunk and on drugs - 2 3 3 8 Victim drunk - 1 - - 1 Victim on drugs - - 1 - 1 Victim drunk and on drugs - 1 2 3 6
Accused not drunk or on drugs 2 2 5 11 20 Victim drunk 1 - 4 1 6 Victim not drunk or on drugs 1 2 1 10 14
Not known 5 3 7 16 31 Victim drunk - - 1 2 3 Victim on drugs - - 1 2 3 Victim drunk and on drugs - - - 1 1 Victim not drunk or on drugs 2 2 1 5 10 Not known 3 1 4 6 14
1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.
29
Time taken for the criminal justice system to deal with homicide cases(1), 1991-2000 Table 17 Year recorded
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000All accused persons 112 208 163 166 197 171 126 140 172 128 A final result(2) reached 109 197 157 162 183 157 113 122 117 79 Case pending - 1 1 2 11 8 12 12 46 44 Death of suspect after charging - 2 3 - - - - - - - Suspect yet to be charged - 2 1 1 - 2 1 5 6 4 Death of suspect before charging 3 6 1 1 3 4 - 1 3 1
Time between recording of homicide andcharging of accused (number and % ofaccused with a charge)less than 1 month 85 95 89 93 87 88 90 90 90 89 >=1 month but less than 2 months 6 2 4 3 4 4 5 5 4 2 >=2 months but less than 3 months 2 1 3 1 4 - 2 4 1 1 >=3 months but less than 6 months 6 1 3 1 4 5 - 1 2 4 >=6 months but less than 12 months - 1 - 1 - 1 1 - 2 3 >= 12 months 1 2 - 1 - 2 1 - 1 1 Unknown - - - 2 3 1 2 1 1 1 All accused who have been charged (100%) 109 200 161 164 194 165 125 134 163 123
Time between charging of accused andfinal result being reached (number and % of accused with a final result)less than 3 months 8 4 10 6 3 11 6 11 9 10 >=3 months but less than 6 months 75 79 69 75 74 69 74 63 56 46 >=6 months but less than 12 months 6 13 14 12 14 15 12 16 25 27 >= 12 months 10 5 6 6 7 4 4 9 9 14 Unknown - - - 2 3 1 3 2 2 4 All accused for whom a final result was 109 197 157 162 183 157 113 122 117 79 reached (100%)
Time between recording of homicide andfinal result being reached (number and% of accused with a final result)less than 3 months 6 4 6 4 2 10 6 8 7 4 >=3 months but less than 6 months 73 76 70 75 72 64 72 61 54 49 >=6 months but less than 12 months 7 15 15 12 17 19 15 20 28 28 >= 12 months 13 6 8 9 9 7 5 10 11 15 Unknown - - - - 1 - 2 1 - 4 All accused for whom a final result was 109 197 157 162 183 157 113 122 117 79 reached (100%)1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide victims.2. Final result includes no proceedings, proceedings dropped as well as court outcomes.3. Due to rounding, percentages may not total 100 exactly.
30
Comparison of Homicide rates in selected countries and cities, 1997-1999 Table 18
EU coutries Other countries
Country CountryCity City
Scotland 19.8 Switzerland 11.8Edinburgh 18.5 Geneva 19.8Glasgow 49.9 Czech Republic 28.1Aberdeen 17.2 Prague 42.8Dundee 15.9 Australia 19.1
England & Wales 14.5 Canberra 6.4London 23.6 Sydney 17.0
Northern Ireland 31.3 New Zealand(1) 20.1
Belfast 52.3 Wellington(1) 25.0Austria 8.4 USA 62.6
Vienna 16.4 New York 93.8Belgium 17.5 Washington DC 508.2
Brussels 26.7 South Africa 564.9
Germany 12.8 Pretoria(2) 430.0Berlin 32.3
Ireland (Eire) 13.5Dublin 23.7
Italy 15.6Rome 12.2
France 16.3 Paris 22.1Denmark 12.0 Copenhagen 34.3Sweden 19.4 Stockholm 26.7
Spain(1) 26.0
Madrid(1) 32.5Luxembourg 8.7Netherlands 16.6
Amsterdam 53.7Greece 16.9
Athens 14.9Portugal 13.9
Lisbon 19.9Finland 13.9
Helsinki 21.6
EU member states average 17.01. Average for 1997 and 1998 only.2. For 1997 only.
Homicides victims per million population
(average per year 1997-1999)
Homicides victims per million population
(average per year 1997-1999)
31
ANNEX
10. Notes on Statistics used in this Bulletin
10.1 This bulletin presents statistics on crimes of homicide - that is murder and common law culpablehomicide - recorded by the police. It does not include figures for statutory homicide, that is of causing deathby dangerous or reckless driving. In 2000 there were 36 such crimes recorded by the police (including 1 ofdeath by careless driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol).
10.2 The year in which a homicide is counted is the year in which the homicide was recorded by thepolice. This is not necessarily either the year in which the offence took place or, where a person was broughtto trial for the crime, the year in which the case was disposed of by the court.
10.3 A single case of homicide is counted for each incident involving murder or culpable homicideirrespective of the number of perpetrators or victims. Where more than one person is accused of killing oneor more victims, the main accused for the purposes of these analyses is the one who received the severestpenalty. If more than one possible main accused is identified, then the first recorded on the statistical returnis selected. Similarly if a person is accused of killing more than one victim, the main victim is the one forwhich the accused received the severest penalty, or where more than one possible main victim can beidentified the first one recorded on the statistical return is selected.
10.4 Many tables and charts in this bulletin include data from 1996, the year in which the shootings atDunblane occurred. It should be assumed throughout that the 17 homicides in this incident are included,unless otherwise stated. Sixteen of the victims were in the 5-15 year old age group and 12 were female.
10.5 A case is regarded as being solved (or cleared up) if the police believe that there exists a sufficiencyof evidence under Scots law to justify consideration of criminal proceedings, that is, in general if the policesubmit a report to the procurator fiscal. In some circumstances, for example death of a suspect, there may beno report submitted to the procurator fiscal but the case is still considered as cleared up. In some cases, theremay be sufficient evidence but a prosecution cannot be brought, for example, because the accused has leftthe country. In such cases the crime is also regarded as being solved. A case is regarded as unsolved, or notcleared up, if no accused person has been identified.
10.6 The initial classification of the case as murder or culpable homicide is made by the police and willgenerally be that of murder. This classification may be altered as a result of decisions taken in the course ofcriminal proceedings. Many of the cases initially classified as murder may later be classified as culpablehomicides. Some cases initially classified as murder or culpable homicide will, on the basis of criminalproceedings, no longer be classified as such at a later date. This happens in cases where the court finds that ahomicide had not in fact taken place at all, for example, the main accused person may be found guilty of alesser offence, e.g. serious assault. The decision might be made not to proceed with the case if it isconcluded for example that the victim committed suicide. Unless it is certain that the court’s finding was thata homicide had not occurred, the case remains currently recorded as a homicide. Where a crime is unsolved,the initial classification is unaltered and the case is included in the currently recorded homicide cases.
10.7 For those cases with multiple accused which are currently recorded as homicide, the co-accused areincluded in the statistics in this bulletin regardless of whether or not they were ultimately charged withhomicide. For example if the main accused person is found guilty of homicide by the court but the co-accused are found guilty of serious assault then the co-accused continue to be counted as persons accused ofcases currently recorded as homicide.
10.8 The motive is as determined by the police. For homicides recorded before 2000 information wascollected on up to two motives. For simplicity of presentation, only one motive for killing has been selectedfor each accused person. Where more than one motive was recorded, the first one given has been selected asthe main motive unless it was a rage or quarrel, in which case the second one given has been selected.Similarly only one method of killing has been selected for each victim. The main method is taken to be themost serious of those methods recorded, in the following order of priority: shooting, sharp instrument, bluntinstrument, hitting and kicking, strangulation, other.
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10.9 In considering the relationship of the main accused person to a victim, partner includes: spouse,separated or divorced spouse, cohabitee, lover, boy/girlfriend but not necessarily ex-boyfriend/girlfriend pre-2000, as these may have been recorded as simply acquaintances. Partner figures for 2000 do include ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.
10.10 The following symbols are used throughout the tables in the bulletin
- = nil, * = less than 0.5.
SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE STATISTICAL SERVICES
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Enquiries on homicide statisticsshould be addressed to:
Fred ThorneJustice Statistics UnitScottish Executive Justice DepartmentW1C Spur, Saughton HouseEDINBURGHTelephone: 0131 244 2227; Fax: 0131 244 2623e-mail: [email protected]
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Most recent Justice Department Statistical Publications relating to the Crime and Justice themeRef no. Title Last published Price
CrJ/2001/1 Reconvictions of Offenders Discharged from Custody or given Non-Custodial sentencesin 1995, Scotland
February 2001 £2.00
CrJ/2001/2 Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2000 April 2001 £2.00CrJ/2001/3 Liquor Licensing Statistics, 2000 June 2001 £2.00CrJ/2001/4 Firearm Certificates Statistics, Scotland, 2000 July 2001 £2.00News Release Criminal Appeal Statistics, Scotland, 2000 August 2001 N/ANews Release Prison Statistics Scotland, 2000 August 2001 N/ACrJ/2001/5 Recorded Crimes & Offences involving firearms, Scotland, 2000 September 2001 £2.00CrJ/2001/6 Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics, 2000-01 November 2001 £2.00CrJ/2001/7 Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2000 November 2001 £2.00CrJ/2001/8 Motor Vehicle Offences in Scotland, 2000 November 2001 £2.00
Additional copies of these publications may be purchased from Scottish Executive Publication Sales, The Stationery Office Bookshop,71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AZ, Telephone: (0131) 228 4181, Fax: (0131) 622 7017. Cheques should be made payable to ‘The StationeryOffice Limited’.
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ISSN 0264 1178 Price £2.00ISBN 0 7559 3279 X
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