Homicide cases down five per cent in past year

Homicide in Scotland, 2017-18, published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician, shows that this is the joint lowest number of recorded homicide cases for a single twelve-month period since 1976, the first year for which comparable data are available.

Over the 10-year period from 2008-09 to 2017-18, the number of homicide cases in Scotland fell by 39 per cent (38 cases) from 97 to 59.

In 2017-18, 59 victims of homicide were recorded, nine per cent (six victims) less than the 65 victims recorded in 2016-17. Of the 59 victims, 76 per cent (45) were male.

In 2017-18, 81 persons were accused of homicide and 95 per cent (77) of them were male. Of the 59 cases of homicide recorded for 2017-18, 58 were solved and one is currently unsolved.

For each of the last ten years, the most common method of killing was with a sharp instrument. In 2017-18, a sharp instrument was the main method of killing for 58 per cent (34) of homicide victims.