Humza Yousaf

Elswhere the report shows:

• the number of homicide cases in Scotland has remained relatively stable in recent years, with between 59 and 64 cases recorded each year since 2012-13
• over the 10 year period from 2010-11 to 2019-20, the number of homicide cases in Scotland fell by 35 per cent (34 cases) from 98 to 64
• in 2019-20, 64 victims of homicide were recorded, two per cent (one victim) more than the 63 victims recorded in 2018-19
• of the 64 victims, 70 per cent (45) were male
• in 2019-20, 76 persons were accused of homicide and 92 per cent (70) of them were male
• of the 64 cases of homicide recorded for 2019-20, 63 were solved and one is currently unsolved
• for each of the last 10 years, the most common method of killing was with a sharp instrument and in 2019-20, a sharp instrument was the main method of killing for 55 per cent (35) of homicide victims

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “While the number of homicides continue to be significantly lower than they were a decade ago, any death is one too many and behind each of these figures are victims and grieving families and friends.

“We are committed to providing the best possible support to victims of crime and we have provided more than £1.2 million funding to Victim Support Scotland to establish a service giving dedicated and continuous support to families bereaved by crime, which has been operational since April 2018.

“Alongside enforcement and prosecution, Scotland has adopted a public health approach to tackling violent crime, focusing on early intervention and collaborative prevention work and there has been a significant and long-term reduction in violent crime, with a 48 per cent fall in violent incidents experienced by adults in the last decade.

“We have also invested £20 million over the last decade in violence reduction programmes, including £14 million to support the work of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and more than £4 million for No Knives, Better Lives.”