Homicide rate drops to record low

The homicide rate in Scotland has fallen by half in the last two decades, resulting in a record low, The Scotsman reports.

Researchers are looking at the factors that have resulted in the decline and whether they apply to both murder and culpable homicide.

Most of the killings in the past decade were undertaken with a sharp object and more than 75 per cent of the killers were men, according to a report by the Scottish government.

But the numbers fell by eight per cent between 2014-15 and 2015-16, going from 62 to 57.

This is the lowest number of homicides in a year since 1976. In Glasgow, they have dropped by 56 per cent since 2005-6, a trend found elsewhere in western countries, though not all have seen the figures fall as steeply as in Scotland.

PhD researcher Sara Skott Bengtsson, at the Centre for Law and Society at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Even though homicide overall is decreasing in Scotland, this decrease might not be equal across all types; some types of homicides might not be decreasing as fast - or even at all.

“If we want to prevent all homicides effectively, and not just some of them, it is therefore crucial that more research about homicide trends are conducted in Scotland.”

In 2015-16 there were 65 people accused of murder or culpable homicide – 86 per cent of them were men. Of the 57 victims, 41 were also men and most were killed by an acquaintance.

About a third were also under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Ms Bengtsson added: “Recent research has highlighted the diversity of homicide, and underlined the importance of examining the circumstances of homicide in greater detail.

“A murder that takes place indoors between two partners is for instance quite different from a murder that occurs between two acquaintances.

The number of homicides - classed as murder or culpable homicide - has halved in 20 years outside a pub. These different types of homicide might in fact be related to different causes as well as different social structures, and it is therefore of great importance to better understand homicide in Scotland if it is to be further prevented.

“Yet, if we combine all homicides into one single measure we are essentially treating all types of murders as if they were the same.”

Attempted murder and serious assault rates are still significantly higher.

Ms Bengtsson said: “While the homicide rate in 2014-15 was 1.1 per 100,000, the rate for attempted murder was almost five times higher, while the number of serious assaults reported during the same year was almost 50 times higher.

“It’s safe to say that homicide is not particularly common compared to other violent crimes in Scotland.”