Online crime figures harder to track, police audit reports
Falling crime figures in Scotland do not give the full picture because of the growth in cyber crime, which is harder to identify and record, according to a report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, published today.
The report concludes that "current crime recording practice does not capture the scale of cyber-enabled sexual crime and associated victimisation in Scotland".
Children and young people, it adds, are increasingly experiencing sexual crime online via commonly used apps on their smartphones and tablets; and 11.4% of the sexual incidents audited had a cyber element, of which "a significant proportion" involved children.
Titled Crime Audit 2016, the report follows an audit to assess the state, efficiency and effectiveness of crime recording by Police Scotland and the extent to which recording practice complies with the Scottish Crime Recording Standard and Counting Rules.
It finds: "While statistics show crime is falling, there is a risk that some crime is being displaced and is now taking place online where it can be more challenging to identify, record and investigate."
After examining more than 6,000 incidents and 5,000 crimes, the report makes some 15 recommendations for improvement, one of which calls on Police Scotland to develop a way to "tag" all incidents and crimes with a marker when they have a cyber element, and to assess the nature and scale of cyber crime and its demands on policing in Scotland.
"Scope for improvement" also persists in the recording of sexual crime, where 90% of incidents were closed correctly and 91.4% of crimes were counted and classified correctly.
With all crime, there has been a decline in the percentage recorded within 72 hours of being reported to the police.
The report warns that there has been "insufficient learning" from previous audits.
Derek Penman, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, commented: "While our audit shows that crime recording practice is improving, it also provides evidence that Police Scotland should focus on managing demand, creating capacity and reinvesting that capacity into prevention and responding to new and emerging challenges."
He added: "Criminals are increasingly exploiting opportunities from the internet to commit crime.
"As Police Scotland develops its response to these new and emerging threats, it is likely that crimes including fraud and other cyber-enabled offences will increase significantly and impact on the historic reductions in reported crime."