Making Scotland Safer

Crime Down 40% Under SNP

The SNP has taken many steps to ensure Scotland is a safe place to live.

Despite constraints on Scotland’s public services through a decade of UK austerity, the Scottish Government has managed to sustain increases in the policing budget.

Since it first came into government in 2007, police recorded crime has fallen by over 40%, and is at one of the lowest levels seen since 1974.

Violent crime is down significantly in the past 20 years, with serious assaults and homicide levels at record lows.

A survey of almost 5,000 people published last year also asked about perceptions of crime, policing and the justice system. Most adults expressed confidence in their local police’s ability to deal with incidents as they occur and to solve crimes. 

This last year, the SNP Scottish Government has invested £4.2 billion across the justice system including a record £1.64 billion for policing – an increase of £90 million on 2024-25.

As part of the SNP’s broader package for tackling violence, the government has increased funding to the ground-breaking and internationally recognised Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, and committed to continued funding of projects supporting young people at risk of being drawn into criminal activities under the Cashback for Communities programme.