Convictions drop across Dundee area in past year

THE NUMBER of people in Dundee convicted of crimes has dropped, new figures have revealed.

The statistics, which have been released by the Scottish Government Justice Department, show there were fewer convictions in the council area in 2015/16 compared with the previous year.

In Dundee, t here were 3,525 convictions in 2014/15, reducing by 11% to 3,132 the following year.

There were 8,837 offences recorded in the city in 2015/16, meaning one in every 2.82 crimes resulted i n a conviction.

In 2014/15 t here were 8,569 crimes, a rate of 2.43 crimes to convictions.

Scottish Conservative MSP for North East Scotland Bill Bowman said the figures were positive. However, he insisted there was “still more to be done”.

Mr Bowman explained: “It is certainly a positive to see t he number of convictions decreasing.

“However, t he total recorded amount of convictions are considerably higher than similar areas.

“While at first glance the figures make for positive reading, plenty more still needs to be done.”

Men accounted for the vast majority of those convicted of crimes i n Dundee.

In 2014/15, there were 2,867 convictions where the person was male compared to just 658 where they were female.

The following year, this dropped to 2,529 men and 603 women.

However, t here were slightly more men jailed last year than the previous year, rising from 564 to 574.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have given our law enforcement agencies a range of options to deal with the range of offending and criminal behaviour and ensure the most effective approaches to keeping communities safe.

“Certainly the fall in the number of people prosecuted and convicted in courts across the country partly reflects the fall in recorded crime to its lowest level in 42 years, and similar trends from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey.

“Our agencies work tirelessly throughout the year to detect, disrupt and prosecute criminals, while supporting work to keep crime down to its historically low levels.”