By Chris Green
More than 14,000 reported crimes in Scotland were ‘filed’ rather than being actively investigated by police officers in the first full year of a new national policy.
Figures obtained by 1919 reveal the impact of the ‘proportionate response to crime’ approach, which means the force is no longer assigning officers to every low-level crime when there are no realistic leads.
The data, published following a freedom of information request, covers the first full year since the policy was rolled out nationally across all three regional command areas in July 2024.
A regional breakdown of Police Scotland’s 13 divisional areas reveals that in Glasgow, the policy was applied to 2,431 crime reports, while in Edinburgh the figure was 1,901.
In Tayside, a total of 1,476 crime reports were directly filed, while in the Lothians and Borders the figure stood at 1,406.
Across Scotland, the total reached 14,123.
Police Scotland decided on a national rollout after a 12-week trial in the north-east in 2023 resulted in officers being freed up to look into other reported crimes.
Under the policy, low-level crime reports where there are no investigative opportunities such as CCTV or witnesses are filed, rather than being actively examined.
However, Police Scotland has stressed that decisions are based on an assessment of threat, harm, risk and vulnerability and that officers will still attend incidents when required.
A report presented to the Scottish Police Authority in March this year said that each directly filed crime report frees up just over five hours of officer investigation time.
If this was applied to the latest data, more than 70,000 hours of police time would have been freed up by the application of the policy over the course of the first year.
However, the report added that due to the “complex nature” of frontline policing, it was “extremely difficult to fully articulate how that additional capacity has been used”.
David Threadgold, chair of the Scottish Police Federation, told 1919 that the sheer number of crime reports being directly filed suggested that some investigative opportunities might be missed.
“A process of tick lists and the passing of crime reference numbers cannot possible identify and action the investigative opportunities that lie within that number of cases”
Scottish Police Federation chair David Threadgold
“Police Scotland’s 2030 vision talks of safer communities and supported victims; I find it incredibly difficult to see how this model for dealing with crime tallies with these aims,” he said.
“A process of tick lists and the passing of crime reference numbers cannot possible identify and action the investigative opportunities that lie within that number of cases, and from speaking to colleagues, the review mechanism put in place by the service at divisional level is merely words on paper.
“As a process for dealing with volume crime, this has proven to be very effective, but we should not forget it was only created because demand is so badly outstripping supply.
“I do not believe this is the model of policing the Chief Constable wishes for the communities of Scotland.
“However, until budgets are increased to allow Police Scotland to grow and to develop policing models that proactively engage with our communities, with the inevitable consequence of less crime, and supported victims, and dare I say it a thriving workforce, then I fear the opposite will be the reality.”
Responding to the data, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The proportionate response to crime process is not a policy of non-investigation – we are committed to investigating crime.
“Every crime report is the subject of individual assessment of threat, harm, risk, vulnerability and for proportionate lines of investigation and evidence.
“If there are no lines of inquiry that can be pursued, then we should be clear about that with the person who has contacted us.
“The public will be informed about the progress of their report more quickly, rather than waiting days for officers to make contact to inform them of the same outcome.
“By taking a proportionate response to crime reporting, we can give officers more time to focus on local policing, keeping people safe from harm, protecting the vulnerable, bringing criminals to justice, solving problems, and reducing offending.
“Please continue to report crime to us. All reports are recorded and – even if they are closed – are passed to our local policing teams to be kept under review and to help build an intelligence picture, enabling them to proactively respond to local concerns.”
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the policy was the result of funding decisions by the Scottish Government, and called for more money to be given to policing.
“These eye-watering figures confirm the SNP’s surrender to criminals,” he said.
“Its savage cuts to the policing budget have now resulted in police simply not having the resources to properly investigate thousands of crimes.
“The SNP has abandoned communities with their weak justice agenda and left them at the mercy of dangerous offenders, who know they will often be let off without any punishment.
“It is time for the Justice Secretary to show some common sense, accept this policy is not working and give police the funding they need to keep communities as safe as possible.”
But a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The investigation and timely reporting of crime to prosecutors is an operational matter for Police Scotland.
“All crimes are fully assessed and Police Scotland are clear that every incident report is subject to an individual assessment of threat, harm, risk, vulnerability with proportionate lines of investigation and evidence fully assessed.
“As Police Scotland made clear when the proportionate response approach was piloted, it only applied to minor crimes with no proportionate lines of inquiry.
“An example provided from the analysis into the pilot was the report of missing garden gnomes where there was no CCTV or lines of inquiry. This allows police to focus resources where they are needed most.
“Scotland continues to be safe place to live, with reported crime falling by more than half since 1991. This year we will invest £4.2 billion across the justice system including a record £1.64 billion for policing – an increase of £90 million on 2024/25.”