Crime hits 40-year low but sexual offences go up in Scotland

The number of recorded crime in Scotland has hit its lowest in 40 years, falling by 1 percent in the past year to 270,397, according to official figures.

However, the figures also show an increase in recorded sexual crimes, which rose by 12 percent from last year with cases of rape and attempted rape going up by 24 percent.

Police Scotland has attributed this to a rise in victims coming forward to report historic crimes, more than a year after the offence.

Sexual crimes have been on a generally upwards trend since 2008-09 and are now at the highest level since 1971.