THE number of young men convicted in Scotland has fallen by more than 70 per cent in the space of a generation, according to research.
A study by Edinburgh University has linked the dramatic decline to drops in property crimes, particularly house-breaking and vehicle theft, as the nation has become more security conscious.
Burglary and car thefts have often been cited as a gateway to chronic criminality.
The study looking at the changing trends of crime in Scotland reveals the majority of Scots are less likely than ever to become a victim of crime and fewer young people are now choosing a life of crime.
It revealed that there were 9,500 convictions per 100,000 men aged 16-20 for offences committed in 1989, which was the highest rate of any age group.
By 2012, this had declined to only about 2,700 convictions.
There were 1,100 young women convicted in every 100,000 of population in 1989. The number dropped by just more than half to about 500 in 2012.
The study, based on figures from the Scottish Offenders Index, showed that conviction rates for those over the age of 25 remained steady, meaning the average age at which people in Scotland are convicted of offending has risen.
The peak age of offending for men, which was 18 in the late 1980s, is now 23, according to the latest conviction figures. The peak age of offending for women has increased from 18 to 30.
Professor Susan McVie, director of the Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN), based at Edinburgh University's School of Law, which carried out the research, said better property security protection could be deterring youngsters from crime.
Data collected by the police reveals that the types of crime to have fallen most dramatically are property crimes, particularly house-breaking and vehicle theft, said the researchers.
Violent crime has also dropped, including serious assaults and homicide, the report said. Researchers believe the drop in property and violent crimes may be linked. Professor McVie said: "Household and property crimes are thought to act as 'debut' crimes into more serious acts of violence."
She added: "With fewer people committing these debut crimes, it is possible that there may be fewer people getting involved in violent crime as a result of that."
Changes in the way that the youth justice system operates in Scotland could also be responsible, with children kept out of the justice system for as long as possible, she added.
Last year it emerged that crime had fallen to a 39-year low with homicide, violence and possession of an offensive weapon all down in Scotland.
Police have previously stressed the changing patterns of house-breaking in recent decades, with fewer opportunistic raids by drug addicts in poorer areas but continued targeted attacks on homes with goods worth stealing, especially the keys to expensive cars.
The research, which was presented as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's Festival of Social Science on Tuesday, showed that the proportion of the population likely to escape being a victim of crime rose from 76 per cent in 1993 to 82 per cent in 2010/11.Edinburgh
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article