One crime is reported to police every minute amid a sharp rise in culpable homicides, violence and sex offending, ‘shocking’ figures show.

Police Scotland logged more than 500,000 crimes in 2025-26, up seven per cent, with rape and attempted rape at the highest level since 1971.

Cases of murder and culpable homicide increased by 25 per cent, rising from 44 to 55 – or more than one per week.

Justice Secretary Neil Gray said recorded crime was ‘down almost half’ from its peak in 1991, insisting that ‘for the majority, Scotland is a safe place to live’.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said: ‘These shocking figures are a damning indictment of soft-touch SNP justice.

‘Violent crime is up, sexual crime is up, crimes of dishonesty are up. Whichever way you look, the figures expose the devastating consequences of two decades of SNP justice failure.’

According to the Scottish Government, the total number of crimes rose from 475,090 to 507,633 in the past year.

Between 2024-25 and 2025-26, recorded crimes of rape and attempted rape increased by 11 per cent, from 2,897 to 3,229.

These were included in the 16,430 sexual crimes recorded in 2025-26, up from 14,892 the previous year.

Recorded crimes involving indecent photos of children increased by 17 per cent, from 828 to 965.

Non-sexual crimes of violence rose by 6 per cent, from 71,170 to 75,601.

According to the data, cases of serious assault and attempted murder rose by 2 per cent, from 3,024 to 3,075.

There was also a 23 per cent increase in offences under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act, rising from 2,573 to 3,170.

The figures showed a 6 per cent increase in crimes of dishonesty such as fraud, rising from 110,913 in 2024-25 to 118,040 in 2025-26 – the highest total since 2014-15. Meanwhile, a total of 14,200 cyber-crimes were recorded by the police in 2025-26, a rise of 1 per cent from 14,120 the previous year, though the report noted that levels were ‘significantly above’ those recorded before the Covid pandemic in 2019-20.

It said: ‘We estimate that cyber-crimes accounted for at least 5 per cent of total recorded crime in 2025-26, including 27 per cent of sexual crimes, 6 per cent of crimes of dishonesty and 3 per cent of non-sexual crimes of violence.’

Recorded crimes of shoplifting increased by 19 per cent, from 44,730 to 53,369.

Common assaults of a retail worker went up by 10 per cent, from 2,870 to 3,162.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, deputy head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: ‘The spiralling increase of violence and shop theft is causing misery for Scottish shopkeepers and customers.

‘More than eight times a day Scottish shopworkers are being assaulted, with at least one of those attacks causing injury.’

The police clear-up rate – the proportion of cases that were resolved – rose from 56 per cent in 2024-25 to 56.7 per cent in 2025-26 – the second highest figure since comparable records began in 1976.

Statisticians collect figures for ‘crimes’ – defined as more serious law-breaking such as murder and rape – and ‘offences’, which are deemed to be less serious.

The total number of ‘crimes’ recorded by Police Scotland in 2025-26 was 315,357 – the highest level since 2014-15 – which is up from 299,111 the previous year, with 192,276 offences recorded (up from 175,979).

Labour justice spokesman Pauline McNeill said: ‘These shameful figures show Scotland is becoming less safe on the SNP’s watch.

‘Violence against women is reaching crisis point as sexual violence and domestic abuse rise again.’

Rape Crisis Scotland chief executive Alev Taylor said: ‘Shamefully, we continue to see the highest levels of rape and sexual crime on record.’

Mr Gray said the increase in sexual crimes was ‘part of a broader pattern seen across the UK’.

He added: ‘We are taking action to strengthen confidence in the justice system and ensure police, prosecutors and the courts have the powers they need to bring perpetrators to justice.’