Orkney ranked as Scotland’s safest area

A new study using Scottish Government crime statistics has found that Orkney is the safest area to live.

The county has the lowest rate of crimes over the past year compared to the rest of Scotland, recording 143.8 per 10,000 people. It has reported 322 crimes in total between 2020/21.

The researchers, from A-Plan Insurance, also looked into the most commonly reported crimes in each Scottish local authority.

For Orkney, these were crimes of dishonesty, which numbered 68 and include, fraud, embezzlement, theft and white-collar crime.

Shetland has reported the second-lowest rate of crimes compared to any other local authority area at 452 in total between 2020/21. The area places just above Orkney with 195.1 crimes per 10,000 people. The most common crime in this area were fire-raising and vandalism related incidents.

The area with the third-smallest level of crime is Na H-Eileanan Siar; per 10,000 people, they experience 205.3 crimes. The most commonly reported crimes are those of dishonesty which include, fraud, theft and online crime.