FOI reference: FOI-2026-3456
You asked
I request any statistics you may have in relation to comparability on recorded crime, prosecutions and conviction in cases of child sexual abuse across Scotland and England.
I have previously been advised by Scottish Statistics office that figures are not comparable due to different recording methods and common law.
However, I understand that an End Task Force group has been recently set up for the purposes of comparability of crime statistics across the country. I would be very grateful if you could advise if any work has been or is presently being undertaken in regard to comparability of recorded, prosecutions and convictions of CSA across Scotland and England.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the information you have requested as it is not possible to compare recorded crime between Scotland and England and Wales because of the different laws and practices for recording crime in Scotland, compared with England and Wales. While we are aware that there are initial discussions to improve the statistical coherence of child sexual abuse and exploitation across the UK, we do not have any additional information above and beyond this.
However, you can find the latest recorded statistics on sexual offences in our quarterly appendix tables (Table A5a within sexual offences).
In addition to this, we have published annual supplementary tables (Table A18) including recorded crime data, which flags the total number of sexual offences categorised as child sexual abuse (Table A18).
Finally, you may be interested in our publication on Abuse during childhood in England and Wales, based on data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), which includes questions on child abuse.