Police Scotland has suggested that government changes to the benefits system could have fuelled a significant rise in robberies.
In a report, the force said welfare changes – including the introduction of universal credit – may have contributed to an 8% rise in robberies.
The Scottish Police Authority also said that higher drug prices due to police raids and effective border policing was contributing to the increase.
“Analysis conducted during August 2018 has not identified a discernible pattern, although anecdotal evidence from intelligence suggests that a combination of increased drug prices due to police enforcement, and changes to welfare systems may have contributed to an increase in crimes of dishonesty and robbery,” it said.
There were 880 robberies across Scotland between April and June, up 12% on the same period last year, while attempted murder was up almost 30%, although the force did not draw a possible causal link between that crime and changes to benefits.
The full rollout of universal credit, the government’s flagship welfare policy that brings six benefits into one, has been hampered by delays amid concerns that the changes could force people into poverty.
One study claimed that it will be more expensive than the system it replaces, while there have also been reports that it has increased reliance on food banks and has so seriously affected claimants’ mental health that some considered suicide.
As the policy currently stands, up to 3 million working families will be worse off under the new system, according to the Resolution Foundation.
Welfare spending for the UK’s poorest families will have shrunk by almost a quarter by 2021, contributing to a steep decline in living standards for the worst off after a decade of austerity.
In three years’ time, £37bn less will be spent annually on social security for working-age people compared with 2010, when the coalition government came to power, despite rising prices and living costs, according to parliamentary estimates.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “There is no firm evidence in this report to link any trends to changes in welfare. We continue to spend £90bn a year on working-age welfare, and 2.4 million households will be up to £630 better off a year as a result of raising the work allowance in universal credit.
“In addition, Scotland has the power to top up existing benefits, pay discretionary payments and create entirely new benefits altogether.”
