Weapons offences rose by 12%

The statistics were published as the Scottish Executive put the fight against crime at the centre of its new legislative programme.

The figures showed that forces recorded 16,500 cases of violent crime last year, a rise of 9% on 2001.

There was also a 17% increase in robberies and a rise of 21% in cases of rape and attempted rape, which reached the highest level since records began.

Overall crime rates rose by 1% - although Scotland's eight police forces cleared up a post-war record number of offences.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson praised the police for the 46% clear-up rate.

Greater confidence

The Tories said the statistics showed Scotland had become "a more dangerous and crime-ridden place to live".

While the Scottish National Party said increases in crime highlighted the need for more police officers.

Ms Jamieson said: "The overall statistics show a slight increase, but there are substantial falls in a number of crimes."

"While this is good news, I am however concerned to see the increase in recorded cases of rape and attempted rape, and violent crime.

"But the figures also suggest that the public has greater confidence in the ability of the police to deal with reported crime seriously and sympathetically."

The number of recorded crimes reached 427,000 in 2002, which represents a fall of 25% from the peak figure recorded in 1991.

We need to deal with the knife culture that blights so many communities in Scotland Cathy Jamieson Justice Minister

Crimes of dishonesty fell for the third consecutive year, while vandalism rose by 1%.

There was a 12% rise in cases of handling an offensive weapon and a 12% increase in drug crime.

The Scottish Executive said these figures reflected police campaigns which cracked down on drugs and knife crime.

Recorded crime rose in every police force area, apart from Strathclyde and Grampian.

The number of crimes in Dumfries and Galloway soared by 30% to 10,000.

The force blamed the size of the increase on the relatively low levels of crime recorded the previous year.

Crimes of dishonesty

This was attributed to the large presence of police and army personnel in the area due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak in the first half of 2001.

A significant number of the crimes of dishonesty reported in the region were attributed to two high-profile fraud and embezzlement cases.

Scottish Tory justice spokeswoman Annabel Goldie accused the executive of letting police number plummet, allowing convicts out of jail early and being soft on crime.

Mrs Goldie called for a "zero tolerance approach to crime".

SNP justice spokeswoman Roseanna Cunningham said: "Drug offences and violent crime are exactly the kind of criminal activity that increased police numbers would tackle.

"More police on our streets, protecting our communities, means less street crime. This is not rocket science."