Scotland's summer crimewave
There was a spike in violence as the temperature soared
A summer heatwave heralded a 12-day spell of violence that saw more police call-outs each day than on Hogmanay.
Police saw a "significant increase'' in incidents in the three months to June, including a 12-day period with "significant violence and a number of murders", Deputy Chief Constable designate Iain Livingstone told the Scottish Police Authority.
Non-sexual crimes of violence were up 11.9% over the quarter from the previous year.
Sexual crimes were also up 10.5%, above the expected range, although Mr Livingstone said this is to be welcomed as it indicates an "increase in recording" and "greater confidence" in police.
Mr Livingstone said: In the first quarter we dealt with 430,108 incidents. That's a significant increase of about 24,000.
"There was one specific period in mid-June when the weather was good, and over that 12-day period on each and every single day we had demand into Police Scotland in terms of calls to service that was greater that we receive on Hogmanay - which traditionally is our period of highest demand.
"So it's indicative of how one can predict as best one can, but suddenly in that 12-day period there was significant violence and there was a number of murders.
"The calls for service were significant, and the performance the officers and staff continue to provide are against that context of this demand for service.
"Overall crime has continued to fall, down 129 crimes against 2015 figures, and the main area for this is in relation to crimes of dishonesty.
"Violence remains a challenge, a 5.1% rise in comparison to last year, but this is still below the five-year average.
"We do have specific issues with serious assaults that are above the five-year average. We are and remain committed to working positively with regard to violence.
"I'm looking to address violent offending, and some of the things that underpin that such as alcohol, and to try to interpret why this increase has occurred so we can nip it in the bud.
"Sexual crime has risen, but we expect this and we would welcome it. We see the increase in recorded sexual crime as indicative of the greater confidence not only in policing but in justice in general, and there has been an increase of 10.5% in comparison to last year.
"It is worthy of note that almost half of the recorded rapes in this period were non-recent or historical in nature, and this is an area where we continue to see significant rises from previous recorded periods and years."