Is Rutherglen Safe? An Expert's Perspective

Rutherglen is a city with a B+ rating, meaning that its crime rate is slightly lower than the average American city. It is in the 69th percentile of safety, with 31% of cities being safer and 69% of cities being more dangerous. This makes Rutherglen a relatively safe place to live, especially in the area you're viewing. Despite being the hometown of celebrities such as Supertramp bassist Dougie Thomson and Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series, Rutherglen's entry into iLiveHere isn't too positive.

A resident of Greenock complained about the city's gangs, which they claim are looking for anyone to at least verbally abuse and intimidate. They described their local fellow citizens as irritable at birth and attracted to big, exhausted compact cars. They also criticized the way they speak, describing them as incoherent and nasal for too much Buckfast. When addressing young people with dental problems, they described them as having a uniform rat face, thin as poker and blue skin.

The critic also noted their preference for casual sportswear or, at times, for excessively worn jeans that act like a kind of inverted tartan. Concern is growing over a teenager who is missing in Rutherglen. In 1999, the Scottish parliamentary constituency of Glasgow Rutherglen was created, with the same limits as the then parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom. The local newspaper is Rutherglen Reformer (owned by Reach plc, with online content presented under the slogan Daily Record).

Most of Rutherglen's bars are located on the north side of the main street and west, as a legacy of the Temperance Act (Scotland) of 1913, when the south side of the street and other parts were declared “dry areas” after local referendums on the subject. A branch of Boots Chemist occupied a corner both in the oldest buildings in Rutherglen Cross and when they were replaced, and was present in the same place in the city for more than a century. Rutherglen has been an independent constituency of the Scottish Parliament since the late 16th century. It was a parliamentary borough represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Glasgow Burgh constituency from 1708 to 1832 and as a component of Kilmarnock Burghs from 1832 to 1918. Terrified locals have told how teens' tears have made walking down Rutherglen's main street unsafe to walk at night.

Rutherglen has Rutherglen railway station (opened in 1884), and Croftfoot and Burnside stations are closer to the southern parts of the city. Having existed as a Lanarkshire hamlet in its own right for more than 800 years, Rutherglen lost its own local council in 1975 and became an administrative part of the Glasgow city district within the Strathclyde region (together with neighboring Cambuslang). Rutherglen was a center of heavy industry, with a long tradition of coal mining that died out in 1950. It received Royal Burgh status in 1126 by royal charter from King David I of Scotland, who reigned from 1124 to 1153. In addition to some commercial areas and large industrial estates such as Farme Cross and Shawfield, there are residential neighborhoods surrounding Rutherglen's historic Burgh area. Overall, Rutherglen is generally safe for residents and visitors alike.

However, it is important to be aware that there are some areas where crime rates may be higher than average. It is always best to take precautions when walking around at night or visiting unfamiliar areas.

Malcolm Grant
Malcolm Grant

Malcolm Grant is a Scottish civic historian and former community heritage officer with over twenty-five years of experience researching the social, political, and geographical development of towns across the West of Scotland. Raised in the Glasgow–Lanarkshire corridor, he developed a specialisation in the evolution of historic burghs, municipal boundaries, and local identities, with Rutherglen—one of Scotland’s oldest royal burghs—becoming the central focus of his archival work. His research spans Rutherglen’s centuries-long relationship with Glasgow, its administrative transitions into South Lanarkshire, the legacy of its educational institutions such as Rutherglen Academy, and the shifting cultural and demographic patterns that shape perceptions of safety, prosperity, and community life today. Known for blending rigorous historical scholarship with clear, accessible explanation, Malcolm helps readers understand not only the chronological history of Rutherglen but the lived experiences and civic narratives that continue to shape the town’s modern identity.

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