This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Criminal Proceedings in Scottish courts 2005-06
21/03/2007
Figures released today show that there were 128,400 convictions in the Scottish courts in 2005006, five per cent less than in 2004-05.
Crime categories to show an increase in convictions between 2004-05 and 2005-06 included common assault and breach of the peace.
Decreases included non-sexual crimes of violence, crimes of dishonesty, motor vehicle offences and fire-raising and vandalism.
Other findings include:
- The number of custodial sentences imposed in 2005/06 was just under 16,000, a four per cent decrease from 2004-05. More than 80 per cent of these were for six months or less
- In 2005/06, the number of convictions resulting in a community sentence was just under 16,500, a three per cent decrease compared with 2004-05. In 2005-06, community sentences mainly comprised of probation orders - just over 9,000, and community service orders - 5,300. This was the second year in a row in which community sentences have outnumbered custodial sentences
- In 2005-06, 63 per cent of all convictions resulted in a fine or compensation order as the main penalty, a similar level to 2004-05. Excluding company fines, the average fine imposed in 2005/06 was £212; the average value of compensation order imposed was £281
- The peak age for convictions in 2005-06 was 18: seven per cent of all males and one per cent of all females of this age were convicted at least once in 2005-06 for a crime or offences such as common assault or breach of the peace
- The number of bail orders made in 2005-06 was 56,900, an increase of seven per cent from 2004-05. Increases between these years have been greatest for the main charge categories of 'other' crimes (which includes crimes against public justice), 'miscellaneous' offences (which includes breach of social work orders, racially aggravated harassment and various other statutory and common law offences) and breach of the peace. There have been decreases for the categories of crimes of dishonesty and non-sexual crimes of violence
- Of the 176,600 offences with a charge proved in 2005/06, 25,600 (14 per cent) had a bail aggravator recorded against them, indicating that these offences were committed while the offender was on bail. As 2005-06 is the first year that complete data has been available on bail aggravators, no comparisons are possible with earlier years
- The average fine imposed for motor vehicle offences with a charge proved in 2005-06 was £178. The average length of driving ban imposed was 20 months
- In 2005/06 the police made 240,600 conditional offers of a fixed penalty, a decrease of 14 per cent compared with 2004/05. Sixty-five per cent of the offers in 2005-06 related to speeding offences. Almost 17,000 conditional offers were made in respect of driving while using a mobile telephone
- A total of 99,400 fixed penalty notices were issued by the police for stationary vehicle offences in 2005-06, 67 per cent of which were for parking and waiting offences, and 32 per cent for failing to display a road tax disk. The total number of fixed penalty notices has decreased by six per cent compared with 2004-05, however much of the decrease in recent years has reflected the decriminalisation of parking infringements in particular areas
- In 2005-06, 545,900 penalty charge notices for parking infringements were issued in those council areas which operate such civil penalty schemes - Aberdeen City, City of Edinburgh, Dundee City, Glasgow City, Perth & Kinross and South Lanarkshire. Revenues from these notices and from vehicle removals totalled £16.9 million, compared to £14.4 million in 2004-05