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Statistical Bulletin: CrJ/2004/1
CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN SCOTTISH COURTS, 2002

Published February 2004

A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication

This document is also available in pdf format (460k)

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Key Points
3. Criminal Court Proceedings in Context
4. Persons Proceeded Against
5. Persons Convicted
6. Sex and Age of Persons with a Charge Proved
7. Sentencing
8. Characteristics of Individual Offenders
9. Motor Vehicle Offences
9.1 Context
9.2 Offences recorded by the police
9.3 Alternatives to prosecution
9.4 Offences with a charge proved
9.5 Police fixed penalty notices for stationary vehicle offences
9.6 Civil penalty charge notices for parking infringements
9.7 Other offences related to motor vehicles
10. Appendix of Tables
Annex: Notes on Statistics Used in this Bulletin
Scottish Executive Statistical Services
Correspondence and enquiries

1 Introduction

1.1 This bulletin presents statistics on criminal proceedings in Scottish courts during 2002. It includes information on the types of crimes and offences for which persons are convicted, sentencing outcomes and the characteristics of convicted offenders. Additional detailed analyses in relation to motor vehicle offences, including alternatives to prosecution and the issue of fixed penalty notices for stationary vehicle offences, are also given.

1.2 Detailed notes on the statistics used in the bulletin and on the classification of crimes and offences are given in the Annex. Figures are generally quoted to the nearest 100 in the text but are given precisely in the tables.

Chart 1: Penalties imposed in Scottish Courts in 2002 and 1993

2 Key Points

Court proceedings

• In 2002, an estimated total of 142,900 persons were proceeded against in court, an increase of 2 per cent on 2001. This was the second consecutive annual increase; however, the 2002 total was still 23 per cent below the figure of 184,500 recorded in 1993.

Verdicts

• In 2002, an estimated 86 per cent of persons proceeded against in court had at least one charge proved against them or a plea of guilty accepted, a total of 125,000 convictions.

Convictions

• Crime categories to show an increase in convictions between 2001 and 2002 included serious assault (up 15 per cent), shoplifting (up 10 per cent), drugs (up 1 per cent) and drunk driving (up 30 per cent). Decreases included robbery (down 2 per cent), other theft (down 8 per cent) and speeding (down 3 per cent).
• Sheriff summary courts accounted for almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of all persons convicted in 2002, with solemn courts accounting for a further 4 per cent. The number of persons convicted in 2002 in the district and stipendiary magistrates courts (41,700) was just over half the number convicted in 1993.

Sentences

• The total number of custodial sentences imposed by courts in 2002 was 16,800. Between 2001 and 2002, the number of custodial sentences for offenders aged 21 and over increased by 6 per cent (to 13,100) while the number for younger offenders decreased by 14 per cent (to 3,700). Eighty-two per cent of all custodial sentences were for six months or less; the average length of determinate custodial sentences in 2002 was seven months.
• In 2002, the total number of convictions resulting in a community sentence was 15,200, an increase of 12 per cent compared with 2001. These mainly comprised sentences of a probation order (9,200 including 1,300 sentences of probation with a requirement that the offender shall perform unpaid work) or a community service order (5,000). The average length of community service orders imposed in 2002 was 153 hours. Other community sentences imposed in 2002 included restriction of liberty orders (495 convictions) and drug treatment and testing orders (448 convictions).
• In 2002, 63 per cent of all convictions resulted in a fine or compensation order as the main penalty, compared with 73 per cent in 1993. The average amount of fine imposed in 2002 was 200 (excluding fines imposed upon companies). The average value of compensation order imposed was 220.
• In 2002, female offenders accounted for 15 per cent of all convictions, 7 per cent of custodial convictions and 25 per cent of admonishments.

Characteristics of individual offenders

• The peak age for conviction in 2002 was 19. Seven per cent of 19 year old males in the Scottish population were convicted for a crime or relevant offence (such as common assault or breach of the peace) on at least one occasion during 2002; the corresponding proportion for females was 1 per cent.
• Of the 44,300 individuals convicted at least once in 2002 for a crime or relevant offence, 67 per cent had at least one such previous conviction in 1993-2002; 14 per cent had over ten such previous convictions.

Motor vehicle offences

• The total number of motor vehicle offences recorded by the police in 2002 was 341,300, a decrease of 6 per cent compared with 2001. Motor vehicle offences accounted for 36 per cent of all crimes and offences recorded by the police in 2002.
• In 2002 the police made 161,400 conditional offers of a fixed penalty, 65 per cent of which were for speeding offences.
• Of those speeding offences for which a police conditional offer was made in 2002, two-thirds (66 per cent) were detected automatically. The corresponding proportion in 1994 was 13 per cent.
• The number of motor vehicle offences which resulted in a charge proved in court in 2002 was 74,300, an increase of 10 per cent compared with 2001 but 24 per cent fewer than in 1993.
• For an estimated 82 per cent of offences proceeded against in 2002, the charge was proved or accepted. A fine was the most common penalty, imposed for 77 per cent of charges proved or accepted. In addition to the main penalty imposed, 34 per cent of offences resulted in a disqualification from driving and a further 42 per cent in an endorsement of the offender's driving licence.
• The average fine imposed for motor vehicle offences with a charge proved in 2002 was 166. The average length of driving ban imposed was 21 months.
• A total of 164,000 fixed penalty notices were issued by the police for stationary vehicle offences in 2002, 66 per cent of which were for parking and waiting offences and 34 per cent for failing to display a road tax disk.
• In 2002, City of Edinburgh, Glasgow City and Perth & Kinross Councils issued 242,700, 267,400 and 4,100 penalty charge notices respectively for parking infringements. Revenues from these notices and from vehicle removals totalled 7.1 million in Edinburgh, 6.6 million in Glasgow and 70,000 in Perth & Kinross.

3 Criminal Court Proceedings in Context ( Table 1)

3.1 Chart 2 and Table 1 provide a summary of known action in the criminal justice system. In 2002, the police recorded 427,000 crimes and 508,900 offences. The number of crimes recorded by the Scottish police in 2002 was an increase of 1 per cent on the 2001 figure, was 2 per cent higher than the ten year low figure of 420,600 in 1997 but was 25 per cent lower than the peak 1991 figure. The clear up rate in 2002 was 46 per cent for crimes and 89 per cent for offences (excluding motor vehicle offences).

3.2 "Clear-ups" do not necessarily result in a report being made by the police to the procurator fiscal. For example, where the alleged offender is a child, a referral will normally be made to the Reporter to the Children's Panel. The vehicle defect rectification scheme operated by police forces offers the owners of defective vehicles the opportunity to avoid a report being made to the procurator fiscal, and the consequent possibility of court proceedings, by having their vehicle repaired within a given period. In April 1993 a new alternative to court proceedings was introduced for moving motor vehicle offences - the police conditional offer of a fixed penalty; previously only procurators fiscal could offer a fixed penalty for such an offence. In 2002 there were 161,400 police conditional offers, 8 per cent fewer than in 2001 but 44 per cent more than in 1994. It is not known how many alleged offenders are dealt with informally by the police or by other agencies, rather than the procurator fiscal.

3.3 Referrals or reports may often include more than one crime or offence, and in the case of reports to the procurator fiscal may also involve more than one person. There is thus no direct relationship between the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police and the number of disposals resulting from the action of other agencies within the criminal justice system. In addition, many offences such as Wireless Telegraphy Act offences (failure to pay a television licence) are not recorded by the police in the first instance. Where crimes or offences are recorded and cleared up by the police, procurator fiscal or other action does not necessarily occur in the same calendar year. In 2002, the number of reports received by the procurator fiscal was 293,200, an increase of 3 per cent compared with 2001 but 25 per cent below the number recorded in 1991 prior to the introduction of police conditional offers.

3.4 Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options the procurator fiscal has for dealing with persons who have been charged. Other actions include the use of fiscal warnings, diversion to social work, the use of conditional offers of a fixed penalty for a range of motor vehicle offences, the "fiscal fine" for less serious non-motor vehicle offences, sending cases to the Reporter to the Children's Panel or a decision to take no proceedings.

4 Persons Proceeded Against ( Tables 1 and 2)

(Unless otherwise stated, references in this bulletin to the type of crime or offence for which a person is proceeded against or convicted relate to the main charge involved. For the definition of main charge, see Annex, note 15. The final column of Table 4a provides counts of individual offences with a charge proved regardless of whether or not they were the main offence involved. More detailed information on individual motor vehicle offences with a charge proved is also included in Section 9.)

4.1 In 2002, the total number of persons proceeded against increased by 2 per cent to an estimated 142,900. This was the second consecutive annual increase; however the 2002 total was still 23 per cent below the figure of 184,500 recorded for 1993.

4.2 Of those persons against whom the procurator fiscal instigates proceedings, nearly all are proceeded against in court. In a relatively small number of cases proceedings are started but are then dropped before the case reaches court. Court workloads will be affected by trends in the use of alternatives to prosecution. For example, the introduction of police conditional offers in 1993 led to a reduction in district court workload.

4.3 An estimated 86 per cent of persons proceeded against in court in 2002 were convicted of at least one charge, a total of 125,000 convictions. Three per cent were acquitted on a "not guilty" verdict, and one per cent on a "not proven" verdict. The remaining 10 per cent either had their case deserted by the prosecution or a plea of "not guilty" accepted.

4.4 Information collected prior to 1988 indicates that "not guilty" pleas are more frequent for the more serious crimes such as homicide. Acquittal rates are also higher for these types of crime. In 2002 for example, 18 per cent of those proceeded against in court for serious assault and 38 per cent of those proceeded against for rape or attempted rape were acquitted following a "not guilty" or "not proven" verdict. Thirty-one per cent of persons proceeded against for theft of a motor vehicle had a plea of not guilty accepted or the case against them deserted. By contrast, 92 per cent of persons proceeded against in court for motor vehicle offences were convicted in 2002, with only 1 per cent acquitted on a "not guilty" verdict and most of the remaining prosecutions either being deserted or having a plea of "not guilty" accepted.

4.5 Of those persons acquitted in 2002 (as opposed to those who had a plea of not guilty accepted or the case against them deserted), 21 per cent received a "not proven" verdict. This proportion varied by type of crime: for example, it was higher than average for crimes of indecency (30 per cent), unlawful use of a vehicle (28 per cent), dangerous and careless driving (28 per cent) and serious assault (25 per cent); it was lower than average for shoplifting (6 per cent), robbery (14 per cent) and vandalism (17 per cent).

Chart 2: Overview of action within the criminal justice system 2002

5. Persons Convicted ( Tables 3, 4a and 4b)

5.1 The total number of convictions in 2002 was 125,000, an increase of 4 per cent compared with 2001. Of these, just over 79,000 (63 per cent of the total) took place in sheriff summary courts in 2002, an increase of 9 per cent on the previous year.

5.2 The more serious cases are dealt with in solemn courts: the High Court or a sheriff sitting with a jury. A total of 4,200 persons were convicted in solemn courts in 2002, 3 per cent of the total. While the absolute numbers convicted in solemn courts has not changed much since 1993, the proportion they form of the total number of persons convicted has increased slightly.

5.3 In 2002, a total of 41,700 persons were convicted in the district courts or the stipendiary magistrates court that operates in Glasgow. This represented a decrease of 3 per cent compared with the previous year and continued the downward trend evident since the early 1990's; the number of convictions in 2002 was just over half the corresponding figure in 1993.

5.4 Within crime categories, increases between 2001 and 2002 were recorded for the number of persons convicted for serious assault (up 15 per cent to 1,300), shoplifting (up 10 per cent to 8,900), drugs (up 1 per cent to 5,800), common assault (up 4 per cent to 11,300), breach of the peace (up 3 per cent to 14,100), dangerous and careless driving (up 6 per cent to 3,400), drunk driving (up 30 per cent to 8,900) and unlawful use of a vehicle (up 6 per cent to 18,900). Among the categories to show a decrease were robbery (down 2 per cent to 600), other theft (down 8 per cent to 4,000), crimes against public justice (down 6 per cent to 5,000), handling an offensive weapon (down 4 per cent to 2,600) and speeding (down 3 per cent to 9,600).

5.5 Excluding breach (of social work orders) proceedings, the 120,000 convictions in 2002 involved a total of 180,900 individual offences where the charge was proved. On average there were 1.45 charges proved for each conviction.

6 Sex and Age of Persons Convicted ( Tables 5, 6(a) and 6(b))

6.1 Between 2001 and 2002, the overall number of convictions per 1,000 population increased from 50 to 51 for males and from 8 to 9 for females. Despite this slight upturn, the number of convictions per 1,000 population in 2002 was generally lower in all age groups than it was ten years before, though the decrease in the rate for females aged under 21 was much less pronounced.

6.2 Males accounted for 85 per cent of all convictions in 2002; more males than females were convicted in almost all crime and offence categories. The main exception to this pattern was "other" crimes of indecency, where females accounted for 63 per cent of what are mainly offences related to prostitution. The other categories where females formed a higher than average proportion of those convicted included shoplifting (28 per cent), "other theft" (19 per cent) and non-payment of a television licence (71 per cent). (The latter offence category is included within "other miscellaneous offences".)

6.3 For males and females aged under 21, 19 per cent and 30 per cent respectively of convictions in 2002 were for crimes of dishonesty. Three-fifths (60 per cent) of convictions for theft of a motor vehicle involved males aged under 21. Convictions for motor vehicle offences accounted for a much higher proportion of total convictions for those aged over 30 (49 per cent for males and 42 per cent for females) than they did for the under 21 age group (25 per cent for males and 15 per cent for females).

(An individual may be proceeded against on more than one occasion over the course of the year, with several charges involved on each occasion. Persons aged under 21 are more likely than older offenders to be convicted on a number of occasions, and hence to be counted more than once. Section 8 provides information on the characteristics of individuals in each age group who were convicted in 2002.)

Chart 3: Index of persons convicted by type of court, 1993-2002 (1993=100)

* Figure for 2002 may be an underestimate due to late recording of court disposals on SCRO.

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