The Scottish Government

2004

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND AIMS
RESEARCH AIMS
CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY
COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS
INTERVIEWS WITH RELEVANT PERSONNEL
CHAPTER THREE: THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
THE OLD REGIME
THE NEW REGIME
IN CUMULO SENTENCING
THE BAIL/CUSTODY DECISION
CHAPTER FOUR: OFFENDING ON BAIL
RATES OF OFFENDING ON BAIL
REMAND RATES AND OFFENDING ON BAIL
PROSECUTORIAL POLICY AND OFFENDING ON BAIL
INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF OFFENCE
OFFENDING ON BAIL AND GENDER
OFFENDING ON BAIL AND AGE
LENGTH OF BAIL PERIOD AND OFFENDING ON BAIL
NUMBER OF OFFENCES COMMITTED WHILE ON BAIL
SUMMARY
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
CHAPTER FIVE: STATISTICS ON THE RATE OF USE OF AGGRAVATED SENTENCES FOR OFFENCES COMMITTED WHILE ON BAIL
BAIL-AGGRAVATED SENTENCING AND THE COURTS
BAIL-AGGRAVATED SENTENCES AND DIFFERENT DISPOSALS
DIFFERING PRACTICE BETWEEN SENTENCERS
SENTENCING FOR AGGRAVATIONS AND IN CUMULO SENTENCING
OTHER FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE WHETHER A BAIL-AGGRAVATED SENTENCE IS GIVEN
THE SIZE OF THE AGGRAVATED PORTION OF THE SENTENCE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
CHAPTER SIX: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ACCURACY OF SCRO AND SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE RECORDS ON BAIL AGGRAVATIONS
ACCURACY OF SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE RECORDS ON BAIL ORDERS GRANTED
ACCURACY OF SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE RECORDS ON BAIL-AGGRAVATED OFFENCES
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
CHAPTER SEVEN: RESPONSES FROM INTERVIEWS
THE PROCESS BY WHICH INFORMATION ON BAIL-AGGRAVATED OFFENCES REACHES SENTENCERS
SENTENCING FOR OFFENCES COMMITTED WHILST ON BAIL
THE 'OLD REGIME' VS THE 'NEW REGIME'
SUMMARY OF VIEWS EXPRESSED IN INTERVIEWS
CHAPTER EIGHT: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
SUMMARY
CONCLUSIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEX ONE: STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON BAIL AVAILABLE TO THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
ANNEX TWO: DATA COLLECTION SHEET
ANNEX THREE: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

List of Tables

Table 1 Bail orders made in Sheriff Courts, 2002, by day of the week
Table 2 Persons bailed by main charge, sex and age, 2002
Table 3 Individuals bailed in 2002, by number of bail orders in year
Table 4 Charges on bail orders, 2002
Table 5 Persons with a charge proved by main crime/offence and whether a bail aggravated sentence imposed, 2001

Table 4.1 Rates of offending on bail for the 2001 sample
Table 4.2 Comparison of rate of offending on bail under the new and old bail regimes
Table 4.3 Rate of offending on bail for 2001 sample alongside remand rates
Table 4.4 Type of crimes for which accused were granted bail (2001 sample)
Table 4.5 Types of offences committed while on bail for the 2001 sample
Table 4.6 Percentage of those granted bail for a type of offence who went on to offend while on bail (2001)
Table 4.7 Comparison of old and new regime for crimes of dishonesty
Table 4.8 Rates of offending in 2001 broken down by gender
Table 4.9 Rate of offending on bail for 2001 broken down by age
Table 4.10 The percentage of accused within an age group that were bailed for crimes of violence and dishonesty
Table 4.11 Comparison by age of rate of offending on bail for those granted bail for crimes of violence in the 2001 sample
Table 4.12 Average lengths of bail periods (months)
Table 4.13 Rates of offending on bail for different bail periods (2001 sample)
Table 4.14 Number of offences committed on bail (2001 sample)
Table 5.1 The rate of use of aggravated sentences in the four sheriff courts
Table 5.2 The rate of use of aggravated sentences in the district courts
Table 5.3 The rate of use of aggravated sentences by disposal
Table 5.4 Use of aggravations by judge for Glasgow Stipendiary District Court
Table 5.5 In cumulo sentencing and the use of aggravated sentences
Table 5.6 The percentage that the aggravated portion of the sentence represented of the total sentence
Table 6.1 Accuracy of Scottish Executive records on bail for Aberdeen Sheriff Court
Table 6.2 The number of records found to be missing from Scottish Executive files that related to bail orders granted on a Friday
Table 6.3 The number of offences found to have been committed on bail that were recorded as bail-aggravated in Scottish Executive records