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5. Probation Orders (Chart 12-18 and Tables 18-28 and 59)

5.1 A total of 8,465 POs (including POs with a Requirement of Unpaid Work) were made in 2004-05. This represents an increase of 9 per cent from the 2003-04 total of 7,742 Orders.

Number of Probation Orders ⁽¹⁾, 2000-01 to 2004-05
Chart 12

5.2 The incidence of POs was 23.5 per 10,000 population in 2004-05. This rate was highest in Glasgow City (42.1), Clackmannanshire (37.5) and Dundee City (35.9), and lowest in Moray (6.2), East Renfrewshire (9.6) and East Lothian (11.5).

Number of POs ⁽¹⁾ per 10,000 population by Local Authority, 2004-05
Chart 13

5.3 Male offenders accounted for 82 per cent of POs. Males receiving Probation tended to be younger than females, with 28 per cent of POs for males and 20 per cent of those for females being given to offenders aged under 21 years.

5.4 The incidence of POs was highest amongst 18 to 20 year olds (76.6 per 10,000 population) and was also relatively common amongst 16 to 17 year olds (56.4) and 21 to 25 year olds (55.9).

Probation Orders by Age and Gender of Offender, 2004-05
Orders per 10,000 population
Chart 14

5.5 Forty-five per cent of all POs were 12 to 17 months in length, a five percentage point decrease since 2003-04. A further 23 per cent were for 18 to 23 months and 25 per cent for 2 to 3 years, increases of 3 and 2 percentage points respectively. Only 8 per cent of orders were for lengths of less than one year. Females (54 per cent) were more likely than males (49 per cent) to receive orders of length 12 months or less.

Percentage of POs ⁽¹⁾ by length of order, 2000-01 to 2004-05
Chart 15

5.6 As with Community Service, the employment status of offenders provides an indication of the availability of offenders (see paragraph 4.6). Seventy per cent of POs were for offenders who were unemployed or not seeking employment. The proportion of POs for offenders who were unemployed or not seeking work was higher for females (79 per cent) than for males (68 per cent).

5.7 Thirty-seven per cent of all POs had standard conditions only. A Requirement of Unpaid Work was made in 29 per cent of Orders, while 17 per cent included conditions of Alcohol and/or Drug Treatment/ Education.

5.8 Probation Orders with standard conditions only were more likely to be imposed on females (51 per cent) than males (34 per cent). A Requirement of Unpaid Work was more common amongst males (31 per cent) than females (19 per cent).

Percentage of POs ⁽¹⁾ by conditions, 2000-01 to 2004-05
Chart 16

Breach Applications of Probation Orders

5.9 There were 2,769 breach applications made to the Courts in 2004-05 in respect of POs, an increase of 4 per cent compared to the 2003-04 total of 2,665 applications.

5.10 The number of breach applications is not directly comparable with the number of orders provided previously (which covers new orders only) as some of the breach applications may relate to orders started in previous years. However, a rough estimate of the number of orders running during the year can be made using information on the length of orders started in 2002-03 to 2004-05. This gives an estimated total of around 11,500 POs running in 2004-05, which suggests that approximately one in four orders result in a breach application.

5.11 Fourteen per cent of breach applications resulted in the original order being revoked and a custodial sentence imposed, 8 per cent resulted in the order being revoked and a new probation order imposed, 2 per cent in the order being revoked and a community service order being imposed and 8 per cent in the original order being revoked and some other action taken. In 15 per cent of applications, the original order was continued and no further action taken by the court. The outcome was not yet known in 35 per cent of applications.

Breach applications of POs by outcome, 2000-01 to 2004-05
Chart 17

5.12 Males accounted for 82 per cent of breach applications. The majority of breaches (55 per cent) were caused by non compliance, 39 per cent by a further offence (committed during the period of the PO) while the remainder resulted from both non compliance and a further offence.

5.13 There were 925 breach applications relating to POs with a Requirement of Unpaid Work, an increase of 12 per cent on 2003-04. The condition of Unpaid Work was breached in 52 per cent of these cases.

Terminations of Probation Orders

5.14 A total of 4,973 POs were terminated in 2004-05, an increase of 2 per cent from the 2003-04 total of 4,889. Over 60 per cent of these orders were successfully completed (including early discharge following a review). Twenty-seven per cent were terminated following a breach application. The remaining 12 per cent of orders were terminated for other reasons (including transfer to another area and death of the offender).

Terminations of POs by outcome, 2000-01 to 2004-05
Chart 18

5.15 Females (70 per cent) were more likely to complete orders successfully (including early discharge following a review) than males (60 per cent). Correspondingly, orders were more likely to be terminated following a breach for males (28 per cent) than for females (21 per cent).

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