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2. Financial Implications of Criminal Justice Decisions
2.1 This chapter provides an indication of the expenditure of the different agencies involved in the criminal justice process. The chart below illustrates the proportionate share of the total expenditure (capital and current by local and central Government) for each of the agencies. The previous year's figures are shown in brackets.
(1) Figures include depreciation and impairment of assets.
(2) This figure relates to the cost of the core activities and central overheads of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. It is not restricted to the costs of criminal business. It includes expenditure on the Victim Information and Advice Service and costs associated with the investigation of deaths.
(3) The Criminal Injuries Compensation figure is the Scottish contribution (as shown in the Scottish Executive accounts for 2004-05)towards the costs of CIC..
(4) Relates only to the criminal business of the courts but excludes judicial costs.
(5) This figure relates to expenditure within the Justice programme only.
2.2 Legal aid expenditure on criminal accounts paid during 2004-05 is shown in the table below:
Criminal Legal Aid:
Analysis of accounts paid by procedure and court, 2004-05
Court of First
Instance | Solemn | Summary |
|---|
Total
paid
(£'000) | No. of
cases | Average Cost
per case
(£) | Total
paid
(£'000) | No. of
cases | Average Cost
per case
(£) |
|---|
High Court | 17,747 | 1,128 | 15,733 | |
|---|
Non-Appeals | (17,752) | (1,265) | (14,033) |
|---|
Appeals | 4,141 | 3,011 | 1,375 |
|---|
(2,413) | (2,496) | (967) |
Sheriff Court | 21,427 | 9,959 | 2,152 | 46,463 | 67,454 | 689 |
|---|
(19,705) | (8,913) | (2,211) | (44,421) | (64,058) | (693) |
District Court | | 4,527 | 11,491 | 394 |
|---|
(4,438) | (11,169) | (397) |
Total | 43,315 | 14,098 | 3,072 | 50,990 | 78,945 | 646 |
|---|
(39,870) | (12,674) | (3,146) | (48,859) | (75,227) | (649) |
Source: Scottish Legal Aid Board's Annual Report 2004-05
2.3 In addition, expenditure on advice and assistance in criminal matters costing £8.989m (£9.012m), Assistance by Way of Representation ( ABWOR) costing £3.940m (£3.444m) and the duty solicitor scheme costing £0.969m (£0.945m) was incurred.
2.4 The costs of various court disposals in the financial year 2003-04 are estimated to have been as follows:
- cost of 6 months in prison: £16,342 (£16,622) (1)
- average cost of a probation order: £1,157* (£1,173)
- average cost of a community service order: £1,432 (£1,499)
- average cost of a drug treatment and testing order: £9,270
- average cost of a supervised attendance order: £410
- average cost of a restriction of liberty order: £9,000
* The probation figure covers only " standard" orders and not those which include participation in intensive projects.
(1) Figures exclude depreciation and impairment of assets.
2.5 The tables below show the court and prosecution costs of a criminal case in 2004-05 for the high, sheriff and district courts.
Criminal Case Costs 2004-05
Court Costs
Type of Case | | Average cost percase |
|---|
High Court | Plea at S76 preliminary or trial diet (1)
(no evidence) | £343 | (£324) |
|---|
Judge and Jury trial (evidence led)
(including juror/reporting costs) (2) | £18,923 | (£13,880) |
|---|
Sheriff solemn | plea at first diet | £120 | (£117) |
|---|
plea at first diet/section 76 diet with one adjournment for reports | £160 | (£156) |
|---|
plea at trial diet with one adjournment for reports | £200 | (£195) |
|---|
Sheriff and Jury trial (evidence led) with one adjournment for reports (3) | £6,711 | (£6,368) |
|---|
Sheriff summary | plea at first diet | £80 | (£78) |
|---|
plea at first diet/continued first diet and one adjounment for reports | £120 | (£117) |
|---|
plea at intermediate diet and one adjournment for reports | £160 | (£156) |
|---|
plea at trial diet and one adjournment for reports | £240 | (£234) |
|---|
case concluded at evidence led trial and one adjounment for reports (1) | £1,799 | (£1,464) |
|---|
District Court | plea at first diet | N/A* | |
|---|
plea at intermediate diet | N/A* | |
|---|
plea at trial diet | N/A* | |
|---|
case concluded at evidence led trial | N/A* | |
|---|
Source: Scottish Court Service
* Local authorities who are responsible for the administration of the district courts do not collect information on costs in this way.
(1) Cases disposed of by Section 76 letter (ie in terms of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995).
(2) The cost reflects a reduction in the number of trials proceeding and an increase in the average length of trials proceedings. The overall cost of trials fell by approximately £70,000 over the year.
(3) Average lenght of a trial longer.
Criminal Case Costs 2004-05
Prosecution Costs
Type of Case | | Average Costs per Case | % disposed at each Stage
2004-05 |
|---|
2003-2004 | 2004-2005 |
|---|
High Court Cases | Section 76 pleas (1) | £2,611 | £2,905 | 7 |
|---|
plea at preliminary diet | £12,203 | £13,577 | 3 |
|---|
plea at trial diet | £13,339 | £14,840 | 53 |
|---|
Trials - Evidence led | £14,985 | £16,671 | 37 |
|---|
Sheriff & Jury Cases | Section 76 pleas (1) | £1,876 | £1,839 | 17 |
|---|
plea at first/preliminary diet | £6,933 | £6,797 | 36 |
|---|
plea at trial diet | £7,341 | £7,197 | 28 |
|---|
Trials - Evidence led | £9,176 | £8,996 | 19 |
|---|
Sheriff summary (includes Stipendiary cases) | plea at pleading diet | £163 | £160 | 46 |
|---|
plea at intermediate diet | £367 | £360 | 24 |
|---|
plea at trial diet | £449 | £440 | 23 |
|---|
Trials - Evidence led | £653 | £640 | 7 |
|---|
District Courts (excludes Stipendiary cases) | plea at pleading diet | £82 | £80 | 78 |
|---|
plea at intermediate diet | £245 | £240 | 10 |
|---|
plea at trial diet | £285 | £280 | 9 |
|---|
Trials - Evidence led | £408 | £400 | 3 |
|---|
Source: Crown Office
(1) Cases disposed of by Section 76 letter (ie in terms of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995).
Notes:
1. The divisor used is the number of cases disposed of at each stage, in each level of court.
2. Case related expenditure is not recorded by court type, but is apportioned according to Relative Work Values calculated for each disposal avenue.
2.6 There were over 64,000 separate fines imposed by the sheriff courts in 2003-04; these ranged in value from £5 to £200,000.
On average the cost of recouping a sheriff court fine at various stages is as follows:
- paid at the bar in one instalment: £0.95
- paid after receipt of warning letter: £1.39
- paid after receipt of warning letter, citation and subsequent appearance at a Fines enquiry court : £43.24. The costs relative to each fine will vary depending on payment rates fixed and the recovery action needed.
(Note that these costs are the same irrespective of the size of the fine.)
The amount of fines recovered by the Sheriff Courts in 2004-05 (including sums remitted from the High Court of Justiciary) was £12,549,855.
1. The district courts handled a total of 62,600 fines in 2004-05, including 39,400 court fines, 18,100 registered fines, 2,900 compensation orders and 2,200 fines transferred out. (Figures exclude Dumfries & Galloway, Eilean Siar, Fife, and Stirling - data not available for these courts). From the available data, 89 per cent of court fines, 61 per cent of registered fines and 84 per cent of compensation orders were reported as fully paid in 2004-05. A further 4 per cent of court fines were fully or partially remitted and 3 per cent resulted in a supervised attendance order being imposed. The proportion of court fines known to have resulted in imprisonment varied considerably across the country, with an average of 4 per cent, but with one area reporting over 15 per cent of court fines resulting in imprisonment.
2. There were 45,200 citations to appear at a means enquiry court and nearly 21,000 warrants for appearance at a means enquiry court were issued, excluding Dumfries & Galloway, Eilean Siar, Fife and Stirling.
3. Just over £6 million was received in court fines, registered fines and compensation orders by district courts in 2004-05, excluding Dumfries & Galloway, Eilean Siar, Fife, and Stirling.
4. Excluding Dumfries & Galloway, Eilean Siar, Fife and Stirling, just over 18,900 fiscal fines worth around £0.7 million were accepted by payment to the relevant district court. Excluding the areas for which this data was not available, a total of £0.9 million was received towards payment of fiscal fines in 2004-05. Excluding Dumfries & Galloway, Eilean Siar, Fife, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire 3,100 warrants were issued and there were 5,100 citations to appear at a means enquiry court for non-payment of fiscal fines.
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