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7. Supervised Attendance Orders (Charts 22 to 26 and Tables 43 to 52)
7.1 A total of 3,849 SAOs were imposed on 3,466 individual offenders in 2005-06, an increase of 15 per cent in orders and 17 per cent in individuals compared to 2004-05. Eighty four per cent of SAOs were made in respect of males.
Chart 22 Number of Supervised Attendance Orders, 2001-02 to 2005-06
7.2 The incidence of SAOs was 10.6 per 10,000 population in 2005-06. This rate was highest in Glasgow City (33.0), Angus (26.2) and South Ayrshire (25.9), and lowest in Moray (1.0), Midlothian (1.1) and Shetland Islands (1.3). In terms of Community Justice Authorities this rate was highest in Glasgow (33.0) and lowest in Lothian and Borders (2.7).
Chart 23 Number of SAOs per 10,000 population by Local Authority, 2005-06
7.3 Females receiving SAOs tended to be older than males, with 65 per cent of orders for females and 52 per cent for males being given to offenders aged over 25 years. Correspondingly, 24 per cent of orders for males and 13 per cent for females were made to offenders aged under 21 years.
7.4 The incidence of SAOs was highest amongst 18 to 20 year olds (34.9 per 10,000 population) followed by 21 to 25 year olds (27.7) and 26 to 30 year olds (21.0).
Chart 24 Supervised Attendance Orders by Age and Gender of Offender, 2005-06
Orders per 10,000 population
7.5 The majority of SAOs were given by Sheriff Courts (52 per cent), a decrease from 69 per cent in 2004-05. Consequently the proportion of SAOs given by District Courts has increased from 23 per cent in 2004-05 to 38 per cent in 2005-06. Females were slightly more likely to receive SAOs from District Courts (42 per cent) than males (37 per cent).
7.6 The majority (75 per cent) of SAOs were made to offenders who were unemployed or not seeking employment, up from 69 per cent in 2004-05.
7.7 Forty-five per cent of SAOs were for 30 hours or less. Only 16 per cent of Orders were for more than 60 hours. The average length of a supervised attendance order in 2005-06 was 43 hours. On average, males (44 hours) tended to receive longer orders than females (37 hours).
Breach Applications of Supervised Attendance Orders
7.8 There were 1,462 breach applications in respect of SAOs made to the Courts in 2005-06, 22 per cent more than in 2004-05. The number of individuals with breach applications was 1,280, an increase of 18 per cent from the 2004-05 total of 1,084.
Chart 25 Breach Applications of SAOs by Outcome, 2003-04 to 2005-06
7.9 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 the previous year. However, as SAOs are expected to be completed within a 12 month period (and usually within 6 months), the number of orders started in 2005-06 (3,849) can be taken as a proxy measure for the number of orders active during the year. This suggests that over one in three orders result in a breach application.
7.10 Fifty-five per cent of breach applications were made to Sheriff Courts with a further 32 per cent to District Courts and 14 per cent to the Stipendiary Magistrates. The majority of breach applications (83 per cent) were made in respect of males.
7.11 In 2005-06, 11 per cent of breach applications resulted in the original order being revoked and a custodial sentence being imposed, compared to 8 per cent in 2004-05. A further 15 per cent were continued without further action as in 2004-05 and 10 per cent were continued with hours varied, up from 7 per cent in 2004-05. The outcome was not yet known for 30 per cent of breach applications, down from 41 per cent in 2004-05.
Terminations of Supervised Attendance Orders
7.12 A total of 2,912 SAOs were terminated in 2005-06, an increase of 22 per cent from the previous year's total of 2,385. The majority (59 per cent) were successfully completed, 9 per cent were revoked following a review, 28 per cent of orders were revoked following a breach application to the court and the remainder were terminated for other reasons (including transfer to another area and death of the offender).
Chart 26 Terminations of SAOs by Outcome, 2003-04 to 2005-06
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