| |
| 5.
Alternatives
to Prosecution (Table 3, Table
4,
Table 5, Table
6) |
| |
| 5.1 In many
instances, where the offence is of a more minor nature,
the offender is not prosecuted in court. There are
several alternatives to prosecution which are available
in Scotland, the main ones for road traffic offences
being the vehicle defect rectification scheme (introduced
on 1 May 1984), under which drivers of vehicles are given
a set period of time to repair their vehicle, and
conditional offers of a fixed penalty which can be given
by the procurator fiscal (introduced on 1 July 1983) or
by the police (introduced on 1 April 1993). |
| |
| 5.2 For
purposes of comparison, in Table 3 it is assumed that the
majority of offences dealt with by these measures relate
to speeding, construction and use offences, lighting
offences, traffic direction offences, seat belt offences
and drivers’ contravention of pedestrian crossing
offences. The numbers of such offences recorded,
proceeded against in court and where a charge was proved
or accepted are also shown in the table. |
| |
| 5.3 In 1997
the number of offences dealt with under the vehicle
defect rectification scheme was estimated to be 24,000,
similar to the 1996 total of 24,600. |
| |
| 5.4 The
number of conditional offers issued by the police in 1997
was 123,600, marginally below the 1996 total of 123,900.
Decreases were recorded in all forces except Strathclyde,
which recorded a 14 per cent increase. An estimated total
of 11,900 conditional offers of a fixed penalty for motor
vehicle offences were made by procurators fiscal in 1997. |
| |
| 5.5 An
increasing proportion of the police conditional offers of
a fixed penalty related to offences which had been
detected automatically i.e. via a camera. The proportion
of offers made in relation to offences of speeding in
restricted areas which were automatically detected
increased from 33 per cent in 1996 to 36 per cent in
1997. The proportion of other speeding offences that were
detected automatically increased from 39 per cent in 1996
to 45 per cent in 1997. The number of offences that are
automatically detected fluctuates according to the number
of cameras that are in operation at any given time. |
| |
Chart 2 Police conditional offers made
for speeding offences in restricted areas by method of
detection, 1993 - 1997
|
|
|
| 5.6 Tables 5
and 6 detail respectively the payment rates of
conditional offers of fixed penalties since their
inception in 1993 and by police force area for 1997. In
1997, Northern Constabulary continued to have the highest
payment rate (97 per cent) and Strathclyde Police the
lowest (79 per cent). |
| |
| 6. Offences and Persons Proceeded
Against in Court (Table 7) |
| |
| 6.1 The
total number of motor vehicle offences proceeded against
in court in 1997 was 98,900, marginally above the 1996
total of 98,500 but over 10 per cent below the annual
average of around 110,000 recorded between 1987 and 1995.
The number of persons proceeded against for a charge
including at least one motor vehicle offence was 64,600,
1 per cent more than the 1996 figure. For 60,300 of these
persons, a motor vehicle offence was the main offence
with which they were charged. |
| |
| 6.2 After
declining in the early 1990’s, the number of drunk
driving offences prosecuted has increased each year since
1994; between 1996 and 1997 it increased by 5 per cent to
11,100. Increases between 1996 and 1997 were also
recorded for dangerous driving (up 3 per cent to 1,500),
tachograph etc offences (up 12 per cent to 2,600), seat
belt offences (up 15 per cent to 3,000), lighting
offences (up 20 per cent to 1,900) and vehicle excise
licence offences (up 25 per cent to 5,900) |
| |
| 6.3 Between
1996 and 1997, prosecutions for "other"
speeding fell by 8 per cent to 6,000. Decreases were also
recorded in the number of prosecutions for insurance
offences (down 5 per cent to 19,600), careless driving
(down 4 per cent to 6,600) and failing to stop after an
accident (down 1 per cent to 4,300). |
