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1.1 This bulletin presents statistics on criminal proceedings in Scottish courts during 1999. It is one of an annual series of bulletins, the previous one being CrJ/1999/8. The bulletin includes information on the types of crime or offence involved in court proceedings, sentencing outcomes and the characteristics of offenders.
1.2 Detailed notes on the statistics used in the bulletin and the classification of crimes and offences are given in the Annex. Figures are generally quoted to the nearest 100 in the text but are given precisely in the tables.
Chart 1: Penalties imposed in Scottish Courts in 1999 and 1989
In 1999, the total number of persons proceeded against in court decreased by 8 per cent to 146,800, continuing the steady decline from the total of 200,900 recorded in 1991.
Decreases were recorded in the number of persons proceeded against for all broad crime groups except for non-sexual crimes of violence where the number of persons prosecuted increased by 5 per cent to 5,500.
A total of 1,400 persons were called to the High Court in 1999, an 11 per cent increase compared with 1998. The number of persons called to the sheriff court fell by 4 per cent to 89,300, while the numbers called to the district court and stipendiary magistrate court each fell by 14 per cent, to 49,000 and 6,700 respectively.
In 1999, 87 per cent of persons called to court had at least one charge proved against them or a plea of guilty accepted, a total of 127,400 convictions.
The number of custodial sentences imposed in 1999 was 16,100 (up 1 per cent). Eighty-two per cent of custodial sentences were for 6 months or less. The average length of determinate custodial sentences in 1999 was 219 days, marginally below the 1998 figure of 220 days but 19 per cent higher than the 1989 average of 184 days.
In 1999, the number of convictions resulting in a community service order was 4,900 (down 7 per cent from 1998); and the number resulting in a probation order was 7,300 (up 3 per cent). (The probation total includes 1,300 disposals of probation with a requirement that the offender shall perform unpaid work.)
In 1999, 66 per cent of all convictions resulted in a fine as the main penalty, compared with 68 per cent in 1998 and 77 per cent in 1989. The average fine imposed in 1999 rose 3 per cent to £182.
The peak age for conviction in 1999 remained at 18. Seven per cent of eighteen year old males in the Scottish population were convicted for a crime, simple assault or breach of the peace on at least one occasion during 1999 compared to just over one per cent of females of the same age.
Of the 45,400 individuals convicted at least once in 1999 for a crime, simple assault or breach of the peace, 45 per cent had at most one other such conviction in the period 1989 to 1999 while 17 per cent had more than ten.
3.1 Chart 2 and Table 1 provide a summary of known action in the criminal justice system. In 1999, the police recorded 435,700 crimes and 504,400 offences. The number of crimes recorded in 1999 represented a 1 per cent increase compared with the 1998 figure, the second consecutive annual increase. From 1992 there was a steady downward trend in the number of recorded crimes, reaching a ten year low in 1997. Although the trend thereafter has been upward, the level of total recorded crime in 1999 was 24 per cent lower than the peak 1991 figure. The clear up rate in 1999 was 43 per cent for crimes and 89 per cent for offences (excluding motor vehicle offences). "Clear-ups" do not necessarily result in a report being made to the procurator fiscal. For example, where the alleged offender is a child, a referral will normally be made to the Reporter to the Children’s Panel. The Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme operated by police forces offers the owners of defective vehicles the opportunity to avoid a report being made to the procurator fiscal, and the consequent possibility of court proceedings, by having their vehicle repaired within a given period. An example of a different type of diversion is the use of designated places in some areas for certain categories of offender. It is not known how many alleged offenders are dealt with informally by the police or by other agencies, rather than the procurator fiscal. In April 1993 a new alternative to court proceedings was introduced for moving motor vehicle offences - the police conditional offer of a fixed penalty; previously only procurators fiscal could offer a fixed penalty for such an offence. In 1999 there were 168,200 police conditional offers compared with 112,300 in 1994.
Chart 2: Overview of action within the criminal justice system, 1999
3.2 Referrals or reports may often include more than one crime or offence, and in the case of reports to the procurator fiscal may also involve more than one person. There is thus no direct relationship between the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police and the number of disposals resulting from the action of other agencies within the criminal justice system. In addition, many offences, such as Wireless Telegraphy Act offences (failure to pay a television licence), are not recorded by the police in the first instance. Where crimes or offences are recorded and cleared up by the police, procurator fiscal or other action does not necessarily occur in the same calendar year. In 1999, the number of reports received by the procurator fiscal was 281,700, a decrease of 4 per cent compared with 1998 and 28 per cent below the total recorded in 1991 prior to the introduction of police conditional offers.
3.3 Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options the procurator fiscal has for dealing with persons who have been charged. Over a third of reports made to the procurator fiscal do not result in prosecution. Other actions include the use of fiscal warnings, diversion to social work, the use of conditional offers of a fixed penalty for a range of motor vehicle offences, the "fiscal fine" for less serious non-motor vehicle offences and sending cases to the Reporter to the Children's Panel. Some 15 per cent of reports received resulted in no proceedings.
(All references in this bulletin to the type of crime or offence for which a person is proceeded against or convicted relate to the main charge involved. For the definition of main charge, see Annex, note 8.)
4.1 In 1999, the total number of persons proceeded against decreased by 8 per cent to 146,800 continuing the steady decline from the figure of 200,900 recorded in 1991. Decreases were recorded for all broad crime and offence groups, except non-sexual crimes of violence where the number of persons proceeded against increased by 5 per cent to 5,500.
4.2 The overall increase in 1999 in the number of persons proceeded against for a non-sexual crime of violence reflected increases for homicide (up 6 per cent to 110), serious assault (up 10 per cent to 1,600), handling offensive weapons (up 3 per cent to 2,700) and robbery (up 9 per cent to 800). The number of prosecutions in 1999 for serious assault represented an eleven year high. The number of prosecutions in 1999 for handling offensive weapons, while 7 per cent below the peak 1996 figure, was almost double the number recorded in 1989. Numbers of prosecutions for homicide and robbery in 1999 were similar to a decade before but down by roughly a fifth to a quarter on the higher levels recorded in the mid 1990s. (The 110 prosecutions for homicide in 1999 comprised 47 where the main charge resulting was murder, 36 where it was culpable homicide and 27 where it was causing death by dangerous driving or by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs.)
4.3 Most of the 28 per cent decrease in 1999 in the number of persons proceeded against for crimes of indecency was due to a 45 per cent decrease in "other" crimes of indecency, in particular a 48 per cent decrease for offences related to prostitution. Since 1989, the numbers of persons proceeded against each year for sexual assault and for lewd and indecent behaviour have varied around 200 and 400 respectively.
4.4 The number of persons proceeded against for crimes of dishonesty in 1999 decreased by 7 per cent to 28,300. There were decreases in 1999 in all but one category in this crime group, ranging from 1 per cent (housebreaking) to 17 per cent (fraud). The one exception to this pattern was shoplifting, where the number of persons proceeded against increased by 1 per cent to 8,400, the fourth consecutive annual increase. Compared with the 1989, the total number of persons proceeded against for crimes of dishonesty in 1999 was down by 12,500 or 31 per cent. Prosecutions for housebreaking, theft by opening lockfast places and other theft reduced by around half over this period; prosecutions for theft of motor vehicle reduced by almost a third between 1992 and 1999.
4.5 The number of persons proceeded against for fire-raising and vandalism decreased by 11 per cent to 4,900 in 1999. This total represented a decrease of 29 per cent compared with the 1989 figure.
4.6 The number of persons proceeded against for drugs offences in 1999 was 7,700, a fall of 6 per cent compared to 1998 but 179 per cent higher than the number proceeded against in 1989. Most of the decrease between 1998 and 1999 was accounted for by a 7 per cent decrease to 5,500 in the number of persons proceeded against for illegal possession of drugs. The number proceeded against for other drug offences, including illegal importation, manufacture and supply of drugs, was 2,200 in 1999, similar to the total in 1998 but four times the number prosecuted in 1989.
4.7 Decreases were recorded in 1999 in the number of persons proceeded against for simple assault (down 9 per cent to 13,800) and breach of the peace (down 20 per cent to 16,600). The number of persons proceeded against for drunkenness in 1999 fell by 33 per cent to 523, approximately a sixth of the number prosecuted in 1989.
4.8 The total number of persons proceeded against for motor vehicle offences decreased by 2 per cent to 53,300 in 1999. This reflected decreases in all offence categories except speeding, which increased by 14 per cent to 14,300. Following the introduction of various alternatives to prosecution during the 1990s, there was a shift away from persons being proceeded against in court for many of the more minor motor vehicle offences.
(More detailed information on motor vehicle offences proceeded against in Scottish courts is included in a separate series of SEJD statistical bulletins, Motor Vehicle Offences in Scotland.)
5.1 Of those persons against whom the procurator fiscal instigates proceedings, nearly all are called to court. The introduction of fixed penalties in 1983 for certain motor vehicle offences had a substantial impact, resulting in reduced numbers of such offences being dealt with in the courts. The removal of these cases (which mainly resulted in fines) also caused an increase in the proportion of cases resulting in more serious sentences. Some reduction in the sheriff court workload may also have resulted from the extension of the powers of the district court to deal with further minor statutory offences (mainly motor vehicle offences). However, the introduction of police conditional offers in 1993 led to a reduction in district court workload. The number of persons called to the sheriff court, district court and the stipendiary magistrates court in 1999 were, respectively, 13 per cent, 39 per cent and 24 per cent below the number called in 1989.
5.2 Over two-fifths (61 per cent) of the 146,500 persons called to court in 1999 were dealt with in the sheriff court, the highest proportion recorded in the period since 1989. Compared with 1998, the actual number of persons called to the sheriff court in 1999 fell by 4 per cent to 89,300. There was also falls in the number of persons called to the district court (down 14 per cent to 49,000) and to the stipendiary magistrates court (down 14 per cent to 6,700). The most serious cases go to the High Court, which is the only court with the power to impose custodial sentences of over 3 years. A total of 1,400 persons were called to the High Court in 1999, an 11 per cent increase compared with 1998.
Chart 3: Index of persons called to court by type of court, 1989-1999 (1989=100)
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