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Crime and Justice : Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2018-19

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Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2018-19 This bulletin forms part of the Scottish Government series of statistical bulletins on the criminal justice system. Statistics are presented on criminal proceedings concluded in Scottish courts and on a range of measures available as alternatives to prosecution, which are issued by the police and by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Detailed figures for 2018-19 are presented, along with selected trends for the last ten years. Further detailed tables are published as background statistics on the Scottish Government Crime and Justice Statistics website. A total of 89,733 people were proceeded against in Scottish criminal courts in 2018-19, a fall of 6% on 2017-18 (95,557 proceedings). The number of convictions fell at the same rate (6%) down to 78,503 in 2018-19 (from 83,179 in 2017-18). This continues the general downward trend of the last ten years with the exception of a short term rise in court activity between 2012-13 and 2014-15 (Chart 1). Convictions in 2018-19 were 35% lower than the ten-year high of 121,041 in 2009-10. Chart 1: Number of people proceeded against and those convicted 160 Proceeded against 140 120 Thousands 100 80 Convictions 60 40 20 0 Contents Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2018-19 ........................................................... 1 Contents ................................................................................................................... 2 Key points ................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 8 Changes made to this year’s report ........................................................................ 8 Routes through the Criminal Justice System .......................................................... 8 Commentary .............................................................................................................. 14 1. Trends in people proceeded against and convicted ......................................... 14 2. Trends in conviction rates .................................................................................. 14 3. Acquittals by crime type ..................................................................................... 15 4. People convicted by court type.......................................................................... 16 5. People convicted by crime/offence.................................................................... 18 6. People convicted by crime group ...................................................................... 19 7. People convicted by offence group ................................................................... 21 8. Headlines in court sentencing ........................................................................... 23 9. Custodial Sentences .......................................................................................... 24 10. Custodial Sentences by type of crime ............................................................. 27 11. Community Sentences ..................................................................................... 32 12. Financial penalties and other sentences ......................................................... 34 13. Aggravations .................................................................................................... 35 14. Age and Gender ............................................................................................... 37 15. Police Disposals ............................................................................................... 42 16. Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Disposals .................................. 46 17. Bail and undertakings ...................................................................................... 50 Tables – also provided on accompanying spreadsheet ..................................... 52 Background Notes ................................................................................................... 93 Annex A - Data Sources and Data Standards ...................................................... 93 Annex B - Data Quality, Data Processing and Data confidentiality ..................... 95 Annex C – Understanding the statistics in this bulletin and counting rules ......... 99 Annex D - Definitions, Classifications and Notation ........................................... 105 Annex E – Legislative and policy changes .......................................................... 114 2 3 Key points Court proceedings and convictions (Tables 1,2,3 and 4a-c) • A total of 89,733 people were proceeded against in court in 2018-19, a fall of 6% on 2017-18 (95,557 proceedings). The number of convictions fell at the same rate, down 6% to 78,503 from 2017-18 (83,179). In the same period, there was a 4% fall in the number of criminal reports received by COPFS. • The overall conviction rate has remained relatively stable over the last ten years, down slightly by two percentage points from 89% in 2009-10 to 87% in 2018-19. The rate remains unchanged compared to 2017-18. • The number of convictions for rape and attempted rape increased by 43% in 2018-19 to 152, compared to 106 in 2017-18, and 57 in 2009-10. This increase is greater than the change in the number of proceedings for these crimes, which is up by 32% from 246 in 2017-18 to 324 proceedings in 2018-19. • There has been an increase of 9% in the number of convictions for sexual crimes, from 1,112 in 2017-18 to 1,215 in 2018-19. This is driven by the increases in rape and attempted rape, and other crimes, which include “taking, distribution, possession etc of indecent photos of children”, and “communicating indecently”. • Convictions for non-sexual crimes of violence decreased by 3% in 2018- 19 to 1,781, compared to 1,829 in 2017-18. The number of convictions for homicide decreased by 9% to 81 convictions. The number of attempted murder and serious assault convictions was almost unchanged at 1,172, and convictions for robbery fell by 12% to 361, the lowest number this decade. • Convictions for crimes of dishonesty fell by 1% in 2018-19, down to 9,771 convictions from 9,862 in 2017-18. This continues the decline of the last ten years with convictions now 39% lower than in 2009-10 (15,951). 4 Court sentences (Tables 7 to 10) • The total number of convictions fell by 6%, however, those resulting in a custodial sentence increased by 2% (from 11,980 in 2017-18 to 12,220 in 2018-19). Custodial sentences represented 16% of all convictions in 2018- 19, up from 13% in 2009-10. • The average length of custodial sentence for all crimes, excluding life sentences, in 2018-19 was almost eleven months (326 days), which is 9 days (3%) longer than in 2017-18 (317 days). This continues the long-term upward trend in sentence length, with the average sentence length now 16% longer than in 2009-10 (281 days). • The crime type with the longest average sentences (excluding life sentences) in 2018-19 was rape and attempted rape, which increased by 2% to 2,626 from 2,578 days in 2017-18. • Sentences of 3 to 6 months have been the most common sentence length since 2011-12, accounting for 35% of all custodial sentences in 2018-19. Prior to 2011-12 sentences of up to three months were the most common custodial sentence, dropping from 38% in 2009-10 to 26% in 2018-19. • In 2018-19, 19% (15,206) of all convictions resulted in a main penalty of a community sentence. This is up five percentage points from 14% in 2009- 10, but down by two percentage points from 21% in 2017-18. • The overall 12% reduction in community sentences is driven by a 16% reduction in the number of Community Payback Orders, from 14,074 in 2017-18 to 11,803 in 2018-19. This contrasts with an increase in the use of other types of community sentences. There has been a 5% increase in the use of Restriction of Liberty Orders, from 2,712 to 2,840; and the number of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) increased from 497 in 2017-18 to 541 in 2018-19 (a rise of 9%). 5 Characteristics of offenders (Tables 5, 6, 8c, 10b, and 11) • The number of convictions per 1,000 population has declined over the last ten years from 25 in 2009-10 to 16 in 2018-19. This fall is driven by a decline for males, down to 27 convictions per 1,000 population in 2018-19 from 44 in 2009-10. The rate for females has also declined over the ten year period although more gradually, from eight convictions per 1,000 population in 2009-10 to five in 2018-19. • During the past 10 years, the number of convictions per 1,000 population for younger people (under-21s and 21-30s) has fallen much more quickly than the numbers for older people (those aged 31 and over). Nonetheless, in all but the oldest age-gender groups there has been a fall in the number of convictions per 1,000 people. • Whilst the number of convictions has fallen in all age and gender groupings apart from over-60s, the number receiving custodial sentences has increased for all age groups for males, and for females aged 31-40. Aggravations (Tables 12 and 13) • There were 9,210 convictions with a domestic abuse identifier recorded, a 7% decrease from 2017-18 (9,884 convictions). This is the fourth consecutive annual fall and, following the peak in 2014-15, numbers are now close to the level seen in 2009-10 (8,844 convictions). • The statutory domestic abuse aggravator was introduced in 2017-18, and was proven in 7,752 convictions
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