Coronavirus (COVID-19): Justice Analytical Services Data Report - December 2020
Seventh release of a monthly data report on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the justice system in Scotland, including information from Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, and Scottish Prison Service.
Criminal Registered & Scheduled Trials
Since lockdown, there have been 57,932 criminal registrations in the courts. 248 of these registrations have been COVID-19 related (0.4%).
In December 2020, all types of court registration were lower than 2019-20 averages:
- The number of indictments registered in the High Court is 44% lower than 19-20 average levels.
- The number of indictments registered in the Sheriff court (solemn cases) is 6% lower than the 19-20 average.
- The number of complaints (summary cases) registered in the Sheriff Court is 28% lower than the 19-20 average.
- Complaints registered in the JP court are 49% lower than the 19-20 average.
| Cases Registered | 19-20 monthly average | December 2020 | Change from 19-20 monthly average | Outstanding (scheduled) trials | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre- lockdown | December 2020 | ||||
| Indictments | |||||
| High Court | 85 | 48 | -37 (-44%) | 390 | 250 |
| Sheriff Court | 454 | 428 | -26 (-6%) | 497 | 939 |
| Complaints | |||||
| Sheriff Court | 5,478 | 3,956 | -1,522 (-28%) | 13,971 | 27,723 |
| JP Court | 2,799 | 1,426 | -1,373 (-49%) | 3,497 | 5,371 |
At the end of December there were 34,283trials outstanding. This compares to 18,355 at the end of 2019-20. In addition, SCTS have forecast that there are another 5,735 cases in the system which are likely to come to trial but have not yet had a trial date set (see SCTS published monthly criminal statistics for a more detail - https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/official-statistics)
Contact
Email: Justice_Analysts@gov.scot
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