Coronavirus (COVID-19): Justice Analytical Services data report- October 2021

Summary

This pack provides information on the impact of COVID-19 on the Justice system during October 2021.

Data has been gathered from a number of different sources and may be subject to future revision.

Public compliance

This pack includes information on COVID-19 related interventions undertaken by Police Scotland. In addition to this, information on the public's compliance with measures to help restrict the spread of COVID-19 is collected from surveys of the population. Findings from these surveys can be found in the Public attitudes to Coronavirus: March Update.

Three quarters of respondents agreed that the best thing to do is to follow the government's advice. This has remained high and stable through January and February. However, those stating they had engaged in a non-compliant activity has risen from the start of January (23% to 33%).

Police activity

• The number of crimes recorded in October 2021 was similar to the level in October 2020 and lower than in October 2019.
• Weekly Police recorded incident numbers have been generally similar in October 2021, compared to October 2020.
• The number of Domestic Abuse incidents recorded by the Police in October 2021 was higher than the level seen in October 2020 and October 2019.
• The use of Police COVID-19 interventions remains at almost zero in October 2021.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), Courts & Prisons

• Custody reports received by COPFS remain consistently below pre-pandemic levels and undertaking reports remain consistently above pre-pandemic levels.
• Subjects marked for court by COPFS remain below pre-pandemic levels, driven by a decrease in summary court markings.
• 16 additional trial courts per day have been added to address backlogs.
• Initiations in the civil court remain below 19-20 levels, while disposals have almost returned to 19-20 levels.
• The number of prisoners on remand is at a historically high level.
• The prison population has been stable at around 7,500 since November 2020.