Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2013-14

3. Commentary

3.1. Criminal Proceedings in Context

Table 1, Table 19, Chart 2

3.1.1. Contraventions of criminal law are classified into crimes and offences (see Annex D). This distinction is made only for statistical reporting purposes. Table 1 and Chart 2 provide a summary of known action in the criminal justice system.

3.1.2. The statistical publication, Recorded Crime in Scotland 2013-14, was published on 25^th November 2014. It shows that the total number of crimes recorded by the police in 2013-14 was 270,397, 1 per cent lower than in 2012-13. The proportion of recorded crimes cleared up by the police in 2013-14 increased by 1 percentage point from 51 per cent in 2012-13 to 52 per cent in 2013-14. A crime is regarded as 'cleared-up' where there is a sufficiency of evidence under Scots law to justify consideration of criminal proceedings.

3.1.3. The number of offences recorded by the police in 2013-14 was 501,281 with the number of recorded offences cleared up by the police totalling 472,099. The clear-up rate for offences was 94 per cent and has been around this figure over the past five years.

3.1.4. 'Clear-ups' do not necessarily result in a report being sent by the police to the procurator fiscal. The Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 allowed the police to issue Anti-Social Behaviour Fixed Penalty Notices (ASBFPNs) for a range of offences, in addition to other types of police disposals. In 2013-14, 55,490 people were issued with ASBFPNs as a main penalty and 7,100 people received a formal adult warning.

3.1.5. Juvenile offenders can be dealt with in a number of ways and do not necessarily come into contact with the courts. The police can issue restorative justice warnings to deal directly with juveniles or they can refer individuals directly to the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA).

3.1.6. In addition, Early and Effective Intervention (EEI) diversions have been increasingly used to redirect juveniles from the courts and SCRA. Practices vary by local authority with a range of agencies (police, education, social work and the third sector) being involved in the interventions.

3.1.7. In previous criminal proceeding publications statistics on police restorative justice warnings, warning letters and "other police warnings" were published. It has been identified that those statistics were potentially misleading as other elements relating to juvenile diversions were not reported. We will look to investigate quantifying levels of EEIs and other juvenile warnings for the 2014-15 bulletin.

3.1.8. Owners of defective vehicles can avoid possible court proceedings by having their vehicle repaired within a given period (Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme). Alternatives to court proceedings for moving motor vehicle offences are police conditional offers of a fixed penalty and procurator fiscal fixed penalty notices.

3.1.9. Referrals or reports often include more than one crime or offence. Reports to the procurator fiscal may also involve more than one person. Thus, there is 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 included in this bulletin, such as failure to pay a television licence, are reported to the procurator fiscal by specialist reporting agencies such as TV Licensing. Where crimes or offences are recorded and cleared up by the police, any action by the procurator fiscal (or other action) does not necessarily occur in the same year.

3.1.10. In 2013-14, the procurator fiscal received 293,672 criminal reports (from the police and other specialist reporting agencies), an increase of 5 per cent compared with 2012-13. Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options the procurator fiscal has for dealing with people who have been charged. Other actions include the use of a range of non-court-based actions such as fiscal fines, compensation orders, fixed penalties, diversion to social work and other agencies, warnings and referrals to the children's reporter, or a decision to take no action. In 2013-14, the Criminal History System (CHS) included 47,322 people issued with fiscal fines as a main penalty and 23,486 people issued with fiscal fixed penalties. More details are available on this in notes B16 to B18, C5 and D3.

Chart 2: Overview of action within the criminal justice system 2013-14

1. Figures rounded to the nearest 100.
2. Crimes recorded in 2013-14 may not be cleared up or dealt with until 2014-15 or later.
3. A report to the procurator fiscal may involve more than one crime or offence and more than one alleged offender.
4. Reports to the fiscal on non-criminal matters such as sudden deaths, are not included in this total.
5. Number of people from CHS.
6. Following consultation, figures for motor vehicle offences are no longer collated centrally.
7. Number of cases; data from Crown Office.
8. Figures relate to cases which were closed as offer deemed accepted.
9. Figures for people with a charge proved count the number of occasions on which a person is convicted.

A number of outcomes may result in subsequent prosecutions or referrals to other agencies, for example if a condition such as payment of a fixed penalty is not complied with. For simplicity, these pathways are not shown in the diagram.

3.2. People Proceeded Against in Court

Tables 1 and 2

Unless otherwise stated, references in this bulletin to the crime or offence group for which a person is proceeded against or convicted relate to the main charge involved (as defined in Annex C). The final column of Table 4(a) provides counts of individual offences with a charge proved regardless of whether or not they were the main offence involved.

3.2.1. A total of 121,668 people were proceeded against in court in 2013-14, an increase of 4 per cent on 2012-13 (116,678 proceedings). This is the first increase in proceedings in 7 years, as between 2006-07 and 2012-13 they followed a downward trend. Where a person is subject to two (or more) separate proceedings, they will be counted two (or more) times in this total.

3.2.2. Eighty-seven per cent of people proceeded against in court in 2013-14 were convicted after being found guilty of at least one charge. This equates to a total of 105,549 convictions. Four per cent were acquitted on a 'not guilty' verdict, and around 1 per cent were acquitted on a 'not proven' verdict. The remaining 8 per cent either had their case deserted by the prosecution or had a plea of 'not guilty' accepted. These proportions are broadly the same as in 2012-13.

3.2.3. Acquittal rates vary by crime group. The highest rate of 'not guilty' verdicts was seen for rape and attempted rape where 37 per cent of the 214 people proceeded against were acquitted on a 'not guilty' verdict. Sexual assault and serious assault and attempted murder also had high acquittal rates in 2013-14 when compared to the other crimes and offences (22 and 20 per cent for those proceeded against for sexual assault and serious assault and attempted murder respectively).

3.2.4. The proportion of people receiving a 'not proven' verdict in 2013-14 was also highest for rape and attempted rape (20 per cent), followed by sexual assault (9 per cent).

3.2.5. Thirty-five per cent of people proceeded against for theft of a motor vehicle had a plea of not guilty accepted or had the case against them deserted, the highest proportion of all crime groups.

3.3. People Convicted by court

Table 3

3.3.1. In 2013-14, there were a total of 105,549 people with a charge proved, a 4 per cent increase from 101,013 in 2012-13. This is the first annual increase in convictions in 7 years but levels are still 21 per cent lower than the peak of 134,413 convictions in 2006-07.

3.3.2. The increase in convictions has been driven by rises in activity in Justice of the Peace (JP) courts, which have seen a rise of 14 per cent between 2012-13 and 2013-14 to 45,313 convictions. The number of convictions for other court types have declined; by 6 per cent for high courts and 2 per cent each for sheriff solemn and sheriff summary courts. Please note that recording delays are typical for high court activity therefore the total number of high court convictions for 2013-14 may be a slight underestimate and therefore the corresponding annual decline may be an overestimate.

3.3.3. Fifty-two per cent of all convictions were in sheriff summary courts, 4 percentage points less than in 2012-13 and the lowest proportion in the last 10 years. The fall in the sheriff summary courts' proportion reflects the growing share of activity in JP courts, which accounted for more than two in every five convictions in 2013-14 (43 per cent).

3.3.4. High Court and sheriff solemn courts accounted for 5 per cent of all convictions in 2013-14 - this figure has been relatively stable since 2004-05.

3.4. People Convicted by crime/offence

Tables 4(a) and 4(b)

The classification of crime and offence groups is outlined in Annex D.

3.4.1. In 2013-14 there was a total of 105,549 people with a charge proved for all crimes and offences, a 4 per cent increase from 101,013 in 2012-13. This represents 87 per cent of people proceeded against and can be broken down as follows:

• A decrease in the number of convictions for crimes, down 2 per cent from 36,996 in 2012-13 to 36,158 in 2013-14; and
• An increase in the number of convictions for offences, up 8 per cent from 64,017 in 2012-13 to 69,391 in 2013-14 but still 19 per cent lower than the peak of offence convictions in 2006-07.

3.4.2. Although convictions for offences have risen in the last year, the decline in crime convictions represents the 7^th consecutive year for which they have declined. This is 26 per cent lower than in 2006-07 (where convictions for crimes peaked at 48,798).

By crime group: Non-sexual crimes of violence

3.4.3. Convictions for non-sexual crimes of violence continued to decline in 2013-14, with a 17% fall in the latest year. Decreases were seen for homicide (20 per cent decline), serious assault and attempted murder (20 per cent) and robbery (15 per cent), with only "other violent" crimes remaining static.

3.4.4. With regards to homicide the number of convictions declined by 20 per cent in the year to 2013-14, down from 113 convictions in 2012-13 to 90 in 2013-14. The statistical publication Homicide in Scotland 2013-14 reported that in the one year to 2013-14 there was a 4 per cent increase in the number of people accused of homicide. The Homicide in Scotland publication excludes all cases of causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by careless driving (including under the influence of drink or drugs), illegal driver involved in fatal accident and corporate homicide which are all included in the Criminal Proceedings crime type of homicide. It would therefore be expected that statistics from Criminal Proceedings would be higher than those based on the Homicide in Scotland statistics.

By crime group: Sexual crimes

3.4.5. Between 2012-13 and 2013-14 there was an overall increase in convictions for sexual crimes of 22 per cent from 864 in 2012-13 to 1,053 in 2013-14. Increases were seen for all of the subgroups in this category as follows:

• Convictions for rape and attempted rape saw a 13 per cent increase (77 in 2012-13 to 87 in 2013-14);
• Convictions for sexual assault saw a 15 per cent increase (204 in 2012-13 to 235 in 2013-14); and
• Convictions for offences related to prostitution saw a 19 per cent increase (142 in 2012-13 to 169 in 2013-14).

3.4.6. Higher numbers of sexual offences may be partly explained by a widening of the definition of rape in the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, which came into force in December 2010, and by increased reporting in the wake of high profile cases.

By crime group: Crimes of dishonesty and "other crimes"

3.4.7. As a proportion of all crimes, convictions for crimes of dishonesty (which is mainly shoplifting and theft) and other crimes (mainly crimes against public justice and drug offences) account for the vast majority (85 per cent) of convictions in 2013-14.

3.4.8. On the whole convictions for crimes of dishonesty fell by 5 per cent in the year to 2013-14, down to 12,546 convictions. Within this total the number of convictions for these crimes fell noticeably as follows:

• Theft from a motor vehicle convictions fell by 29 per cent from 200 in 2012-13 to 142 in 2013-14.
• Theft of a motor vehicle convictions fell by 28 per cent from 373 in 2012-13 to 269 in 2013-14; and
• Housebreaking convictions fell by 24 per cent from 1,365 in 2012-13 to 1,034 in 2013-14.

By offence group

3.4.9. The number of convictions for all offences increased in the year to 2013-14, up 8 per cent from 64,017 in 2012-13 to 69,391 in 2013-14. This rise has been driven primarily by increases in convictions for motor vehicle offences which have increased by 14 per cent from 35,453 in 2012-13 to 40,258 in 2013-14. This can be partially attributed to Police Scotland focussing their attentions on specific motor vehicle offences which is reflected in increases for these offences between 2012-13 and 2013-14:

• Vehicle defect offence convictions up 30 per cent from 1,243 to 1,610;
• Dangerous and careless driving convictions up 27 per cent from 2,811 to 3,574;
• Seat belt offence convictions up 24 per cent from 2,052 to 2,537; and
• Speeding offence convictions up 17 per cent from 12,034 to 14,117.

3.4.10. It should be noted that despite the overall increase in convictions for motor vehicle offences, convictions for driving under the influence decreased by 14 per cent from 4,735 in 2012-13 to 4,087 convictions in 2013-14. This is the 7^th consecutive year that driving under the influence convictions have fallen with levels now 49 per cent below the 2006-07 peak of 8,066 convictions.

3.4.11. Notable changes between 2012-13 and 2013-14 for miscellaneous offences convictions are as follows:

• Convictions for common assault, which has seen a decrease of 4 per cent from 11,649 to 11,203 convictions. This is countered with an increase of 6 per cent for breach of the peace convictions up from 12,961 to 13,723 convictions; and
• Convictions for drunkenness, where there has been a decrease of 17 per cent from 102 to 85 convictions.

3.4.12. As a proportion of all offences, common assault and breach of the peace make up 36 per cent of the convictions while speeding and unlawful use of a vehicle account for a further third (33 per cent). These proportions have remained at similar levels since 2004-05 although there has been a slight shift towards the speeding and unlawful use of vehicle offences in the year to 2013-14.

3.5. People Convicted (by age and gender)

Tables 5, 6(a), 6(b) and 12

3.5.1. In the past 10 years, the number of convictions for younger people has fallen at much faster rates than for older people. Convictions for people aged under 21 continued to fall in 2013-14, a drop of 11 per cent to 10,613 people, despite the overall increase of 4 per cent in convictions for people of all ages.

3.5.2. In the one year to 2013-14, the number of convictions per 1,000 population rose from 24 to 25. This is the first rise in 7 years and has been driven by an increase for males, up to 42 convictions per 1,000 population from 40 in 2012-13. By contrast the rate of convictions for females remained the same as in 2012-13 at 8 convictions per 1,000 population.

3.5.3. Males accounted for 83 per cent of all convictions in 2013-14 (where the gender was known), unchanged from 2012-13. More males than females were convicted in all crime/offence categories except for offences associated with prostitution. Females had high proportions of convictions for "other crimes" in 2013-14 as follows:

• 38 per cent of all other violence convictions;
• 33 per cent of all fraud convictions ; and

28 per cent of all shoplifting convictions.

3.5.4. In 2013-14, common assault was the most common offence for people under the age of 21. One quarter (26 per cent) of female under 21 convictions were for common assault with the corresponding figure for males being 15 per cent. By contrast common assault accounted for smaller proportions of convictions for the over 30 age groups (10 and 8 per cent for females and males respectively).

3.5.5. Convictions for motor vehicle offences accounted for higher proportions of convictions for those aged over 30; 44 per cent of males convicted and 43 per cent of females convicted. This compares to the under 21-age group where 21 per cent of males and 19 per cent of females convicted were done so for motor vehicle offences. Speeding is the specific motor vehicle offence for which males and females aged over 30 are most commonly convicted (17 per cent and 14 per cent respectively).

Convictions per 1,000 population detail

3.5.6. Aside from the increase in convictions per 1,000 population for males in the most recent year, levels had been falling year on year from 56 per 1,000 population in 2006-07 to 40 in 2012-13. In comparison, the rate for females has stabilised at 8 convictions per 1,000 population for the last three years.

3.5.7. The ages where male convictions peak has moved from younger to older age groups over the last ten years with convictions for males falling at a much faster rate. In 2013-14 the peak convictions were for age groups 21 to 25 years and 26 to 30 years (85 and 88 convictions per 1,000 population respectively). This contrasts with 2004-05 when males aged 18 and 19 had the highest concentrations of convictions.

3.5.8. The trend for females differs to that of males with those aged 26 to 30 having had the highest level of convictions per 1,000 population for the last six years. Convictions within this group have dropped however, with 22 convictions per 1,000 population in 2008-09, declining to 17 in 2013-14.

3.5.9. In the year to 2013-14, the greatest change in the number of convictions per 1,000 population for females was for those aged 31-40, an increase from 13 to 15 per 1,000 population. The largest change for males was for those aged 17 and 18 which saw both saw decreases of 8 people per 1,000 population to 42 and 63 respectively.

3.6. Sentencing

Tables 7 to 12, Charts 3 and 4

It should be noted that sentencing is affected by, amongst other things, the particular circumstances of each crime/offence, offending history and offender background.

3.6.1. Of all people convicted during 2013-14 the following sentences were issued:

• Thirteen per cent were issued custodial sentences (14,101);
• Seventeen per cent were issued community sentences (18,231);
• Fifty-five per cent were issued financial penalties (57,812); and
• Fifteen per cent were issued other sentences (15,405) such as admonishments.

Custodial sentences

3.6.2. The number of convictions resulting in a custodial sentence fell by 5 per cent in the year to 2013-14 (from 14,783 to 14,101). This is the lowest level observed in custodial sentences since 2004-05.

3.6.3. Custodial sentences represent 13 per cent of all court sentences in 2013-14. This proportion declined since 2012-13 (15 per cent) but has been between 12 and 15 per cent over the last 10 years.

3.6.4. Overall, the average length of custodial sentences, excluding life sentences, in 2013-14 was around 9 and a half months (292 days), 9 days (3 per cent) longer than in 2012-13 (283 days) and 63 days (28 per cent) longer than in 2005-06 (229 days or 7 and a half months) when sentences were at their shortest in the last ten years.

Custodial Sentences for Non-sexual Crimes of Violence

3.6.5. Homicide comprises murder, culpable homicide and the statutory crimes of causing death by dangerous or careless driving, causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, driving illegally and corporate homicide. Non-custodial sentences for homicide are mostly related to motor vehicle fatalities.

3.6.6. Eighty-eight per cent or 79 people of the 90 convicted of homicide in 2013-14 were given a custodial sentence, higher than in 2012-13 (81 per cent). Over half of these (46 people) had life sentences imposed for murder. The remainder, who were convicted for other types of homicide were given an average sentence of 6 years, 160 days (7 per cent) shorter than in 2012-13 (6 and half years).

3.6.7. The average custodial sentence length for other non-sexual crimes of violence increased by 75 per cent from 446 days in 2012-13 to 779 days in 2013-14 (just over two years). It is thought that this could be attributed to courts enforcing harsher punishments for serious organised crime, which falls into this crime grouping.

Custodial Sentences for Sexual Crimes

3.6.8. Custody was the most frequently used sentence for most types of crime involving violence, including the sexual crimes of rape and attempted rape and sexual assault (with custody being served to 92 per cent and 46 per cent of people with a charge proven respectively).

3.6.9. Rape and attempted rape attracted the longest average custodial sentence of all crime types (other than murder) in 2013-14 and remains relatively unchanged since 2012-13 at 2,471 days (just over six and a half years). This is now 7 months (8 per cent) shorter than the peak in 2007-08 when it was 2,682 days (over seven years).

3.6.10. Sexual assault sentences were, on average, 20 per cent shorter than in 2012-13, falling to 859 days (just under two and half years). This was the third consecutive annual decrease since 2010-11 and may be in part related to the impact of the new statutory framework for crimes of this nature provided by the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. Caution should be taken in drawing conclusions on this decline as the mix of charges being used for prosecution will not be the same year on year until the old legislation phases out.

3.6.11. There was also a large jump in custodial sentence lengths for prostitution convictions in 2013-14 with the average sentence being 1,089 days (three years). This contrasts with the next highest average sentence seen in the last ten years at 540 days in 2011-12 (a year and a half). This jump may be explained in part by an increase in the number of brothel keeping convictions which attract higher sentencing lengths than other prostitution crimes.

Custodial Sentences for Handling an Offensive Weapon

3.6.12. The proportion of convictions for handling an offensive weapon which attracted a custodial sentence has increased by 16 percentage points from just over one-fifth (22 per cent) of convictions in 2004-05 to one in three (or 38 per cent) in 2013-14. This proportion was the same in 2012-13.

3.6.13. The increase in use of custodial sentences for handling an offensive weapon has been accompanied by an increase in the average sentence length for those sentences. The average custodial sentence length for handling an offensive weapon has seen its ninth consecutive annual increase, rising by 7 per cent to 374 days (just over 12 months) in the year to 2013-14 and is now over three times the length it was in 2004-05 (111 days).

Custodial Sentences for Crimes of Dishonesty

3.6.14. Over half (55 per cent) of housebreaking convictions received custodial sentences, the highest proportion for which custodial sentences have been imposed for housebreaking since 2004-05. The average sentence length has also increased, up by 63 per cent from 193 days in 2004-05 to 315 days in 2013-14.

3.6.15. The increase in sentence length may be related to changes in the way crimes of dishonesty are dealt with in the justice system. The increased use of police and procurator fiscal disposals to deal with some cases may have allowed the courts to deal with more serious cases.

3.6.16. Although overall activity in summary courts has declined markedly over the last 10 years (down by 28 per cent to 55,347 convictions), and a lower number of dishonesty crimes overall are reported by the Police and prosecuted in court, the courts may now be dealing with a higher proportion of more serious incidents for specific crime types which results in longer average sentencing. This may have had an impact, for example, on sentence lengths for theft of a motor vehicle, which increased by 17 per cent between 2004-05 and 2013-14 to 203 days (around six and a half months).

3.6.17. Aside from housebreaking and theft of a motor vehicle, other noticeable trends for crimes of dishonesty included:

• Forty-two per cent of convictions for theft by opening lockfast places attracted custodies, down 3 percentage points from 2012-13; and
• Fraud - although the proportion of convictions resulting in custodial sentences has declined for fraud in the last year from 29 per cent in 2012-13 to 23 per cent in 2013-14, there has been an increase in the longer term from around one in ten of convictions (11 per cent) in 2004-05.

Break down of duration of custody sentences

3.6.18. Overall ninety-one per cent (12,879) of all custodial sentences (14,079) were two years or less.

3.6.19. As illustrated above with the average sentence lengths, non-sexual crimes of violence and sexual crimes were the most likely to attract long custodial sentences. In 2013-14, only 2 per cent of custodial sentences for the crime group crimes of dishonesty were over two years whereas the corresponding proportions for non-sexual crimes of violence and sexual crimes were 47 and 53 per cent respectively.

3.6.20. By crime type the highest proportion of custodial sentences being over two years were homicide and rape and attempted rape; 97 per cent of custodial sentences for homicide and 93 per cent of custodial sentences for rape and attempted rape were more than two years.

3.6.21. Looking at very short sentences, 29 per cent (or 4,126) of all custodial sentences in 2013-14 were for three months or less, which is around the same proportion as in 2012-13 but 23 percentage points lower than in 2004-05 when these sentences made up 52 per cent of all custodies.

3.6.22. The decrease in the proportion of very short sentences of three months or less over the last ten years has been associated with an increase in the proportion of sentences of between 3 months and two years. Sentences of between 3 months and two years have increased from 41 per cent of all custodial sentences in 2004-05 to 62 per cent in 2013-14 while those over 2 years have remained at a similar proportion over this period, at around 8 per cent of all custodies.

Chart 3: Average sentence length (excluding life sentences) and per cent receiving custody, by crime or offence group, 2013-14

Community sentences

3.6.23. Seventeen per cent (or 18,231) of all convictions in 2013-14 resulted in a main penalty of a community sentence. These account for a higher proportion of the total court sentences than they did in 2004-05, increasing by 5 percentage points from 12 per cent.

3.6.24. The number of people receiving Community Payback Orders (CPO), has risen sharply since their introduction in February 2011 increasing by 44 per cent in the year to 2012-13 (14,940 CPOs) followed by a smaller rise of 9 per cent in the year to 2013-14 (16,317). Ninety per cent of all community sentences in 2013-14 were CPOs with the proportion of previously used probation and community service orders continuing to decline as they are increasingly being replaced by the use of the new CPO sentences.

3.6.25. Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLOs) made up 6 per cent of people receiving community sentences at 1,074 RLOs in 2013-14, rising 17 per cent from 919 in 2012-13. The number of drug treatment and testing orders remained roughly the same in the year to 2013-14 at 610 people.

3.6.26. In 2013-14 around two fifths of community sentences were for common assault (19 per cent) and breach of the peace (18 per cent).

3.6.27. Crime types which attracted high rates of community sentences were:

• Fire-raising - 51 per cent of people convicted, up 14 percentage points from 2012-13;
• Sexual assault - 46 per cent, a slight drop of 1 percentage point from 2012-13;
• Theft of a motor vehicle - 44 per cent, up 10 percentage points; and
• Handling an offensive weapon where 38 per cent of convictions received a community sentence, up by 1 percentage point from 2012-13.

Financial penalties

3.6.28. The use of financial penalties, which include a small number of compensation orders are the most common main penalty imposed by courts and increased by 8 per cent from 53,429 in 2012-13 to 57,812 in 2013-14.

3.6.29. This increase goes against the long-term decline in the number of people issued financial penalties, which has dropped by 32 per cent since 2006-07 (84,820). It is probable that the increase in 2013-14 is due to the corresponding rise in motor vehicle offence convictions as these types of offences made up 65 per cent of financial penalties in 2013-14.

3.6.30. The longer term decrease in the number of financial penalties may be, in part, a result of some crimes or offences typically punished by court fines increasingly being dealt with by police or COPFS disposals rather than reaching court in the first place.

3.6.31. Other crime/offence types which attracted high proportions of financial penalties in 2013-14 include drunkenness (55 per cent of people convicted), drug offences (49 per cent) and vandalism (44 per cent). These crime types also had high proportions of financial penalties in 2012-13.

3.6.32. The average fine imposed by courts on individuals (excluding companies) in 2013-14 was around £224, in cash terms^[1], decreasing from £245 in 2012-13. The use of compensation orders as a main penalty rose by 14 per cent to 874 in the year to 2013-14; the average compensation order imposed by courts, either as the main or secondary penalty, was £442 in 2013-14 up from £439 in 2012-13, in cash terms. The average cash value of a compensation order has nearly doubled since 2004-05, up by 79 per cent from £247.

Other sentences

3.6.33. In 2013-14, 14,834 people were admonished (which includes a small proportion who were cautioned). This represented 14 per cent of all convictions in 2013-14 and was the most frequent outcome for prostitution offences (54 per cent of all convictions).

Chart 4: Average fine and per cent fined by crime or offence group, 2013-14
(Excludes companies)

3.7. Sentencing by age and gender of offender

Tables 8(c), 10(b), 11 and 12

3.7.1. Section 3.5 describes trends for all convictions by gender and age. It illustrates that aside from the 4 per cent increase in convictions in the year to 2013-14, convictions had declined for all age and sex groups between 2006-07 and 2012-13. Over this period convictions have been shown to have fallen at a faster rate for younger groups of the population, particularly for males.

3.7.2. Males accounted for 83 per cent of all people convicted in 2013-14 but represented a higher proportion of all custodial sentences (91 per cent). By contrast females accounted for 17 per cent of people convicted but only 9 per cent of custodial sentences illustrating they were more likely than males to be penalised with other types of sentences.

3.7.3. Of those sentenced to custody in 2013-14, 76 per cent of females and 66 per cent of males received a tariff of 6 months or less. The proportion of males who received a very short sentence (i.e. 3 months or less) was lower than the proportion of females for many of the crime categories. For example, 19 per cent of males and 27 per cent of females who were sentenced to custody for common assault received a sentence of 3 months or less.

3.7.4. Despite the 5 per cent decrease in custodial sentences in the year to 2013-14, sentences for those aged over 30 rose. Custodial sentences were up by 4 per cent to 6,666 for males aged over 30 and by 11 per cent to 635 for females aged over 30. This continues the longer term trend observed since 2004-05 where custodial sentences have increased for these age groups, countering the overall decrease for custodial sentences and for those aged 30 and under.

3.7.5. Of the 18,231 people issued community sentences in 2013-14, two thirds were males aged over 21 (69 per cent) with females of all ages accounting for a further 17 per cent.

3.7.6. The total number of convictions resulting in a community sentence increased by 6 per cent to 18,231 in the year to 2013-14. This increase has been driven by increases in community sentences for both males and females aged over 30 (up 14 per cent to 6,924 and up 20 per cent to 1,649 respectively). The number of convicted males aged under 21 receiving community sentences decreased by 4 per cent to 2,632 in 2013-14 with the equivalent female group decreasing by 21 per cent 340.

3.7.7. Although there have been annual decreases for some individual years since 2004-05 the latest annual increase for community sentence disposals for males and females aged over 30 continues the longer-term upward trend. Numbers of community sentences for these cohorts have increased 70 per cent up to 6,924 and 78 per cent up 1649 people for males and females respectively since 2004-05. By contrast, longer-term trends for community sentences for those aged under 21 have been decreasing in every year since 2009-10 and 2010-11 for females and males respectively.

3.7.8. As previously described the increase in the latest year goes against the long-term fall in the number of financial penalties issued with numbers for both males and females increasing in the year to 2013-14 by 7 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

3.7.9. The increase in financial penalties in the year to 2013-14 has been driven by a rise in people aged 21 and over being issued these types of penalties (up 9 per cent and 15 per cent for males and females respectively). This contrasts with custody and community sentences where convictions for those aged over 30, rather than over 21, have increased.

3.7.10. Over the longer term, between 2006-07 and 2013-14, the use of financial penalties for convictions for both males and females has fallen by 33 per cent and 26 per cent respectively. While the largest falls have been observed in people aged under 21 (75 per cent for males and 67 per cent for females under 21), this age group accounted for less than one in ten in 2013-14 (7 per cent) convictions receiving a financial penalty in 2013-14.

3.8. Bail and Undertakings

Bail orders made

Tables 13, to 16

3.8.1. The annual change and longer-term trends in numbers of bail orders are consistent with the overall trends in volumes of cases coming to court. The number of bail orders have:

• Increased by 7 per cent from 44,309 in 2012-13 to 47,196 in 2013-14; and
• Fallen over the longer term by 24 per cent since 2006-07 (62,294).

3.8.2. The vast majority of bail orders (92 per cent) are issued in sheriff courts (solemn and summary) with a further 8 per cent being issued in JP courts. A very small number of bail orders were issued in high courts (217 bail orders or 0.6 per cent of the total). The relative proportions of bail orders issued by different courts have been relatively constant since 2004-05.

3.8.3. In 2013-14 males accounted for 84 per cent of all bail orders issued. This has remained at the same proportion since 2009-10.

3.8.4. Looking at patterns in age the proportion of bail orders given to people aged over 30 has increased from 41 per cent in 2009-10 to 50 per cent in 2013-14. Conversely, the proportion of bail orders given for people aged under 21 years old has fallen from 21 to 14 per cent over the same period. This mirrors the trends in age structure for people being proceeded against in court.

3.8.5. The 47,196 bail orders which were issued in 2013-14 related to 34,883 individuals; 78 per cent of individuals received one bail order, 15 per cent received two and 8 per cent received three or more bail orders. These proportions have been the same since 2009-10.

Bail orders made by main crime type

3.8.6. In the year to 2013-14 the number of bail orders issued increased or remained broadly the same for all individual crime groups with the exception of drugs offences (down 12 per cent to 2,314).

3.8.7. In the year to 2013-14 there was a 33 per cent increase in the number of bail orders issued for sexual crimes (from 1,005 in 2012-13 to 1,337 in 2013-14). Bail orders for sexual crimes are a small proportion of the total, accounting for 3 per cent of all bail orders in 2013-14.

3.8.8. In the year to 2013-14 there were also relatively large annual increases in the numbers of bail orders issued for crimes of breach of the peace (up 22 per cent to 7,441) and common assault (up 14 per cent to 8,981).

3.8.9. The relative proportions of bail orders issued for each crime group have been broadly the same since 2009-10 however there have been some large changes in the relative proportions since 2004-05:

• Bail orders issued for crimes of dishonesty accounted for around a quarter (23 per cent) of all bail orders issued in 2004-05 falling by seven percentage points to 16 per cent in 2013-14;
• Common assault accounted for 19 per cent of all bail orders issued in 2013-14. This figure has increased by five percentage points from 14 per cent in 2004-05; and
• Breach of the peace - accounted for 16 per cent of bail orders in 2013-14 (increasing four percentage points from 12 per cent in 2004-05).

Undertakings to appear

Table 17

3.8.10. The number of people released by the police on an undertaking to appear in court in 2013-14 was 22,110, down 3 per cent from the 2012-13 figure (22,818). This is the third annual decrease in undertakings issued since 2010-11.

3.8.11. In 2013-14, 75 per cent of undertakings were issued to males. Nearly half (49 per cent) of undertakings in 2013-14 were issued to people aged over 30 while people aged under 21 account for around a fifth (18 per cent). This contrasts with undertakings issued in 2009-10 where the proportion issued to over 30 year olds was 41 per cent and the proportion issued to under 21 years was 25 per cent. This shift in age profile complements the shift in a higher proportion of older people being proceeded against in courts.

Bail-related offences

Table 18

3.8.12. Bail-related offences (other than committing an offence on bail) covers the offences of breach of bail conditions (e.g. interfering with a witness) and failure to appear in court after being granted bail. A total of 7,987 of bailed-related offences had a charge proved in 2013-14, a decrease of 6 per cent from 2012-13 (8,462).

3.8.13. The proportion of bail-related offences as a percentage of all bail orders granted in 2013-14 was 17 per cent. This has remained fairly constant for the six years from 2008-09 but is 5 percentage points higher than in 2004-05 when it was 12 per cent.

3.9. Police Disposals

Tables 19 to 23

A range of options are available to the police for minor offences, including anti-social behaviour fixed penalty notices and formal adult warnings. Please note that in previous publications, statistics on police restorative justice warnings and warning letters, which relate to juvenile diversions, were presented. It has been identified that those statistics were potentially misleading as other elements relating to juvenile diversions were not reported. We will look to investigate quantifying levels of all juvenile warnings for the 2014-15 bulletin.

More details on police disposals are available in section 3 as well as in annex notes C5 and D2.

3.9.1. In previous criminal proceeding publications statistics on police restorative justice warnings, warning letters and "other police warnings" were published. It has been identified that those statistics were potentially misleading as other elements relating to juvenile diversions were not reported. We will look to investigate quantifying levels of EEIs and other juvenile warnings for the 2014-15 bulletin.

Anti-social behaviour fixed penalty notices (ASBFPN)

3.9.2. In 2013-14, 55,490 people received an ASBFPN as a main penalty, an increase of 1 per cent from 54,713 in 2012-13. The vast majority of ASBFPNs were issued for three of the offence types for which they are available:

• 23,384 for consuming alcohol in a public place (42 per cent of total);
• 15,568 for breach of the peace (28 per cent); and
• 13,831 for urinating etc. in circumstances causing annoyance to others (25 per cent).

3.9.3. Males received 86 per cent of all ASBFPNs in 2013-14 with the most common offences being for consuming alcohol in a public place (41 per cent of ASBFPNs issued to males) followed by urinating (28 per cent). With regards to breach of the peace, a higher proportion of ASBFPNs issued to males aged under 21 were for this offence in comparison to males aged over 30 (31 and 22 per cent respectively).

3.9.4. ASBFPNs issued to females were primarily issued for consuming alcohol in a public place (46 per cent of ASBFPNs to females) and breach of the peace (40 per cent). Over half (52 per cent) of ASBFPNs issued to females aged under 21 were for consuming alcohol in a public place, which compares with 44 per cent for the aged over 30 females.

Formal adult warnings (FAWs)

3.9.5. Police FAWs were given as a main penalty to 7,100 people in 2013-14, down 14 per cent from 8,264 in 2012-13. Three-fifths of the people issued FAWs were done so in 2013-14 for three crimes/offences:

• Shoplifting (27 per cent or 1,906);
• Drunkenness (16 per cent or 1,165); and
• Common assault (14 per cent or 989).

3.9.6. In 2013-14, 62 per cent of people given FAWs as a main penalty were male - 4,368 in 2013-14. One-third (32 per cent) of all people issued FAWs were males aged over thirty (2,282).

3.9.7. Around 21 per cent of the 4,368 males issued FAWs in 2013-14 were given them for drunkenness (934 people). This differs by age group with a third (30 per cent) of males aged over 30 and 7 per cent of males aged under 21 being issued FAWs for drunkenness.

3.9.8. Seventeen per cent of males issued FAWs in 2013-14 were given the penalty for shoplifting. Of the FAWs issued to males aged under 21, 15 per cent were for shoplifting in comparison with 20 per cent of FAWs issued to males aged over 30. For FAWs issued to females, a similar pattern is highlighted with respect to age albeit at a higher rate than for males (49 per cent for females aged over 30 and 29 per cent for females aged under 21).

3.9.9. Differences highlighted for different age groups of females being issued FAWs are as follows:

• Eleven per cent of females aged over 30 issued FAWs were given them for drunkenness compared to 4 per cent for females aged under 21; and
• Thirteen per cent of females aged under 21 issued FAWs were given them for fraud compared to 3 per cent for females aged over 30.

3.10. Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) disposals

Tables 24 to 28

When a report is submitted by the police to the procurator fiscal, prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options for dealing with people who have been charged. Other possible actions include the use of fiscal fines, compensation orders and fixed penalties. More details on this new information are available in annex notes C5 and D3.

3.10.1. In 2013-14, the use by COPFS of alternatives to prosecution involving a financial penalty increased marginally by 1 per cent (from 72,848 in 2012-13 to 73,567 in 2013-14). Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of COPFS disposals in 2013-14 were fiscal fines (47,322), down 1 per cent from 2012-13.

Fiscal fines

3.10.2. In 2013-14, 53 per cent of the 47,322 people issued fiscal fines as main penalties were issued them for miscellaneous offences, including:

• Communications Act offences (mainly TV licensing) which account for 29 per cent or 13,526 penalties;
• Alcohol bylaw offences which attracted 12 per cent of the total (5,533 penalties); and
• Breach of the peace which accounted for nearly one in twenty (6 per cent) or 2,986 penalties.

3.10.3. In addition to miscellaneous offences, other crime types which attracted a high proportion of the total fiscal fines issued in 2013-14 were drug crimes (28 per cent) and unlawful use of vehicle (9 per cent).

3.10.4. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of all fiscal fines in 2013-14 were issued to males. The profile of crimes/offences for which fiscal fines were issued differed for males and females. For example, of the 15,482 fiscal fines issued to females, the most common crimes/offences for which they were given were:

• Communications Act offences (60 per cent);
• Shoplifting (9 per cent); and
• Drug offences (9 per cent).

3.10.5. For males, of the 31,829 fiscal fines issued, the most common crimes/offences for which they were given were:

• Drug offences (37 per cent);
• Alcohol bylaw offences (15 per cent); and
• Communications Act offences (13 per cent).

3.10.6. For both males and females those aged over 30 account for the largest proportion of fiscal fines issued. Those aged over 30 account for over half (51 per cent) of all fiscal fines issued to males and the majority (60 per cent) of all fiscal fines given to females.

Fiscal fixed penalties

3.10.7. Crown Office Fixed Penalties (COFPs) are generally issued for motor vehicle offences. In 2013-14, 23,486 COFPs were issued to people as a main penalty, an increase of 9 per cent from 21,638 in 2013-14.

3.10.8. The increase was driven by a rise in penalties for:

• "Other motor vehicle offences" (including mobile phone offences and seatbelt offences) up 14 per cent to 7,305; and
• An increase in speeding offences penalties, up 7 per cent to 7,454. This is in line with the operational practices of Police Scotland during 2013.

3.10.9. The breakdown of COFPs in 2013-14 was as follows:

• Thirty-four per cent for were for speeding offences (7,454 penalties);
• Thirty-one per cent were for "other motor vehicle offences", including mobile phone and seatbelt offences, totalling 7,305 penalties; and
• Seventeen per cent were for documentation offences (such as using a vehicle without a test certificate, without a licence or failure to insure), totalling 4,071.

3.10.10. In 2013-14, nearly four in every five (79 per cent or 18,478) of COFPs were issued to males and over half (54 per cent or 12,692) of all COFPs were issued to males aged over 30.