Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2019-20

A total of 85,726 people were proceeded against in Scottish criminal courts in 2019-20, a fall of 4% from 89,725 proceedings in 2018-19 The number of convictions was 75,251 in 2019-20, which is also a fall of 4% from 78,488 in 2018-19. This continues the general downward trend of the last ten years,


Table 2(a) People proceeded against in court by main crime/offence and outcome of court proceedings, 2019-20[1]

Main crime or offence PNGA[2,3] or deserted [4] Acquitted not guilty Acquitted not proven Charge proved Total Not proven as % of all acquitted
All crimes and offences 5,381    4,055    1,039    75,251    85,726    20   
All crimes 2,719    1,544    514    28,033    32,810    25   
 Non-sexual crimes of violence 270    465    177    2,142    3,054    28   
  Homicide etc  2    10    6    81    99    38   
  Attempted murder and serious assault  164    354    138    1,298    1,954    28   
  Robbery  76    42    22    410    550    34   
  Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 5    32    3    206    246    9   
  Other non-sexual crimes of violence 23    27    8    147    205    23   
 Sexual crimes 73    266    157    1,204    1,700    37   
  Rape and attempted rape  1    95    74    130    300    44   
  Sexual assault  14    96    60    305    475    38   
  Crimes associated with prostitution  10    18    1    45    74    5   
  Other sexual crimes  48    57    22    724    851    28   
 Crimes of dishonesty 832    198    43    9,076    10,149    18   
  Housebreaking  76    19    17    796    908    47   
  Theft by opening lockfast places  11    1    1    111    124    50   
  Theft from a motor vehicle 7    5    -    89    101    -   
  Theft of a motor vehicle 61    20    2    200    283    9   
  Shoplifting 366    17    1    5,395    5,779    6   
  Other theft 200    86    8    1,460    1,754    9   
  Fraud 43    25    7    410    485    22   
  Other dishonesty 68    25    7    615    715    22   
 Fire-raising, vandalism, etc. 187    118    20    1,693    2,018    14   
  Fire-raising  13    6    6    121    146    50   
  Vandalism etc.  174    112    14    1,572    1,872    11   
 Other crimes 1,357    497    117    13,918    15,889    19   
  Crimes against public justice  644    243    45    7,652    8,584    16   
  Handling offensive weapons  143    147    47    1,735    2,072    24   
  Drugs  567    106    23    4,430    5,126    18   
  Other crime  3    1    2    101    107    67   
All offences 2,662    2,511    525    47,218    52,916    17   
 Miscellaneous offences 1,592    1,990    470    21,538    25,590    19   
  Common assault  778    1,168    284    8,301    10,531    20   
  Breach of the peace etc.  695    703    152    11,449    12,999    18   
  Drunkenness and other disorderly conduct 3    1    -    31    35    -   
  Urinating etc. 5    -    -    2    7    -   
  Other miscellaneous  111    118    34    1,755    2,018    22   
 Motor vehicle offences 1,070    521    55    25,680    27,326    10   
  Dangerous and careless driving  101    190    25    3,360    3,676    12   
  Driving under the influence  39    78    18    3,385    3,520    19   
  Speeding  76    20    1    9,171    9,268    5   
  Unlawful use of motor vehicle  583    36    3    6,285    6,907    8   
  Vehicle defect offences  64    9    -    1,067    1,140    -   
  Seat belt offences 7    1    -    173    181    -   
  Mobile phone offences 28    70    3    463    564    4   
  Other motor vehicle offences  172    117    5    1,776    2,070    4   

1. Excludes people against whom proceedings are started but which are dropped before they reach court.
2. Plea of not guilty accepted.
3. Includes cases where proceedings are dropped after a person has been called to court, e.g. if witnesses fail to attend.
4. Deserted simpliciter i.e. trial is permanently abandoned by the Procurator Fiscal.

Contact

Email: Justice_Analysts@gov.scot

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