Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2022-23

Key Points

Court proceedings and convictions

(Tables 1, 2 and 4a-c)

• In 2022-23 a total of 79,173 people were proceeded against in court, an increase of 17% from 2021-22 (67,698 people) but a decrease of 35% from 2013-14 (121,780 people).
• Of the 79,173 people proceeded against in court in 2022-23, 68,067 people were convicted of at least one of the charges against them. This is an increase of 15% from 2021-22 (59,343 people) but a decrease of 36% from 2013-14 (105,656 people).
• In 2022-23 the overall conviction rate was 86%, down two percentage points from 2021-22 (88%). This is within the range seen in the most recent ten years of data and typical of the pre-pandemic range of 86% to 88%.
• The number of people convicted of a main charge of non-sexual violence in 2022-23 was 11,143. This is an increase of 23% from 2021-22 (9,075 people) but a decrease of 16% from 2013-14 (13,226 people).
• Within non-sexual violence the largest proportional increase in the number of people convicted between 2021-22 and 2022-23 was for a main charge of robbery (up 28% from 300 to 385 people). One of the largest proportional decreases in the last ten years was for a main charge of common assault (down 28% from 11,213 to 8,052 people).
• In 2022-23, 763 people were convicted with a main charge under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 (DASA). This is an increase of 11% from 2021-22 (690 people). Despite this being the third successive year convictions rose since the introduction of this act, 2022-23 marks the first time that DASA convictions have not outpaced the change in convictions as a whole (up 15% between 2021-22 and 2022-23).
• The number of people convicted of a main charge of a sexual crime in 2022-23 was 1,415. This is an increase of 10% from 2021-22 (1,283 people) and an increase of 25% from 2013-14 (1,129 people).
• Within sexual crime, the number of people convicted of a main charge of rape and attempted rape was 187 in 2022-23. This is an increase of 17% from 2021-22 (160 people) and an increase of 108% from 2013-14 (90 people). The conviction rate for rape and attempted rape fluctuates year to year and was 54% in 2022-23. This is the second highest rate in the 10-year span.
• The number of people convicted of a main charge of a crime of dishonesty in 2022-23 was 5,929. This is an increase of 8% from 2021-22 (5,478 people) and a decrease of 53% from 2013-14 (12,579 people).

Court sentences

(Tables 7-10)

• Of the 68,067 people convicted of a crime in Scottish courts in 2022-23, 8,923 were given a main penalty of a custodial sentence. This is an increase of 9% from 2021-22 (8,186 people) and a decrease of 37% from 2013-14 (14,170 people).
• A custodial sentence was the main penalty imposed on a convicted person in 13% of cases in 2022-23, This represents a decrease of one percentage point from 2021-22 (14%) and is identical to 2013-14 (13%).
• The average length of a custodial sentence, excluding life and indeterminate sentences, was 386 days in 2022-23. This is 3% longer than the 375 days seen in 2021-22 and 31% longer than the 295 days seen in 2013-14. The long-term trend of rising average custody length is likely driven by a complex range of interacting factors. These include a shift in the mix of the seriousness of court cases and a reduction in the use of shorter custodial sentences.
• In 2022-23, the crime types with the longest average custodial sentences (excluding life and indeterminate sentences) were murder and culpable homicide (2,903 days) and rape and attempted rape (2,533 days). These were also the crime types with the longest sentence lengths in the 10-year span beginning in 2013-14.
• Custodial sentence lengths of 3 to 6 months were the most common in the 10-year span from 2013-14 to 2022-23. They accounted for 29% of all custodial sentences in 2022-23.
• In 2022-23, 24% (16,246) of all convictions resulted in a main penalty of a community sentence. This is a 15% increase from the 14,139 seen in 2021-22 and an 11% decrease from the 18,272 seen in 2013-14. Along with 2021-22 (also 24%), this is the joint highest proportion seen in the 10-year span.
• The 15% increase in people given a main penalty of a community sentence between 2021-22 and 2022-23 was driven by a 21% rise in Community Payback Orders (from 10,475 to 12,632). Over the last year, other types of community sentence either held steady or declined.

Characteristics of offenders

(Tables 5, 6, 8c, 10b and 11)

• In 2022-23, the number of people convicted of at least one charge per 1,000 population was 14. This is an increase from 2021-22 (12) and a decrease from 2013-14 (22). The increase since 2021-22 likely reflects the rise in court activity, whereas the decline since 2013-14 may reflect a general trend before the pandemic.
• The number of convicted people per 1,000 population was higher for males in 2022-23 (23) than for females (four). The absolute decline since 2013-14 was larger for males (down from 38) than for females (down from seven).
• With convictions declining over the last ten years, this has led to a decrease in every age group. The largest absolute declines were for those aged 21-30 (down from 52 to 28) and 18-20 (down 43 to 21).

Aggravations

(Tables 12 and 13)

• The statutory domestic abuse aggravation was introduced in 2017-18, and was proven in 7,805 convictions in 2022-23. This has increased by four since 2021-22 (7,801).
• In 2022-23. there were 160 convictions with a statutory aggravation for domestic abuse in relation to a child. This was an increase of 14% from the 140 seen in 2021-22. This aggravation was created under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and applies where a child was involved or otherwise adversely affected by the offending. The aggravation came into effect for crimes committed on or after 1 April 2019.
• In respect of hate crime legislation, crimes may be aggravated if the crime is motivated against a particular characteristic. Over the last ten years, the number of convictions with aggravations for disability has the largest percentage increase 613%, rising from 30 to 214 aggravations. Similarly sexual orientation increased by 159% rising from 227 to 588.
• Racial aggravations increase by 1% from 2013-14 to 2022-23. There were 708 aggravations in 2022-23. Transgender is at it’s highest in a decade with 24 aggravations in 2022-23.
• Religious aggravations have decreased from 256 in 2013-14 to 208 in 2022-23, a decline of 19%.

Bail

(Tables 14-16)

• In 2022-23, 26,562 bail orders were made. This is an increase of 11% from 2021-22 (23,901) but a decrease of 42% from 2013-14 (46,123). These changes largely track those of court activity overall, with prosecutions increasing 17% between 2021-22 and 2022-23 and decreasing 35% between 2013-14 and 2022-23. However, it should be noted that when a case concludes in court may be in a different year to any corresponding bail order being made.
• There were 7,988 bail-related offences in 2022-23 (e.g. breach of bail conditions, such as failure to appear in court after being granted bail). This is an 11% increase from 2021-22 (7,224) but less than 0.5% decrease from 2013-14 (8,003).
• The proportion of bail-related offences as a percentage of all bail orders granted in 2022-23 was 30%. This is the joint highest in the 10-year span with 2021-22 (also 30%). This may in part reflect people subject to bail being on bail for longer periods due to court backlogs.
• In 2022-23, there were 23,747 undertakings to appear in court. This is a 4% decrease from 2021-22 (24,613) and an 7% increase from 2013-14 (22,101).

Police disposals

(Tables 17-18)

• The total number of police disposals remained steady from 31,271 in 2021-22 to 31,278 in 2022-23.
• There were 21,127 Recorded Police Warnings (RPWs) issued during 2022-23, which is an increase of 5% from the 20,139 issued in 2021-22.
• In 2022-23, 4,722 people received an Anti-Social Behaviour Fixed Penalty Notice as a main penalty, a decrease of 11% from the 5,300 issued in 2021-22.
• Early and Effective Interventions decreased by 7% between 2021-22 and 2022-23, from 5,496 to 5,093.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service disposals

(Tables 20-22)

• In 2022-23 11,004 people were issued with a fiscal fine, which are available for any offence that could be tried without a jury, as a main penalty, a decrease of 7% from the 11,846 issued in 2021-22.
• In 2022-23, 11,364 Fiscal Fixed Penalties, which relate only to certain road traffic offences, were issued to people as a main penalty, a decrease of 6% from 12,068 in 2021-22.