Domestic abuse aggravator custodial sentences: FOI release

Information requested

1. Number of people convicted that had a domestic abuse aggravator attached to their charge who received a short term custodial sentence (More than four years) following a conviction. Could you please provide this data for the past five calendar years until the date of this request?
2. Number of people convicted that had a domestic abuse aggravator attached to their charge who received a long term custodial sentence (More than four years) following a conviction. Could you please provide this data for the past five calendar years until the date of this request?
3. Number of people convicted that had a domestic abuse aggravator attached to their charge who received a custodial life sentence following a conviction. Could you please provide this data for the past five calendar years until the date of this request?

Response

Please find the information you requested in the table below. Data from Criminal proceedings in Scotland is only available by financial year, covering a period from 1 April to 31 March, with the latest available data on convictions corresponding to 2021-22.

People receiving a custodial sentence, by length of sentence, where a domestic abuse aggravation is recorded, 2017-18 to 2021-22.

	2017‐18	2018‐19	2019‐20	2020‐21	2021‐22
Up to 4 years	1,381	1,399	1,286	1,168	1,166
Over 4 years	44	43	44	30	62
Life	‐	4	2	2	2

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Please note that data for 2020-21 and 2021-22 are affected by the pandemic, subsequent court closures, reduced court capacity due to physical distancing measures and delays to cases where key participants were forced to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19, and should not be considered indicative of long term trends.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.