Journey times in the Scottish Criminal Justice System: 2022 to 2023

8. Accused that proceed to court

8.1. Time from offence to verdict

When the procurator fiscal decides to raise court proceedings against the accused then the accused will be registered in court. This may result in a summary prosecution (in Sheriff or Justice of the Peace (JP) court) or a solemn proceeding (in either Sheriff court or High court).

When an accused is registered in court, several outcomes can occur:

• the accused is convicted, either after pleading guilty or being found guilty after evidence has been heard in Court,
• an acceptable plea short of plea of guilty as libelled is accepted (partial plea),
• the accused is acquitted following a not guilty or a not proven verdict,
• the accused has their plea of not guilty accepted by the prosecutor, or
• the case against an accused is deserted i.e. the Crown decides to not proceed with a prosecution at that time (though they may in some cases decide to prosecute at a future date).

Those convicted of a crime or offence in court can be admonished, given an ‘other’ disposal, a fine, a community disposal, or a custodial sentence. More information on these criminal proceedings can be found here:

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The analysis shows that overall, during the pre COVID-19 period (before 2020-21), 84% of the accused proceeded against in criminal courts had a disposal issued within one year of the offence being committed and 97% within 2 years. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic these percentages have decreased to 61% and 88%, respectively (Figure 3).

Over the entire period covered by this data set, 0.9% of accused waited more than 5 years for a disposal.

8.2. Time from offence to verdict by type of court

Figure 4 (and supplementary table 2) shows the median journey time by court type for each financial year. Median journey times increased in all court types in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: 71% for High Court (from 528 to 900 days), 55% for Sheriff solemn (from 282 to 436 days), 141% for Sheriff summary (from 124 to 299 days) and 82% for Justice of the Peace (from 177 to 322 days).

With the exception of JP courts, all court types have seen an additional increase in journey times in 2022-23. High court journey times have increased by an additional 162 days to 1,062 days (18%), Sheriff solemn by 88 days to 524 days (20%), Sheriff summary by 13 days to 312 days (4%). Over the same period, journey times in JP court have decreased by 6% or 19 days to 303 days.

8.3. Time from offence to verdict by warrant status

The median court journey times described above include all accused that have been prosecuted in criminal courts. However, if the accused fails to appear, the court may issue an arrest warrant, which can lead to an increase in the time taken to issue a verdict. Figure 5 (and supplementary table 3) shows median journey times broken down by type of court and warrant status, that is if the accused had ever had a non-appearance warrant on the case. In general, journey times are lower if there is no non-appearance warrant connected with the case.

In Sheriff solemn courts, the difference in median journey time between accused with and without a non-appearance warrant in 2019-20 was 46 days, increasing to 76 days in 2021-22 and to 225 days in 2022-23. For Sheriff summary courts the difference in median time for accused with and without a non-appearance warrant in 2019-20 was 79 days, increasing to 136 days in 2021-22 and to 199 days in 2022-23. For JP courts, the difference in journey time for accused with and without a non-appearance warrant was 124 days in 2019-20, increasing to 292 days in 2021-22 and decreasing slightly in 2022-23 to 282 days. The number of accused with non-appearance warrants in the High court were too few to allow comparison.

8.4. Time from offence to verdict by pre-court and in-court time

The available data allow us to split overall journey times into a pre court time (offence to court registration) and an in-court time (court registration to verdict) as shown in figure 6 (and supplementary table 4).

In all court types, median pre-court times increased post pandemic (from 2019-20 to 2021-22): from 333 days in 2019-20 to 493 days in High court (+48%), from 225 to 252 days (+12%) in Sherriff solemn, from 24 days to 49 days in Sheriff summary (+104%) and from 122 days to 183 days in JP court (+50%).

In 3 court types (High Court and Sheriff Courts), these times have further increased in 2022-23. The High court saw a 145 day increase to 638 days (+29%), Sheriff solemn court saw a 49 day increase to 301 days (+19%) and Sheriff summary court saw a 15 day increase to 64 days (+31%). Pre court times in the JP court decreased by 1 day (-1%) to 182 days in 2022-23.

Median court registration to verdict time has also increased across all court types post-pandemic. The High Court saw median times increase from 151 days in 2019-20 to 390 days in 2021-22 (+158%), Sheriff solemn courts saw an increase from 52 days in 2019-20 to 110 days in 2021-22 (+112%), Sheriff summary times increased from 72 days to 176 days (+144%) and JP times increased from 34 days to 78 days (+129%).

In the High court, Sheriff summary court and the JP court median in-court times have decreased in 2022-23, by 66 days to 324 days in High court (-17%), by 5 days to 171 days (-3%) in Sheriff summary and by 8 days to 70 days in JP court (-10%). Sheriff solemn courts have seen a further increase in median times in 2022-23 (by 18 days to 128 days, a 16% increase).

8.5. Time from offence to verdict by crime group

The types of crime committed by the accused affect the journey time. Analysis by crime group follows the methodology outlined in the methods section above.

8.5.1. Sexual crimes

Figure 7 (and supplementary table 5) shows offence to verdict, offence to registration and registration to verdict median times by court type for accused included in the sexual crimes group. Median journey times increased in all court types in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: from 1,544 to 1,963 days in High Court (+27%), from 562 to 704 days in Sheriff solemn court (+25%) and from 246 to 460 days in Sheriff summary court (+87%). However, in 2022-23, journey times have decreased in all court types except sheriff solemn. High court journey times have decreased by 406 days to 1,557 days (-21%) and Sheriff summary by 38 days to 422 days (-8%). Over the same period, journey times in Sheriff solemn court have increased by 81 days to 785 days (+12%).

Comparing 2021-22 to 2019-20, offence to registration times for the sexual crimes group increased in High Court by 17% and Sheriff summary court by 13%. There was a small decrease in time in Sheriff solemn court (-2%). Registration to verdict times increased in all the courts: High court by 138%, Sheriff solemn by 65% and Sheriff summary by 118%.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times decreased by 28% for cases registered in the High Court and increased by 23% and 7% respectively for cases registered in Sheriff solemn and Sheriff summary courts. In financial year 2022-23, median registration to verdict times decreased by 18% in High Court and 2% in Sheriff summary court and increased by 18% in Sheriff solemn court.

The number of accused in JP court included in this group were too few to allow comparison.

8.5.2. Non-sexual crimes of violence

The median times for accused in the non-sexual crimes of violence group are shown in figure 8 (and supplementary table 6). For this group median journey times have also increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: from 314 to 610 days in High court (+94%), from 265 to 405 days in Sheriff solemn court (+53%), from 143 to 348 days in Sheriff summary court (143%) and from 376 to 612 days in JP court (+63%).

In 2022-23, journey times increased for all courts except for JP court: by 86 days to 696 days (+14%) in High Court, by 100 days to 505 days (+25%) in Sheriff solemn court and by 6 days to 354 days (+2%) in Sheriff summary court. Over the same time, journey times in the JP court decreased by 54 days to 558 days (-9%).

Comparing 2021-22 to 2019-20, offence to registration times increased in High Court by 73%, in Sheriff solemn court by 21% and in Sheriff summary court by 112%; JP court decreased by 32%. Comparing 2021-22 to 2019-20, registration to verdict times increased in all court types: in High court by 153%, in Sheriff solemn court by 143%, in Sheriff summary court by 152% and in JP court by 217%.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times increased further for cases registered in all types of courts: by 30% in High Court, by 16% in Sheriff solemn court, by 39% in Sheriff summary court and by 28% in JP court. However, registration to verdict times decreased by 20% in High Court, 9% in Sheriff summary and 27% in JP court and increased by 1% in Sheriff solemn court.

Common Assault is now included in the non-sexual crimes of violence group, having previously been part of the Miscellaneous offences group (see Annex 5: New crime grouping structure and next steps in the production of crime statistics - Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2021-2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) for more detail). The volume of common assault cases is large, and many may be more straightforward and quicker to progress than other non-sexual crimes of violence cases involving for example murder or serious assault. To help overcome the possibility of many accused with common assault charges artificially lowering the median journey times for Group 1, Group 1 has been split into two sub-groups: 1 - accused with only common assault charges (and no other group 1 charges) and 2 - accused with at least one non-common assault Group 1 charge (accused in this group may also have a common assault charge). Times are presented for both subgroups and shown in figure 9 (and supplementary table 7).

In Sheriff solemn courts, journey times for accused with only common assault in 2022-23 were 180 days (-31%) shorter than journey times for other Group 1 accused. Similarly, in Sheriff summary courts, journey times for accused involving only common assault in 2022-23 were 191 days (-37%) shorter than journey times for other Group 1 accused. The number of accused involving only common assault in the High court are too few to allow comparison. Conversely, the number of accused with Group 1 charges other than common assault, in the JP court are also too few to allow comparison.

8.5.3. Crimes of dishonesty

Median offence to verdict journey times for crimes of dishonesty accused are shown in Figure 10 (and supplementary table 8). As with previous crime groups, journey times for cases included in the crimes of dishonesty group increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: from 232 to 439 days in Sheriff solemn court (+89%), from 144 to 338 days in Sheriff summary court (+135%) and from 228 to 411 days in JP court (+80%). In 2022-23, journey times increased in all court types apart from JP court. Times in Sheriff solemn court increased by 74 days to 513 days (+17%) and in Sheriff summary court by 4 days to 342 days (+1%). Over the same period, journey times in JP court decreased by 45 days to 366 days (-11%).

Comparing 2021-22 to 2019-20, offence to registration times increased in Sheriff solemn court by 38%, in Sheriff summary court by 51% and in JP court by 40%. Registration to verdict times also increased over this time period, by 115% in Sheriff solemn court, 253% in Sheriff summary court and 124% in JP court.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times increased for cases registered in all types of courts: by 33% in Sheriff solemn court, by 10% in Sheriff summary court and by 2% in JP court. In 2022-23, registration to verdict times decreased by 16% in Sheriff solemn court by 7% in Sheriff summary court and by 23% in JP court.

The number of accused in High court included in this group were too few to allow comparison.

8.5.4. Damage and reckless behaviour

Median journey times for accused included in the damage and reckless behaviour group are shown in figure 11 (and supplementary table 9). For this group median journey times increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: from 304 to 412 days in Sheriff solemn court (+36%), from 110 to 281 days in Sheriff summary court (+155%) and from 253 to 491 days in JP court (+94%). In 2022-23, journey times increased by 126 days to 538 days in Sheriff solemn court (+31%) and decreased by 1 day to 280 days in Sheriff summary court and by 63 days to 428 days (-13%) in the JP court.

Offence to registration times also increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: by 1% in Sheriff solemn court, 171% in Sheriff summary court and 14% in JP court. Registration to verdict times also increased in all court types: by 59% Sheriff solemn court, by 151% in Sheriff summary court and by 221% in JP court.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times increased for cases registered in all types of courts: by 27% in Sheriff solemn court, by 5% in Sheriff summary court and by 20% in JP court. In 2022-23, registration to verdict times decreased by 9% in Sheriff summary court and by 43% in JP court and increased by 94% in Sheriff solemn court.

The number of accused in High court included in this group were too few to allow comparison.

8.5.5. Crimes against society

Figure 12 (and supplementary table 10) shows the median journey times for accused in the crimes against society group. Median journey times increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: from 416 to 648 days in High Court (+56%), from 266 to 382 days in Sheriff solemn court (+44%), from 93 to 206 days in Sheriff summary court (+122%) and from 174 to 416 days in the JP court (+139%). In 2022-23, median journey times have increased for all court types except JP court. High court journey times increased by 255 days to 903 days (+39%), Sheriff solemn times increased by 100 days to 482 days (+26%) and Sheriff summary times increased by 20 days to 226 days (+10%). Over the same period, journey times in JP court decreased by 38 days to 378 days (-9%).

Offence to registration times also increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: by 36% in High Court, by 21% in Sheriff solemn court, by 33% in Sheriff summary court and by 145% in JP court. Registration to verdict times also increased in all court types: by 57% in High Court, by 44% in Sheriff solemn court, by 200% in Sheriff summary court and by 240% in JP Court.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times increased for cases registered in High Court (+16%), Sheriff solemn court (+17%) and Sheriff summary court (+46%) and decreased by 7% in JP court. In 2022-23, registration to verdict times increased by 266% in High Court, by 10% in Sheriff solemn court and by 19% in Sheriff summary court, decreasing by 16% in JP court.

8.5.6. Antisocial offences

Journey times for accused included in the antisocial offences group are shown in figure 13 (and supplementary table 11). For this group median journey times increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: from 285 to 349 days in Sheriff solemn court (+22%), from 106 to 291 days in Sheriff summary court (+175%) and from 322 to 500 days in the JP court (+55%). In 2022-23, Sheriff solemn journey times increased by 403 days to 752 days (+115%), Sheriff summary times increased by 17 days to 308 days (+6%) and JP court times increased by 30 days to 530 days (+6%).

Offence to registration times in Sheriff courts increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: by 20% in Sheriff solemn court and by 343% in Sheriff summary court. Offence to registration times decreased by 6% in JP court. Registration to verdict times increased in all court types: by 78% in Sheriff solemn court, and by 156% in Sheriff summary and by 159% in JP courts.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times increased for cases registered in Sheriff solemn court (+34%), Sheriff summary court (+23%) and JP court (14%). In 2022-23, registration to verdict times increased by 113% in Sheriff solemn court and decreased by 1% in Sheriff summary court and by 16% in JP court.

The number of accused in High court included in this group were too few to allow comparison.

8.5.7. Miscellaneous offences

Journey times for accused in the miscellaneous offences group are shown in figure 14 (and supplementary table 12). Median journey times increased post pandemic in all court types: from 830 to 1,077 days in Sheriff solemn court (+30%), from 270 days to 384 days in Sheriff summary court (+42%) and from 222 days to 388 days in the JP court (+75%). In all court types, these times have further increased in 2022-23: by 151 days to 1,228 days in Sheriff solemn court (+14%), by 27 days to 411 days in Sheriff summary court (+7%) and by 100 days to 488 days in the JP court (+26%).

Comparing 2021-22 to 2019-20, offence to registration times increased in Sheriff solemn court by 13% and by 24% JP court. Offence to registration times decreased by 8% in Sheriff summary court. Registration to verdict times increased by 65% in Sheriff summary court and by 82% in JP Court but remained the same in Sheriff solemn court.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times increased for cases registered in Sheriff solemn court (+8%), Sheriff summary court (+7%) and JP court (6%). In 2022-23, registration to verdict times increased by 188% in Sheriff solemn court, by 28% in Sheriff summary court and by 52% in JP court.

The number of accused in High court included in this group were too few to allow comparison.

8.5.8. Road traffic offences

Journey times for road traffic offences are shown in figure 15 (and supplementary table 13). For this group median journey times increased in 2021-22 when compared to 2019-20: from 200 to 514 days in Sheriff solemn court (+157%), from 139 to 302 days in Sheriff summary court for (+117%) and from 171 to 303 days in JP court (+77%). In 2022-23, journey times for this group decreased by 5% (-25 days) in Sheriff solemn court and by 6% (-18 days) in JP court. However, Sheriff summary journey times increased by 12% (+36 days).

Comparing 2021-22 to 2019-20, offence to registration times increased in all court types: by 119% in Sheriff solemn court, by 197% in Sheriff summary court and by 51% in JP court. Registration to verdict times also increased in all court types: by 165% in Sheriff solemn court, by 111% in Sheriff summary court and by 152% in JP Court.

In 2022-23, median offence to registration times decreased for cases registered in Sheriff solemn court (-5%) and JP court (-1%) but increased by 35% in Sheriff summary court. In 2022-23, registration to verdict times increased by 2% in Sheriff solemn court and decreased by 21% in JP court.

The number of accused in High court included in this group were too few to allow comparison.