Justice Social Work Statistics In Scotland: 2022-23

8 Community payback orders

(Tables 2 & 9 to 18 and Charts 2-7)

There was a rise in the number of community payback orders (CPOs) in the initial years following their introduction on 1^st February 2011. Numbers reached a peak of 19,500 in 2015-16. The total CPOs imposed then fell in the next three years to 16,500 in 2018-19, before a small rise to 16,800 in 2019-20. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting decrease in court business meant numbers fell sharply in 2020-21, to 8,200. Numbers recovered in each of the next two years, reaching 14,700 in 2022-23, still below the level prior to the pandemic.

As expected with the rise in CPOs issued nationally, the number imposed per 10,000 population rose from 32 in 2021-22 to 38 in 2022-23 (Chart 2). Twenty-eight of the 32 Scottish local authorities saw a rise over this period.

In 2022-23, the highest number of CPOs imposed per 10,000 population were for those living in West Dunbartonshire (61), East Ayrshire (58) and Aberdeen City (56). The lowest population rates were for those living in Shetland Islands (12), East Renfrewshire (18) and City of Edinburgh (19). While the rate for City of Edinburgh was much lower than for Scotland as a whole, the city council areas of Aberdeen (56), Glasgow (48) and Dundee (42) were each higher than the national average. More detailed information by local authority area is in the additional datasets which accompany this publication.

Chart 2: The number of CPOs imposed per 10,000 population ranged from 12.2 to 60.5.

CPOs imposed per 10,000 population for Scotland and local authority areas, 2022-23.

Note: Mid-year population estimates for 2021 aged 16 to 70 (mid-year 2022 estimates not available at the time of publication of this data).

Requirements (Tables 10 to 12 and Chart 3-5)

There are now ten potential requirements as part of a CPO at first imposition.

• Unpaid work or other activity
• Offender supervision
• Conduct
• Programme
• Alcohol treatment
• Compensation
• Drug treatment
• Mental health treatment
• Residence
• Restricted movement

Restricted movement requirements became available to issue at first imposition from 17^th May 2022 and have therefore been collected for the first time in year 2022-23. Every order should have either or both an ‘unpaid work or other activity requirement’ or an ‘offender supervision requirement’. In the remainder of this publication, these are generally referred to as unpaid work requirements and supervision requirements respectively.

Chart 3: Change in the prevalence of the two main CPO requirements with a general increase in offender supervision over the ten years.

Percentage of unpaid work or other activity and offender supervision among CPOs imposed in Scotland, 2013-14 to 2022-23

For every year up to 2019-20, unpaid work was the requirement most issued as part of a CPO (Chart 3). The proportion of orders with unpaid work was high in the early years, reaching its highest level of 80 per cent in 2013-14. This then fell slightly in each of the next six years, reaching 70 per cent in 2019-20. It fell sharply to 58 per cent in 2020-21 before increasing to 68 per cent in 2022-23. In 2022-23, it again became the most issued requirement.

The proportion of orders with a supervision requirement rose each year between 2014-15 and 2019-20 reaching 62 per cent (Chart 3). The proportion then rose sharply in 2020-21 to 73 per cent and has since fallen to 71 and 67 per cent in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively.

In the years 2013-14 to 2019-20, around 56 to 58 per cent of supervision requirements were for 12 months or less. This fell to 51 per cent in 2020-21 and 49 per cent in 2021-22 but rose to 53 per cent in 2022-23. The average length of supervision requirements across 2013-14 to 2019-20 was around 15.5 months. It was, however, much higher in 2020-21 (16.6 months) and in 2021-22 (16.9 months), before falling slightly to 16.4 in 2022-23.

Even though the proportion of CPOs imposed with an unpaid work requirement in 2022-23 was the third lowest in ten years, changes in the length of hours have been occurring. The average number of hours given as part of unpaid work requirements rose from 127 hours in 2018-19 to 131 hours in 2022-23. A major driver behind this increase is the fact that the prevalence of level 2 requirements (i.e. those with more than 100 hours) has increased from 52 per cent of all unpaid work requirements in 2018-19 to 57 per cent in 2022-23.

Chart 4: The number of hours of unpaid work or other activity imposed fell sharply at the start of the pandemic and have since recovered to levels slightly lower than pre-pandemic.

Number of hours of unpaid work or other activity requirements issued as part of CPOs imposed, April 2017 to March 2023

Chart 4 shows how the number of hours of unpaid work or other activity imposed by courts varied across the last six years. With the odd exceptions, between 120,000 and 150,000 hours were given out by courts each month between April 2017 and February 2020. After the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, numbers dropped sharply and, although they increased in the rest of 2020, they remained at much lower levels. In early 2021, following the second national lockdown, numbers dropped sharply again, though not as dramatically as with the first lockdown (dotted line on chart 4) Since February 2021, hours imposed has been on a generally upward trend, averaging around 110,000 per month across year 2022-23.

The type of orders issued in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 was influenced by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face delivery of unpaid work had to be suspended for some periods and courts would have been aware of the challenges of delivering unpaid work. Factors relating to the nature of cases which had court hearings during the pandemic, and the circumstances of the individuals involved, may also have been a relevant factor.

After unpaid work and supervision, conduct and programme have been the most issued of the remaining requirements. The proportion of orders with conduct requirements rose each year between 2015-16 and 2021-22, from 6 per cent to 13 per cent but fell slightly to 12 per cent in 2022-23. The proportion of orders with a programme requirement rose from five per cent in 2015-16 to eight per cent in 2021-22, before falling to seven per cent in 2022-23. The falls in the most recent year for these requirements are likely to reflect the drop in the proportion of orders issued with supervision requirements.

Around one per cent of orders in 2022-23 (140) were issued with a restricted movement requirement at first disposal. Chart 5 shows how this was spread relatively evenly across the months after the introduction of this requirement. The high number in March 2023 may reflect the fact that more CPOs as a whole were imposed in that month than in any other month of 2022-23.

The prevalence for the rest of the requirements was slightly lower in 2022-23 than in 2021-22. After rising in each of the previous six years, to 1.61 in 2021-22, the average number of requirements per order in 2022-23 remained around the same (1.60) despite the introduction of the restricted movement requirement.

Chart 5: Relatively steady number of the new restricted movement requirements.

Number of restricted movement requirements issued at first disposal as part of CPOs for Scotland –May 2022 to March 2023

Note: The number for May 2022 included three requirements which were imposed in April 2022.

Characteristics (Table 9)

In 2022-23, people aged 26 to 40 were the most likely, as a proportion of the overall population, to get a CPO. Those aged 26 to 40 accounted for 50 per cent of people getting a CPO but only 29 per cent of the Scottish population aged 16 to 70. On the other hand, those aged over 40 in 2022-23 accounted for 27 per cent of people getting a CPO but 55 per cent of the Scottish population aged 16 to 70.

The average age of people getting a CPO rose every year up to 2021-22, rising from 31.1 years in 2013-14 to 34.6 years in 2021-22. In 2022-23, for the first time, this remained around the same at 34.5 years. In 2022-23, 23 per cent of CPOs were for people aged 25 and under. Those aged over 30 accounted for 60 per cent.

The proportion of CPOs issued to males has remained at 85 or 86 per cent over the last ten years. Where ethnicity was recorded, over the last ten years, 95 to 97 per cent classified themselves as white. In 2022-23, the ethnicity was either not supplied or not known for nine per cent of orders.

When employment status was known, 68 per cent of those receiving orders were either unemployed or economically inactive in 2022-23. A further 30 per cent were in employment or self-employed.

Orders in existence at year end (Table 2 and Chart 6)

The number of CPOs in existence increased by 17 per cent during 2022-23, from 14,600 on 31 March 2022 to 17,100 on 31 March 2023. This was the highest figure since 2016-17 and the third highest over the last ten years. The rise in orders in existence is despite CPOs imposed being lower over recent years due to Covid. The driver behind the rise is the fact that the number of completions/terminations across the year were even lower than the number imposed. This is likely to reflect orders affected by Covid taking longer to finish.

Chart 6 shows how the numbers in existence changed throughout the last five years. Numbers fell during 2018 then rose slightly between the middle of 2019 and the start of the pandemic. They then went down sharply in the period between March and August 2020, reflecting the closure over this period of many courts. Numbers picked up during the rest of 2020 as more cases were processed by the courts.

Chart 6 : The number of CPOs in existence fell to lower levels during the Covid years in 2020 and 2021 but have increased, reaching over 17,000 in March 2023.

Number of CPOs in existence in Scotland, at the end of each month from March 2018 to March 2023

Note: In order to better illustrate changes over the period covered by this graph, the vertical axis does not begin at number zero.

The drop shown in Chart 6 in March 2021 was greatly influenced by The Community Orders (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 coming into force. Under these regulations, the specified hours for existing orders with unpaid work or other activity requirements were reduced by 35 per cent (except for requirements imposed for offences involving domestic abuse, sexual offences or stalking). Since May 2021, the number of CPOs in existence has consistently risen, reaching the highest level in the last five years in March 2023. The larger numbers in existence may also be influenced by the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020, which extended the time limits for the completion of existing unpaid work requirements in CPOs by 12 months, and required that any new requirements imposed during the period in which the legislation was in force had a time limit of at least 12 months. This continued to apply to CPOs with unpaid work requirements issued up to the end of September 2022.

Time taken for orders/unpaid work requirements to complete/terminate (Table 18 & Figure 1)

During 2022-23, a total of 6,000 unpaid work requirements were successfully completed. While this was low compared to an average of around 9,000 requirements in the years 2013-14 to 2019-20, it was higher than in the two pandemic years. This reflects the fact that there were many fewer unpaid work requirements imposed during the pandemic and also the effect which public health measures had on the ability to deliver unpaid work and complete requirements in a timely way. Since the introduction of CPOs, over 10.6 million hours of unpaid work or other activity have been carried out as part of successful unpaid work requirements.

On average, there were 126 hours carried out for each requirement in 2022-23. This was back to around the levels seen in the years 2017-18 to 2020-21. The Community Orders (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, and the resulting reduction in hours was the reason why fewer hours on average were done during 2021-22.

It took just under ten months (296 days) on average to complete an unpaid work requirement in 2022-23. This was shorter than in 2020-21 (403 days) and 2021-22 (365 days) but considerably longer than in the three most recent pre-pandemic years, when the average was around 220 days. The longer periods of recent years was expected given that the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 extended time limits for completion of existing unpaid work requirements in CPOs by 12 months, and required any new requirements made to be given at least 12 months to complete. This came into effect on 7 April 2020 and applied to orders imposed before the end of 30 September 2022. This is shown in Figure 1.

Notes: z = data for a category that does not apply

Calculated as row percentages. The row headings refer to the year imposed while the column headings refer to the year completed/terminated.

Figure 1 illustrates how CPOs are continually being processed by the justice social work system over a period spanning different years. For example, during 2022-23, there were CPOs being processed through the system which were imposed in each of the years 2019-20 to 2022-23. Figure 1 also shows the effect which the Covid pandemic had on how long orders took to finish.

There was a consistent pattern for CPOs imposed in each of the years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 in that generally:

• Just under 30 per cent of CPOs were finished in the same financial year in which they were imposed.
• Around 55 per cent finished in the following year.
• Around 13 to 15 per cent finished in the second year after the imposed year.

The effect of the pandemic and changes in legislation can be seen in the percentage of orders being imposed and finished in the same year. For the last three years this ranged between 9 and 17 per cent, while it was between 26 and 30 per cent for the years 2016-17 to 2019-20.

The percentage of CPOs finishing the next year was around 55 per cent for the years 2016-17 to 2021-22, apart from those imposed in 2019-20 and finishing in 2020-21 which reduced to 42 per cent, during the hight of the pandemic. Even though these percentages were quite stable on the whole, the effect of fewer orders finishing in the year of imposition from 2020-21 onwards, has increased the proportion which finished in the second year after imposition. This was around 25 per cent for orders imposed in 2019-20 and 2020-21, compared to 13 to 15 per cent for those imposed across 2016-17 to 2018-19.

For 2022-23, 17 per cent were completed within the year of imposition and 83 per cent were still being processed in 2023-24.

Timescales for implementation (Tables 13 to 14)

The Scottish Government community payback order practice guidance supports practitioners and managers in the delivery of CPOs. Further details on the guidance are in Annex B.

Across all CPOs where this information was known, first direct contact took place within one working day of imposition for 68 per cent of orders imposed in 2022-23. This was slightly higher than the levels in the pandemic years, but still lower than in the years before then, when it generally fluctuated between 75 to 77 per cent. In addition, in 2022-23, 17 per cent took more than five working days.

In 2022-23, where this information was known, 76 per cent of first induction/case management meetings took place within five working days. This was up on both pandemic years and only slightly lower than the levels pre-pandemic. Equal proportions took six to ten working days and more than ten working days (both 12 per cent) in 2022-23.

Where the timescale was known, 64 per cent of unpaid work placements started within seven working days in 2022-23. This was also up on the levels in the two pandemic years but still lower than the levels between 2013-14 and 2019-20 when it averaged around 70 per cent.

The lower proportions in 2020-21 and 2021-22 for these timescales were likely to have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures to keep people safe.

Terminations (Tables 2 & 15 to 18)

The successful completion rate for CPOs terminated in 2022-23 was 73 per cent, similar to the rates in each of the previous two years. These were higher than the rates in the previous seven years when it averaged around 70 per cent. The Community Orders (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 coming into force is likely to have been a factor in this. The completion rate is calculated by adding together the number of successful completions and early discharges, then dividing this by the total orders terminated less orders which were transferred out of a local authority to a different area.

In 2022-23, among orders terminated which were not transferred out, 14 per cent were revoked following a breach application to the courts. A further eight per cent were revoked following a review.

Seventy-eight per cent of orders which finished during 2022-23 did not involve any breach applications during the duration of the order. For the remainder, there were a total of 3,300 breach applications made. The vast majority of breach applications (79 per cent) were lodged with the court within five working days of the decision to make an application.

For CPOs revoked due to breach, the most likely outcome from courts was a new CPO at 31 per cent. For a further 23 per cent, it was a custodial sentence. A new statistical collection category was created for the 2022-23 collection called “no further action for social work”. This new statistical category was introduced after discussion with local authorities as the previous “other outcome” category covered a high proportion of cases After consultation with local authorities, it was found that, in many cases, the court decision did not have any need for further action for the local authority As this data is collected from justice social work, it was agreed to collect this as an new statistical category instead of the previous “other outcome” category. The category “no further action for social work” covered instances where any further action did not have social work involvement and the local authority were not advised of any further penalty e.g. an admonition or where the case was discharged. These accounted for 20 per cent of orders revoked due to breach.

For orders revoked due to review, 14 per cent resulted in a custodial sentence. Another 21 per cent got a new CPO or a monetary penalty. The largest proportion, 39 per cent, resulted in no further action for social work.