Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland: 2023-24 – Part 1

Annex B Definitions

The following section provides a brief description of the main types of justice social work activity encompassed within this report. More information on the operation of the justice system is in the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland publications. Details on court services is in commensurate justice social work practice guidance.

Diversion from prosecution is one of several alternatives to prosecution available to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) upon receipt of a report of alleged offending from the police. Diversion is the process by which COPFS refers an accused person to local authority justice social work (or a partner agency) for support, treatment or other action as a means of addressing the underlying causes of the alleged offending and preventing further offending. Diversion from prosecution will be considered in any case where:

• The person reported to COPFS has an identifiable need that has contributed to the offending, and
• It is assessed that there is a sufficiency of evidence that diversion is the most appropriate outcome in the public interest.

Local authority justice social work assess people for suitability for bail supervision and electronic monitoring. This is often based on case marking information provided by COPFS (e.g. where cases are marked as ‘bail opposed’). Bail supervision is a social work or third sector service that supports people to comply with the conditions of their bail. Updated national bail supervision guidance was published in May 2022.

Orders for electronic monitoring were introduced under the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019. An electronic monitoring order can be issued by courts as part of a bail order. It can be imposed as a standalone order, or alongside, and run in parallel with, bail supervision. The electronic monitoring order is an option where a specific condition may need to be in place (e.g. a curfew period or a condition to stay away from a specific location such as a witness' address).

A court may ask for a same day oral or written report from a court-based worker during the court proceedings and adjourn a case until later in the day for this to be completed. A same day report will be a brief report and not a full justice social work report. Same day reports tend to deal with issues specific to the case to inform decision-making. The information may be relevant to decisions about bail or custodial remand, the need for a full report or the need to defer a case to a future date and final sentence.

Court-based services data is available in Table 1 that accompanies this publication. Data for justice social work reports (previously known as criminal justice social work reports) will be in Part 2 of justice social work statistics, due for publication in the first quarter of 2025. Collectively, court based services and social work reports cover:

• oral/written reports and information at the court’s request on specific matters. These inform the sentencing process or the decision to remand to custody rather than grant bail
• supporting people with mental health difficulties to get the help they need. In particular, justice social work can request that a court asks for a mental health assessment and can work collaboratively with COPFS to look at alternative disposals
• interviewing individuals immediately after the court has passed a disposal involving justice social work. Such interviews further explain the decision of the court and what this means for individuals. They also establish if there are any pressing issues which need dealt with immediately, and they inform individuals about the availability of relevant social work or other services
• forwarding relevant information to prisons in the event of a custodial sentence. This would include details on people who may pose a risk of harm to themselves and/or others
• representing the local authority justice social work service in the court setting (including, where appropriate, court users' groups) and liaising with other professional groups.

Fiscal work orders allow fiscals to offer unpaid work orders as an alternative to prosecution, where:

• There is enough evidence to prosecute a summary offence,
• A financial penalty or other direct measure is not deemed appropriate.

These orders were introduced nationally on 1 April 2015. They can be for a minimum of ten and a maximum of 50 hours and should be completed within six months.

Structured deferred sentences (SDS) offer courts the option to provide a short period of intensive supervision to individuals post-conviction but before final sentencing. They are designed to help individuals address their underlying issues, improve their employment prospects and build a sense of routine and self-esteem, allowing them to move away from offending. SDS are not a statutory order. Local authorities may utilise it as part of an early intervention approach, as an alternative or precursor to a community sentence or as an alternative to a short period of custody, depending on the needs of the local area. The Scottish Government published National guidance on structured deferred sentences in Scotland in February 2021.

Throughcare is the provision of a range of social work and associated services to people serving a prison sentence and their families. These services are available from the point of sentence or remand, during the period of imprisonment and following release into the community. People serving more than four years are released under statutory supervision. Those serving less than four years who are short-term sex offenders under Section 15 of the Management of Offenders Etc. (Scotland) Act 2005, or who are subject to an extended sentence or supervised release order, are also supervised on release. The aim of throughcare services is public protection, as well as assisting individuals to prepare for release and supporting community reintegration and rehabilitation.

Voluntary throughcare is available to those who are not subject to statutory throughcare, but who request support from local authorities while in custody or within 12 months of release.

Home leave is a fundamental part of progression and refers to a period of temporary release from custody where an individual visits an approved place, for example the home of a family member or friend. While this period can be up to a maximum of seven nights every four weeks, this maximum period would normally only be available to long sentence prisoners who had previously successfully completed day releases and shorter home leave periods, and who were being given this in the build-up to release.

For individuals who will be subject to statutory supervision post release, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) request a written home leave report from local authority justice social work. This report should contain:

• Information about the proposed accommodation where the individual would be staying.
• Information about those living at that address.
• Any available information about the attitudes of the victim(s) and wider community.
• Information from departmental records and the Integrated Case Management (ICM) process.
• An assessment of the risks (of reoffending and serious harm) that the individual could pose if released temporarily on leave.
• A recommendation as to what licence conditions would be appropriate to manage any assessed risk.

The final decision surrounding home leave is with SPS and facilitated through the Risk Management Team (RMT). When an individual is on home leave, they should be seen by their community-based social worker as a matter of course.

Parole/non-parole reports are produced for prisoners whose release is impending. These reports are produced by a supervising community-based social worker who arranges a visit to a prisoner’s family home and to the prisoner themselves to elicit the required information for the report. The report should describe:

• The social and family context to which the prisoner intends to return.
• The extent to which this is likely to be supportive or otherwise.
• The level and nature of supervision and support that will be provided to the prisoner and their family on their release.
• Details of any resources or programmes which may be offered to assist successful social inclusion and reduce the risk of re-offending and of causing harm.

This report by the community-based social worker is in addition to an assessment report produced by a prison-based social worker. From late 2022, a new report is being phased in called a Throughcare Assessment for Release on Licence (TARL) report. This is a unified submission that does away with the need to have separate reports from prison and community-based social workers. In both 2022-23 and 2023-24, local authorities were asked to provide details of how many of their parole/non-parole reports were TARLs. In 2023-24, just over half of total parole/non-parole reports were TARLs.

Home Detention Curfew (HDC) is provided for under Section 3AA of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended by the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019. HDC operates differently for those with different sentence lengths.

HDC allows statutorily eligible individuals to serve part of their prison sentence in the community, up to a maximum of 180 days. Those released on HDC are electronically monitored and remain under strict licence conditions for the duration of their release. The main aim of HDC is to provide those leaving prison with a managed return to their communities, whilst subject to a curfew (which can be electronically monitored) and licence conditions. This can aid re-integration and help reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

Generally, HDC is utilised more often for those serving short-term sentences (less than four years). In cases where someone is serving a determinate long-term prison sentence (four years or more), the Parole Board for Scotland must first recommend release on parole before the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) can make a decision about release on HDC. If the individual is released, the licence conditions underpinning that release will mirror the conditions set by the Parole Board.

All eligible individuals being considered for release on HDC are individually risk assessed by SPS, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, before they are deemed suitable for release on HDC. If an eligible individual progresses successfully through that assessment, the SPS will then request for local authority justice social work to undertake a community assessment report (CAR).

In a CAR, local authority justice social work will consider the suitability of the planned release address, in terms of:

• Location;
• Accommodation (e.g. electricity supply, size, etc.) both for the purpose of the monitored person’s welfare and for the installation of monitoring equipment;
• Confirmation of the existence of certain communication devices (for electronic monitoring purposes);
• Surrounding area;
• A summary of domestic/family responsibilities (including the composition of any family living there);
• A description of any regular activities that the monitored person needs to take part in;
• Identification of any problematic relationship/victim issues;
• Any potential impact on the household.

Local authority justice social work will also provide SPS decision makers with any relevant information they believe can support the SPS in their HDC decision making process. Once all information has been gathered, SPS will take a decision on whether the individual should be granted HDC release, on the basis of the collective evidence available for each case.

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government, SPS, Risk Management Authority (RMA), Social Work Scotland (SWS) and other key stakeholders have been reviewing the operation of HDC. This is with a view to optimising its use for those who are eligible and assessed as suitable, within the context of the current risk assessment framework, which would remain unchanged. Work on this continues to progress.