Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland: 2023-24 – Part 2

4 Justice social work reports (JSWRs)

(Tables 1 to 4)

Key statistics for 2023-24:

• There were 27,900 JSWRs submitted (including supplementary reports but excluding letters sent instead of reports) in 2023-24. This was five per cent higher than the level of 26,400 in 2022-23 and was around the same level as the years immediately prior to the pandemic.
• Full JSWRs followed a similar pattern, rising by four per cent in the last year to reach around pre-pandemic levels.
• Eighty-five per cent of full JSWRs in 2023-24 were for males.
• Thirty-three per cent of full JSWRs were for people aged 31-40 years old.
• Of those known, 53 per cent were reported as being unemployed.

The justice social work report (JSWR) was introduced as a criminal justice social work report (CJSWR) across Scotland from February 2011. Following the publication of updated national guidance in 2023, this is now known as a justice social work report. The JSWR ensures a consistent provision of information is provided, including the social worker's professional assessment. This report helps to assist in the sentencing process and to complement the range of other considerations, such as victim information and narratives from the Procurator Fiscal. In particular, the JSWR provides information on social work interventions and how these may prevent or reduce further offending. A court must request a JSWR:

- before imposing a custodial sentence for the first time or where a person is under 21

- when imposing a community payback order (CPO) with a supervision requirement or a level 2 (over 100 hours) unpaid work or other activity requirement

- when imposing a drug treatment and testing order

- when the person is already subject to statutory supervision.

The data collated includes full JSWRs and supplementary reports. A supplementary (or abbreviated) report template is used when a full report has been prepared in the recent past, and a briefer update is all that is required by the court. Both report types exclude letters sent in lieu of reports which could not be prepared. To help with reporting the data in this publication, the report types will be known by the statistical categories full JSWRs and supplementary JSWRs respectively.

The total number of JSWRs submitted (including supplementary JSWRs) fell to 16,900 in 2020-21. Numbers have subsequently risen in each of the next three years, reaching 27,900 in 2023-24. This is around pre-pandemic levels, where the average was around 28,200 across the three years 2017-18 to 2019-20.

The number of full JSWRs also fell sharply between 2019-20 and 2020-21. Numbers then rose in both 2021-22 and 2022-23, before rising further, by four per cent to 25,500 in 2023-24.

The proportion of JSWRs that were supplementary in 2023-24 was eight per cent, the second lowest proportion in the last ten years.

Number of JSWRs submitted, Scotland, 2014-15 to 2023-24

Almost three-quarters of local authority areas showed an increase in JSWRs submitted between 2022-23 and 2023-24. Further information is in the additional datasets which are published alongside this publication.

4.1 Preferred sentencing options and outcomes for justice social work reports

(Tables 3 & 4)

Key statistics for 2023-24:

• A community payback order (CPO) was recommended as a sentence in 44 per cent of full JSWRs. It turned out to be the main outcome for 42 per cent of reports.
• Custody was recommended in seven per cent of full JSWRs but was the main outcome for 14 per cent of reports.

The justice social work report writer provides a professional assessment on the suitability of available sentencing options. This assessment should highlight the individual's attitude to offending and motivation to change, as well as any risks and identified needs. It should also attempt to maximise the opportunity for the individual to change their behaviour and desist from offending. While the decision on sentencing is for the court to take, the expectation is that the professional analysis will cover substantive issues such as the need for specialist assessment where there are significant difficulties around substance use or mental health. There is also the expectation that the report will include an assessment of the suitability or otherwise of a CPO. This should include the individual's motivation to successfully complete the order.

The statistics in this section of the report relate to full JSWRs. Information on preferred options and main outcomes are not collected for supplementary JSWRs.

Forty-four per cent of full JSWRs in 2023-24 recommended the use of a CPO as a sentencing option. Nineteen per cent recommended a CPO with supervision but no unpaid work, while 12 per cent recommended unpaid work but no supervision and 13 per cent recommended both unpaid work and supervision. The proportion for unpaid work but no supervision has generally been falling over the last ten years. This reflects the fact that the proportion of CPOs being issued with unpaid work has also been falling over this period.

In addition, 14 per cent of reports recommended either a structured deferred sentence or a deferred sentence of three months or more. A further five per cent suggested a monetary penalty. Custody was the preferred option in seven per cent of reports. Eighteen per cent suggested some other form of sentence (including a restriction of liberty order or deferment for a drug treatment and testing order assessment). Twelve per cent of JSWRs gave no preferred sentencing option.

After the recommendations in JSWRs were considered as part of courts procedures, a CPO was given as the main outcome for 42 per cent of reports in 2023-24. Ten per cent of reports resulted in a CPO with unpaid work but no supervision, and 14 per cent resulted in an order with supervision but no unpaid work. In 18 per cent of cases, the main outcome was a CPO with both supervision and unpaid work.

Custody was the main outcome for 14 per cent of reports in 2023-24. The largest other main outcome categories in 2023-24 were a deferred sentence, a monetary penalty and a restriction of liberty order (11, six and six per cent of the total respectively).