Statistical Bulletin Crime and Justice Series: Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2006/07

4 Commentary: Persons Proceeded Against (Tables 1 and 2)

(Unless otherwise stated, references in this bulletin to the type of crime or offence for which a person is proceeded against or convicted relate to the main charge involved. For the definition of main charge, see Annexe C. The final column of Table 4a provides counts of individual offences with a charge proved regardless of whether or not they were the main offence involved. More detailed information on individual motor vehicle offences with a charge proved is also included in Section 10.)

4.1 In 2006/07, the total number of persons proceeded against increased by 5 per cent to an estimated 153,900. This figure is 10 per cent below the figure of 170,600 recorded for 1997/98.

4.3 An estimated 90 per cent of persons proceeded against in court in 2006/07 were convicted of at least one charge, a total of 138,800 convictions. Two per cent were acquitted on a "not guilty" verdict, and 1 per cent on a "not proven" verdict. The remaining 7 per cent either had their case deserted by the prosecution or a plea of "not guilty" accepted.

4.4 Acquittal rates vary by type of crime. In 2006/07, seventeen per cent of those proceeded against in court for serious assault or attempted murder, 25 per cent of those proceeded against for indecent assault and 49 per cent of those proceeded against for rape or attempted rape were acquitted following a "not guilty" or "not proven" verdict. Twenty-two per cent of persons proceeded against for theft of a motor vehicle had a plea of not guilty accepted or had the case against them deserted. By contrast, 95 per cent of persons proceeded against in court for motor vehicle offences were convicted in 2006/07, with only 1 per cent acquitted on a "not guilty" verdict and most of the remaining prosecutions either being deserted or having a plea of "not guilty" accepted.

4.5 Of those persons acquitted in 2006/07 after trial, 19 per cent received a "not proven" verdict. This proportion varied by type of crime: for example, it was higher than average for crimes of indecency (36 per cent), fire-raising (27 per cent), serious assault and attempted murder (26 per cent) and robbery (27 per cent); it was lower than average for speeding offences (3 per cent), homicide (7 per cent) and housebreaking (8 per cent).