Vision for Justice in Scotland: measurement framework

Headline Indicators

We have a society in which people feel, and are, safer in their communities and the victims of crime and harm are heard and supported

• Police recorded crime is down 13% since 2013- 14. The total number of crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in 2022-23 was 289,352
• 77% of adults felt very or fairly safe walking alone in their local area after dark in 2019/20 – this is higher for men (90%) than women (65%)
• Around 1 in 8 (11.9%) adults experienced at least one crime in 2019/20
• 54% of adults said the justice system provides victims of crime with the services and support they need in 2019/20

We work together to address the underlying causes of crime and support everyone to live full and healthy lives

• In 2019/20, those from the 15% most deprived areas were 5.3 percentage points more likely to experience any crime than the rest of Scotland
• In 2019/20, 44% of victims reported the offender was under the influence of drink or drugs

We have effective, modern person-centred and trauma-informed approaches to justice in which everyone can have trust, including as victims, those accused of crimes and as individuals in civil disputes

• 55% of adults in Scotland believed the police in their local area were doing an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ job in 2019/20
• 75% of adults were confident that the justice system makes sure everyone has access to the justice system if they need it in 2019/20

We support rehabilitation, use custody only where there is no alternative and work to reduce reoffending and revictimisation

• In Q4 of 2022/23, 15.9% of disposals were community disposals
• In 2021/22, there were 22 young people in young offenders institutes
• On 1 September 2023, the remand population was 2,225 (28% of the total prison population)
• In 2021/22, there were 851 commencements for statutory throughcare cases in the community, and 854 commencements for statutory throughcare in custody
• In 2018/19, 66% of individuals with a current disposal had at least one other disposal in the last three years

We address the on-going impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to renew and transform justice

• In 2022/23 data, from offence to verdict, median high court journey times were 1062 days, Sheriff solemn 524 days, Sheriff summary 312 days and JP/court 303 days
• By August 2023 the number of scheduled trials (as a proxy for the court backlog) had fallen by nearly 16,000 (-15,754 or -36%) since January 2022