cp(s)a section 306: Costs and Equalities and the Scottish Criminal Justice System 2005/06

3. Sentencing Profile Statistics

Introduction

The tables in this workbook provide profiles of sentencing decisions in the sheriff and district courts in Scotland. The information presented is in addition to the statistics on court proceedings published in "Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts" Statistical Bulletins. Link below:

Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts Bulletins:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubCriminalProceedings

Note that the information provided by sentencing profiles must be interpreted with some caution, since it does not allow for any underlying differences in the workload and case mix dealt with by each court.

The data on which these profiles are based rely on information supplied by the Scottish Criminal Record Office ( SCRO) to the Scottish Government. Although every attempt has been made to ensure that the information is reliable, the data collected are subject to the errors which may arise in any large scale recording system; there are around 150,000 persons proceeded against in courts each year. Particular care should be taken when interpreting information for courts where the total number of cases is small. Any comments on court proceedings information which seems out of line with local knowledge would be most helpful since they may assist in reducing errors in the future. An address has been provided in the Annex.

Table 1 Main Penalties for Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts, 2005/06

Numbers

Type of court	Main disposal
Type of court	Custody	Community Service	Probation	Fine	Other disposals (mainly admonishment)	All disposals
All courts⁽¹⁾	15,967	5,329	9,033	79,458	18,655	128,442
High Court	702	27	52	11	58	850
Sheriff Court
Solemn	2,099	369	428	173	259	3,328
Summary	12,298	4,808	8,302	39,626	13,649	78,683
Stipendiary Magistrates Court	661	85	87	4,713	790	6,336
Lay District Court	207	40	164	34,933	3,899	39,243

(1) Includes court type unknown.

Percentages

Type of court	Main disposal
Type of court	Custody	Community Service	Probation	Fine	Other disposals (mainly admonishment)	All disposals
All courts⁽¹⁾	12	4	7	62	15	*100*
High Court	83	3	6	1	7	*100*
Sheriff Court
Solemn	63	11	13	5	8	*100*
Summary	16	6	11	50	17	*100*
Stipendiary Magistrates Court	10	1	1	74	12	*100*
Lay District Court	1	*	*	89	10	*100*

(1) Includes court type unknown.

Table 2 Distribution of Main Penalties for Persons with a Charge Proved, 2005/06

Numbers

		High Court	Sheriff Court		Stipendiary Magistrates Court	Lay District Court	All Courts⁽¹⁾
		Type of court
		High Court	Solemn	Summary	Stipendiary Magistrates Court	Lay District Court	All Courts⁽¹⁾
Fine	Up to and including £50	1	1	866	29	5,464	6,361
	Over £50 and up to and including £200	1	26	17,402	2,170	26,150	45,751
	Over £200 and up to and including £500	5	72	18,323	2,270	3,217	23,887
	Over £500 and up to and including £2,500	2	64	2,955	242	102	3,365
	Over £2,500	2	10	80	2	-	94
	Total Fined ⁽²⁾	11	173	39,626	4,713	34,933	79,458
Custody	Up to and including 60 days	1	11	3,034	251	206	3,503
	Over 60 days and up to and including 3 months	3	43	5,347	186	-	5,579
	Over 3 months and up to and including 1 year	29	1,082	3,909	224	1	5,245
	Over 1 year	619	962	7	-	-	1,588
	Life	49	-	-	-	-	49
	Total given Custody ⁽³⁾	702	2,099	12,298	661	207	15,967

(1) Includes court type not known.
(2) Includes fine amount unknown.
(3) Includes sentence length not known.

Percentages

		High Court	Sheriff Court		Stipendiary Magistrates Court	Lay District Court	All Courts⁽¹⁾
		Type of court
		High Court	Solemn	Summary	Stipendiary Magistrates Court	Lay District Court	All Courts⁽¹⁾
Fine	Up to and including £50	9	1	2	1	16	8
	Over £50 and up to and including £200	9	15	44	46	75	58
	Over £200 and up to and including £500	45	42	46	48	9	30
	Over £500 and up to and including £2,500	18	37	7	5	*	4
	Over £2,500	18	6	*	*	-	*
	Total Fined ⁽²⁾	100	100	100	100	100	*100*
Custody	Up to and including 60 days	*	1	25	38	100	22
	Over 60 days and up to and including 3 months	*	2	43	28	-	35
	Over 3 months and up to and including 1 year	4	52	32	34	*	33
	Over 1 year	88	46	*	-	-	10
	Life	7	-	-	-	-	*
	Total given Custody ⁽³⁾	100	100	100	100	100	*100*

(1) Includes court type not known.
(2) Includes fine amount unknown.
(3) Includes sentence length not known.

Table 3 Sentencing in Sheriff Solemn Courts, 2005/06

Main Crime/Offence	Per cent custody	Per cent community service	Per cent probation	Per cent fined	Per cent other	Persons with charge proved (=100%)	Average length of custody⁽¹⁾ (months)
Robbery	80	3	10	2	5	204	21
Violence (excluding robbery)	53	22	14	6	5	791	20
Crimes of indecency	62	1	30	4	3	142	23
Housebreaking	85	3	3	1	8	226	16
Theft of a motor vehicle	56	12	12	-	20	25	11
Other theft ⁽²⁾	77	8	7	1	6	146	12
Fraud	62	21	9	6	2	66	15
Other crimes of dishonesty	66	6	11	6	13	55	14
Criminal damage	46	12	29	2	10	82	16
Handling an offensive weapon	89	4	4	-	2	47	10
Drugs offences	66	10	13	4	7	400	21
Crimes against public justice	52	11	12	8	17	97	12
Common assault	47	16	17	11	9	359	14
Other crimes and offences	68	5	11	6	11	688	11
All Crimes and Offences	63	11	13	5	8	3,328	16

(1) Average of total sentence length imposed for all charges proved - see A.3 of Annex.
(2) Includes opening lockfast places and shoplifting.

Table 4 Sentencing in Sheriff Summary Courts, 2005/06

Main Crime/Offence	Per cent custody	Per cent community service	Per cent probation	Per cent fined	Per cent other	Persons with charge proved (=100%)	Average fine⁽¹⁾ (£)	Average length of custody⁽²⁾ (days)
Violence/indecency	19	15	27	21	18	999	382	103
Housebreaking	39	9	19	13	20	1,749	244	114
Theft	35	6	18	20	22	8,738	216	93
Other dishonesty	20	14	11	33	22	2,052	294	89
Criminal damage	14	9	15	38	24	2,554	238	77
Handling an offensive weapon	27	16	13	30	14	2,993	279	107
Drugs offences	10	7	9	58	16	4,533	211	117
Other crimes	24	5	15	29	28	5,172	208	64
Common assault	13	9	14	45	20	11,351	292	102
Breach of the peace	13	3	10	50	23	11,034	217	70
Other miscellaneous offences	25	9	11	27	28	5,910	822	78
Dangerous/careless driving	2	2	3	89	4	3,226	318	107
Drunk driving	2	3	4	91	1	6,965	402	107
Speeding	-	-	-	99	1	1,686	264	-
Unlawful use of vehicle	7	4	3	76	9	7,975	262	110
Other motor vehicle offences	*	*	*	91	8	1,746	301	91
All crimes and offences	16	6	11	50	17	78,683	304	90

(1) Average of total fines imposed for all charges proved - see A.3 of Annex.
(2) Average of total sentence length imposed for all charges proved.

Table 5 Sentencing in Stipendiary Magistrates Court, 2005/06

Main Crime/Offence	Per cent custody	Per cent community service	Per cent probation	Per cent fined	Per cent admonished	Per cent other	Persons with charge proved (=100%)	Average fine⁽¹⁾(£)	Average length of custody⁽²⁾ (days
Violence/indecency	5	-	7	49	40	-	43	127	76
Housebreaking	22	-	-	67	11	-	9	296	60
Theft	39	2	4	38	17	1	899	231	103
Other dishonesty	23	2	4	58	13	1	113	222	74
Criminal damage	11	2	1	70	12	4	84	227	70
Handling offensive weapons	6	3	2	68	21	1	300	229	72
Drugs offences	2	2	-	78	18	-	106	132	144
Other crimes	8	2	5	70	15	-	133	200	44
Simple assault	13	2	3	72	11	1	555	263	85
Breach of the peace	16	*	1	65	17	1	683	193	65
Other miscellaneous offences	8	8	1	58	18	7	74	175	62
Dangerous/careless driving	1	*	*	94	4	*	249	265	76
Speeding	-	-	-	99	1	-	206	222	-
Unlawful use of vehicle	2	2	*	84	12	*	1,888	237	104
Other motor vehicle offences	1	*	*	95	3	*	994	372	75
All crimes and offences	10	1	1	74	12	1	6,336	258	90

(1) Average of total fines imposed for all charges proved - see A.3 of Annex.
(2) Average of total sentence length imposed for all charges proved.

Table 6 Sentencing in Lay District Courts, 2005/06

Main Crime/Offence	Per cent custody	Per cent probation	Per cent fined	Per cent admonished	Per cent other	Persons with charge proved (=100%)	Average fine⁽¹⁾ (£)
Theft	3	2	70	21	3	3,093	105
Other dishonesty	1	*	85	10	4	303	122
Criminal damage	*	1	73	11	16	2,066	109
Handling an offensive weapon	-	4	63	33	-	51	227
Drugs offences	*	*	93	7	-	2,017	96
Other crimes	1	4	64	30	1	527	122
Common assault	1	1	77	20	1	1,647	150
Breach of the peace	1	1	78	19	1	4,534	114
Drunkenness	1	1	80	17	*	208	80
Wireless Telegraphy Act	-	-	81	19	-	72	54
Other miscellaneous offences	*	*	88	9	3	5,480	70
Vehicle excise licence offences	*	-	92	2	6	1,507	84
Speeding	-	-	100	*	-	10,219	132
Unlawful use of vehicle	-	*	96	3	*	2,808	221
Other motor vehicle offences	*	*	98	2	*	4,711	99
All crimes and offences	1	*	89	8	2	39,243	118

(1) Average of total fines imposed for all charges proved - see A.3 of Annex.

Annex: Notes on Statistics Used

Interpretation of Tables and Charts

A1 Persons are counted once for each occasion on which they are proceeded against and which result in a charge being proved against them. If a number of different proceedings against an individual are concluded on the same date, each will be counted separately in the statistics. If a person has a charge proved for more than one crime or offence, only the main charge - the one receiving the severest penalty - is counted. If more than one charge receives the same penalty then the main charge is the one judged by the police to be the most serious. The term "person" as used here includes companies.

A2 Some percentages are based on very small numbers. Fifty per cent where the total number of cases is 2 is a much less robust figure than 50 per cent where the number of cases is 500, so caution should be exercised in comparing percentages. In the case of the charts which are all based on percentages, courts in which 20 or fewer persons have had a charge proved for the relevant offence have not been included. Where appropriate, numbers as well as percentages are given to assist interpretation. Note that percentages may not always sum to 100 due to independent rounding.

A3 Average fines and sentence lengths are based on mean values. If a few cases have high values, in particular where persons or companies are fined for certain statutory offences, then these cases will increase the average for all cases. This can have a disproportionate affect on the averages of courts with a relatively small total number of cases.

A4 The court sentencing statistics included in this publication reflect the details of court proceedings as recorded on the Scottish Criminal Record Office ( SCRO), and as known to the Scottish Government, at 7 March 2007.

Distinction Between Cases for Different Types of Court

A5 Following the introduction of computerisation of case recording to the sheriff courts, some police forces have reported difficulties in distinguishing sheriff solemn from sheriff summary cases.Where possible the Scottish Government has identified those cases where the court type is incorrect and appropriate changes have been made. It remains possible however that some cases have been allocated incorrectly by court type. From 2002/03, stipendiary magistrates and lay district court cases were generally no longer separately identifiable in the data received from SCRO. However, 2004/05 and 2005/06 figures contain a split between Stipendiary and Lay District Courts, estimated using separate management information data.

A6 Since the last edition in this series was published, ongoing data quality checks have resulted in some minor amendments to the data held for years prior to 2005/06. The figures shown for these years may therefore differ slightly from those published previously.

Crime Categories used in Sentencing Profiles

Solemn Proceedings

Robbery
Robbery and assault with intent to rob.

Violence excluding robbery
Includes homicide (including causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs), attempted murder, serious assault and cruel and unnatural treatment of children.

Crimes of indecency
Includes sexual assault, lewd and libidinous practices, indecent exposure and offences related to prostitution.

Housebreaking
Includes housebreaking and attempted housebreaking.

Theft of motor vehicle
Includes theft of a motor vehicle and offences under section 178 of the Road Traffic Act.

Other theft
Theft excluding theft of a motor vehicle.

Fraud
Fraud including statutory fraud offences.

Other dishonesty
Includes forgery, corruption, bankruptcy offences and reset.

Criminal damage
Includes fire-raising, malicious mischief, vandalism and reckless conduct with firearms.

Handling an offensive weapon
Includes possession of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

Drugs offences
Includes supply and possession of drugs.

Crimes against public justice
Includes perverting the course of justice, breach of bail conditions, failure to appear at court and contempt of court.

Common assault
Includes common assault and resisting arrest.

Other crimes and offences
Includes breach of the peace, miscellaneous statutory offences and motor vehicle offences.

Summary Proceedings

Violence and indecency
Includes serious assault, robbery, cruel and unnatural treatment of children, sexual assault, lewd and libidinous practices, indecent exposure and offences related to prostitution.

Housebreaking
Includes housebreaking and attempted housebreaking.

Theft
Includes theft by opening lockfast places, theft of a motor vehicle, shoplifting and other theft.

Other dishonesty
Includes fraud, forgery, reset and other crimes of dishonesty.

Criminal damage
Includes fire-raising, malicious mischief, vandalism and reckless conduct with firearms.

Handling an offensive weapon
Includes possession of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

Drugs offences
Includes supply and possession of drugs.

Other crimes
Includes crimes against public justice.

Common assault
Includes common assault and resisting arrest.

Breach of the peace
Includes breach of the peace and offensive phone calls.

Drunkenness
Includes drunk and incapable, drunk in charge of child etc.

Wireless and Telegraphy Act
Offences under Wireless and Telegraphy Act 1949, mainly failure to pay television licence.

Other miscellaneous offences
Various statutory offences for example animal, pollution, health and safety, licensing and local government offences and breaches of probation or community service order.

Dangerous and careless driving
Road Traffic Act 1988, Sections 2 and 3.

Drunk driving
Road Traffic Act 1988, Sections 4-7, includes driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Vehicle excise license offences
Mainly failure to pay/display vehicle excise licence.

Speeding
Includes speeding, motorway and clearway offences.

Unlawful use of vehicle
Driving while disqualified or without appropriate licence, insurance or test certificate.

Other motor vehicle offences
Includes traffic direction, seat belt, lighting and construction and use offences.

Key to tables:

-	=	0
*	=	Less than 0.5

If you have any comments or queries on the sentencing information, please contact Howard Hooper, Justice Analytical Services, The Scottish Government, GWR, St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG.
(email: howard.hooper@scotland.gsi.gov.uk)

Other Crime and Justice Statistical publications can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Publications.

The Court Affairs and Offenders Analytical Team provides research, statistical, and economic based information, advice, intelligence and commentary to a range of policy-makers and practitioners. Relevant publications include:

Evaluation of the 218 Centre (28/04/2006)

Criminal Proceedings In Scottish Courts, 2004/05 (27/04/2006)

The Operation and Effectiveness of the Scottish Drug Court - Research Findings (30/03/2006)

The Operation and Effectiveness of the Scottish Drug Court Pilots (30/03/2006)

Fire Statistics Scotland, 2004 (16/02/2006)

Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics, 2004-05 (31/01/2006)

Homicide in Scotland, 2004/05 (14/12/2005)

Use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders in Scotland: Report of the 2004/05 Survey (02/12/2005)

Criminal Appeal Statistics, Scotland, 2004/05 (30/11/2005)

Recorded Crimes and Offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 2004/05 (25/10/2005)

Recorded Crime In Scotland, 2004/05 (25/11/2005)

Domestic Abuse Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 1 January - 31 December 2004 (26/09/2005)

The Law of Evidence in Sexual Offence Trials: Base Line Study (23/09/2005)

Prison Statistics Scotland, 2004/05 (26/08/2005)

Information on Victims and Witnesses in the Scottish Justice System (29/07/2005)

Information on Victims and Witnesses in the Scottish Justice System - Research Findings (29/07/2005)

Reconvictions Of Offenders Discharged From Custody Or Given Non-Custodial Sentences In 1999, Scotland (22/06/2005)

Evaluation of the Hamilton Youth Court Pilot 2003-2005 (15/06/2005)

Evaluation of the Hamilton Youth Court Pilot 2003-2005 - Research Findings (15/06/2005)

Scottish Court Service User Satisfaction Survey 2004 Final Report (17/02/2005)

These publications, and summaries of research findings, can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk.

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