Criminal cases halved in COVID year 1: official figures

Criminal cases in the Scottish courts fell by almost half in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, official figures have confirmed today.

National Statistics published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician show that the total number of people proceeded against in Scottish courts fell by 46% to 46,497 in 2020-21. The number of people convicted fell at a similar rate, down 44% to 42,532. The overall conviction rate rose from 88% to 91%.

These figures cover the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of this on the justice system. It is stated that while it is not yet possible to isolate the impact of the pandemic on the data, it is reasonable to conclude that the latest data are predominantly a reflection of its impact across the justice system, and should not be interpreted as indicative of longer-term trends.

Not all court types were affected equally, which is likely to have had a significant impact on the mix of cases able to proceed in court and associated sentencing outcomes. Convictions fell the most for motor vehicle offences (down 58%) and crimes of dishonesty (down 44%).

The most notable exception was an 81% increase in convictions for crimes under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, from 212 convictions in 2019-20 to 383 in 2020-21, albeit the extension of the offence to cover a course of conduct was only introduced in April 2019 and so to some extent an increase would be expected after the first year. The number of convictions of crimes with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation decreased by 20%, down to 6,513 convictions from 8,176 in 2019-20.

A total of 39 people were proceeded against in court for offences relating to coronavirus restrictions in 2020-21, with 36 of these resulting in a conviction. 

Convictions resulting in a custodial sentence decreased by 35% (from 11,122 in 2019-20 to 7,224 in 2020-21). Custodial sentences represented 17% of sentences imposed for all convictions in 2020-21. The average length of custodial sentence for all crimes, excluding life sentences, was 329 days, 8% shorter than the 356 days in 2019-20.

Non-court disposals fell to a lesser extent. Police disposals were down 12% over the year to 30,555, 69% of these being recorded police warnings, mostly issued for drugs offences, breach of the peace and common assault.

The number of COPFS disposals decreased by 7%, driven by a 28% decrease in the number of fiscal fines and a 45% decrease in fiscal combined fines and compensation, but partly counteracted by a 36% increase in the number of fiscal fixed penalties and 23% increase in fiscal warnings.

Previously published figures disclosed that the total number of crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in 2020-21 was virtually unchanged on the previous year, while offences (of which the number recorded depends more on police activity) declined by just 4%.