Coronavirus (COVID-19): Justice Analytical Services Data Report - July 2021
Monthly data report on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the justice system in Scotland, including information from Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, and Scottish Prison Service.
Criminal Registered & Scheduled Trials
Since the initial lockdown in March 2020, there have been 104,953 criminal registrations in the courts. 516 of these registrations have been COVID-19 related (0.5%).
In July 2021, almost all types of court registration remained lower than 2019-20 averages. Solemn sheriff court registrations in July 2021 were 15% higher than the 19-20 average. JP registrations were almost 40% lower than the 19-20 average.
- Indictments registered in the High Court were 22% lower than the 19-20 average.
- Indictments registered in the Sheriff court (solemn cases) were 15% above the 19-20 average.
- Complaints (summary cases) registered in the Sheriff Court were 19% lower than the 19-20 average.
- Complaints registered in the JP court were 39% lower than the 19-20 average.
| Cases Registered | 19-20 monthly average | July 2021 | Change from 19-20 monthly average | Outstanding trials March 2020 | Outstanding trials July 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indictments | |||||
| High Court | 85 | 66 | -19 (-22%) | 390 | 325 |
| Sheriff Court | 454 | 520 | +66 (+15%) | 497 | 1,684 |
| Complaints | |||||
| Sheriff Court | 5,478 | 4,440 | -1,038 (-19%) | 13,971 | 33,602 |
| JP Court | 2,799 | 1,717 | -1,082 (-39%) | 3,497 | 7,730 |
At the end of July 2021 there were 43,341 trials outstanding. This compares to 18,355 at the end of 2019-20. In addition, SCTS have forecast that there are another 5,657 cases in the system which are likely to come to trial but have not yet had a trial date set (see SCTS published monthly criminal statistics for more detail.
Contact
Email: Justice_Analysts@gov.scot
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