Criminal justice social work statistics: 2017-2018

2017-2018 statistics on various areas of criminal justice social work in Scotland.

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6 Statutory/voluntary throughcare

(Tables 1 and 34-35)

6.1 Criminal justice social work departments are expected to provide a throughcare service to all those who are subject to statutory supervision on release from prison. This includes people serving sentences of four years or more (or six months or more for sexual crimes) as well as those subject to an extended sentence or supervised release order. Throughcare begins at the start of the sentence and is implemented through the Scottish Prison Service’s integrated case management process. Voluntary throughcare services are also available to those who are not subject to supervision on release from prison. These services may be requested while in custody or up to 12 months after release.

6.2 Commencements for statutory throughcare in custody have fluctuated around the 1,000 mark over the past seven years, with 1,040 cases in 2017-18 (Table 1). Forty-four per cent involved determinate sentences of four years or more in 2017-18, while supervised release orders and short-term sex offenders accounted for 25 and 14 per cent respectively (Table 34).

6.3 The number of commencements for statutory throughcare cases in the community have also hovered around the 1,000 mark in the last seven years, with 1,010 cases in 2017-18 (Table 1). Twenty-five per cent of all cases commenced in 2017-18 related to supervised release orders, while non-parole licences and extended sentences accounted for 21 and 17 per cent respectively (Table 35).

6.4 The statutory custody- and community-based throughcare caseload totalled 5,800 individuals on 31 March 2018 (Tables 1, 34 and 35). Numbers have been relatively stable over the last three years. The custody-based caseload is 58 per cent of the total.

6.5 After fluctuating between 900 and 1,000 between 2011-12 and 2015-16, the number of completions of statutory throughcare cases in the community rose to 1,100 in 2016-17 and maintained that level with 1,120 cases in 2017-18 (Tables 1 and 35).

6.6 The number of voluntary throughcare cases in 2017-18 was 2,100. This fell for the third year in a row and represented a drop of 22 per cent from the historic high of 2014-15 (Table 1).

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