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Publication - Statistics

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2023-2024

Published
9 December 2025
Directorate
Safer Communities Directorate, +1 more … Justice Directorate
Topic
Law and order, Public safety and emergencies

Statistics on criminal proceedings in Scottish courts and alternative measures to prosecution, 2014-2015 to 2023-2024.

Part of

Supporting documents

6. Headline in court sentencing

(Tables 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b and 8c)

Sentence types

The main types of penalty given to people convicted in Scottish Courts are: custody, a community sentence or a financial penalty. Sections 7 to 9 provide statistics on these punishments. For less serious cases or where the main punishment types are not suitable, the individual can instead be “admonished” (given a verbal warning from the Sheriff). A full listing of court disposals is outlined in Annex D.

High-level summary

Of the 63,486 people convicted during 2023-24:

  • 16% or 10,094 were issued a main penalty of a custodial sentence
  • 25% or 15,870 were issued a main penalty of a community sentence
  • 40% or 25,082 were issued a financial main penalty
  • 20% or 12,440 were issued a main penalty of an “other sentence”, which were mostly admonishments (Chart 9)

Chart 9. Longer term trends in sentencing show shifts away from financial penalties and towards custody, community and other sentences.

Proportion of sentence types imposed in Scottish criminal courts, 2014-15, 2022-23 and 2023-24.

A clustered bar chart showing the proportion of sentence types imposed in 2014-15, 2022-23 and 2023-24. Custody has risen from 13% in 2014-15 and 2022-23 to 16% in 2023-24. Community sentences have risen from 17% in 2014-15 to 24% in 2022-23 and to 25% in 2023-24. Financial penalties have fallen from 53% in 2014-15, to 45% in 2022-23 and to 40% in 2023-24. “Other” sentences, which are mostly admonishments, have risen from 16% in 2014-15, to 18% in 2022-23 and to 20% in 2023-24.

Year-on-year change

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24 (Chart 9):

  • custodial sentences increased by 1,164 (13%)
  • community sentences decreased by 265 (2%)
  • financial penalties decreased by 5,261 (17%)
  • “other” sentences, which were mostly admonishments, decreased by 118 (1%)

Change over the 10-year span

Between 2014-15 and 2023-24 (Chart 9):

  • custodial sentences decreased by 3,942 (28%)
  • community sentences decreased by 2,710 (15%)
  • financial penalties decreased by 31,697 (56%)
  • “other” sentences, which were mostly admonishments, decreased by 4,737 (28%)

Breakdown by sex

In 2023-24:

  • males made up 83% of all convictions (Chart 10)
  • males made up 92% of all custodial sentences (Chart 10)
  • males made up 85% of all community sentences (Chart 10)

Chart 10. Males make up a larger proportion of custodial and community sentences than they do for sentencing overall.

Total convictions and disposal type in Scottish criminal courts, by sex, 2023-24.

A stacked bar chart showing the proportion of males to females across all convictions and those with a main penalty of: custody, a community sentence, a financial penalty and “other”, which are mostly admonishments. Males made up 83% of all convictions in 2023-24. Males made up 92% of all custodial sentences in 2023-24. Males made up 85% of all community sentences in 2023-24. Males made up 83% of all financial penalty sentences in 2023-24. Males made up 71% of all “other” sentences in 2023-24.

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