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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

1. Trends in people proceeded against and convicted

(Tables 1, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 5c, 6a, 6b and 6c)

Main charge definition

Unless otherwise stated, references in this bulletin to the crime or offence group for which a person is proceeded against or convicted relate to the main charge involved. If there are multiple charges libelled on a Complaint or Indictment and thereafter proven against an accused in a single proceeding, the main charge is the crime or offence receiving the most severe penalty (as defined in Annex C). The final column of Table 4b provides counts of individual crimes or offences with a charge proven regardless of whether it was the main crime or offence involved. Please note that where an accused is subject to multiple separate proceedings, that accused is counted multiple times in the figures presented in this bulletin.

Year-on-year change

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24:

  • the number of people proceeded against in Scottish courts decreased 7%, from 79,104 to 73,224
  • the number of people convicted in Scottish courts decreased 7%, from 67,966 to 63,486

Change over the 10-year span

Between 2014-15 and 2023-24:

  • the number of people proceeded against in Scottish courts fell by 41% from 123,307 to 73,224 (Chart 2)
  • there was a fall of 40% in the number of people convicted, from 106,572 to 63,486 (Chart 2)

Chart 2. Proceedings and convictions have declined over the long term.

People proceeded against and convicted in Scottish courts, 2014-15 to 2023-24.

A line chart time on the x-axis (the 10 financial years from 2014-15 to 2023-24) and number of people on the y-axis (running from 0 to 140,000). Two lines show people proceeded against and people with a conviction. Both lines show a general downwards trend over the 10-year span, with a dip in 2020-21 reflecting the court closures of the pandemic. People proceeded against begins at over 120,000 in 2014-15 and falls to below 80,000 in 2023-24. People with a conviction begins above 100,000 in 2014-15 and falls to over 60,000 by 2023-24. Both people proceeded against and people with a conviction show a decrease since 2022-23 after two successive rises following the 2020-21 pandemic low. In addition, both people proceeded against and people with a conviction remain below pre-pandemic (2019-20) values.

Breakdown by offence type

Between 2014-15 and 2023-24:

  • the largest absolute falls in prosecutions were for Road traffic offences (down 23,137), Antisocial offences (7,981) and Crimes of dishonesty (7,443)
  • the largest absolute falls in convictions were for Road traffic offences (down 21,818), Crimes of dishonesty (6,693) and Antisocial offences (6,146)
  • prosecutions for Sexual crimes rose by 448 or 26%, and convictions rose 371 or 31%

Breakdown by age and sex

In 2023-24:

  • males accounted for 83% of all convictions, within the 82% to 83% range seen across the 10-year span (Chart 3)
  • more males than females were convicted in each crime category
  • people aged 31 to 40 had the highest number of convictions per 1,000 population (28) compared with 2014-15 where people aged 21 to 30 were highest (51)

Chart 3. The longer-term decline in per capita convictions is driven by a fall in males.

Convictions per 1,000 population in Scottish criminal courts, by sex, 2014-15 to 2023-24.

A line chart showing time on the x-axis (the 10 financial years from 2014-15 to 2023-24) and convictions per 1,000 population on the y-axis (running from 0 to 45). Three lines show the values for all convictions, males and females. All convictions begins between 20 and 25 in 2014-15 and falls to between 10 and 15 in 2023-24. The line for males is consistently higher than for all individuals. It begins between 35 and 40 in 2014-15 before falling to 20 to 25 in 2023-24. The line for females is consistently lower than all individuals. It begins between 5 and 10 in 2014-15 and falls to between 0 and 5 in 2023-24. All three lines show a clear dip in 2020-21 to a 10-year low, rise in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before falling again in 2023-24.

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