Criminal proceedings in Scotland: 2018-2019

Statistics are presented on criminal proceedings concluded in Scottish courts and on a range of measures available as alternatives to prosecution, which are issued by the police and by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

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Footnotes

1. In a sheriff solemn court, the jury determines whether an accused is guilty or not and the sheriff determines sentence. In a sheriff summary court, the sheriff determines both whether an accused is guilty or not and, if guilty, the sentence.

2. The court can sentence up to an additional six months where there is a bail aggravation on the charge, and Sheriff Court fines can be higher than £10,000 where there is legislative provision for this in relation to a specific offence.

3. Includes "taking, distribution, possession etc of indecent photos of children", public indecency, sexual exposure, communicating indecently and intercourse with older child. See annex D for more detail.

4. https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-sexual-crimes-2013-14-2016-17/

5. Murder carries a mandatory life sentence upon conviction. Although an Order for Lifelong Restriction is a sentence that lasts for the rest of a person's life, it is not treated as a life sentence for the purpose of these statistics.

6. The median value is the midpoint of a ranked series of data so that very high or very low values do not impact excessively on the calculated average.

7. Year-on-year comparisons for fines and compensation orders are in cash terms, and have therefore not been adjusted for inflation.

8. http://www.scra.gov.uk/resources_articles_category/official-statistics/

Contact

Email: peter.malek@gov.scot

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