Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 – Reporting Requirement

3. Cases registered with at least one charge, and cases resulting in at least one conviction under section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and with the statutory domestic abuse aggravations and statutory domestic abuse aggravation involving a child

3.1 Cases registered with at least one charge, and cases resulting in at least one conviction under section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018

Sections 14(2)(a) and (c)

Data on the number of cases registered is from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). SCTS uses a live operational case management system for the processing of court business. The information held on the system is structured for these operational needs, rather than for statistical reporting or research purposes. The information provided is based on the best information available from the case management system as at 18/07/2025.

Data on the number of cases resulting in a conviction was extracted from the dataset used to prepare Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard. This dashboard provides management information on cases resulting in a conviction at charge level in Scottish criminal courts. When you are charged with a crime, your case enters the criminal court system. It will remain pending until it reaches a disposal. When your case is disposed, it is finished and removed from the court's scheduled cases. There are many ways to dispose of a case. Common reasons include desertion, a guilty plea, or a finding of guilty or not guilty at trial by either a judge or jury.

The dashboard does not tell you how many convicted people received disposals as each accused person can have multiple charges and each charge is concluded individually at court with a disposal. This means that disposals at charge level can look higher than disposals data at person level. However, from the information present in the dataset it is possible to extract the number of cases with at least one charge under Section 1 of DASA 2018 or cases with at least one charge with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation that finished in a conviction. Table 1 below provides the number of cases registered and resulting in a conviction with at least one domestic abuse charge under Section 1 of DASA 2018, for a crime committed on or after it came into effect on 1 April 2019. It is important to note that data for 2020-21 covers the first full year of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the justice system and subsequent court closures, and 2021-22 was also impacted by COVID and the recovery of the justice system and should not be viewed as indicative of longer term trends. This is further complicated as we know there is historic reporting of DASA charges from the recent journey times in the Scottish Criminal Justice System publication (Journey times in the Scottish Criminal Justice System: 2023-24) which means it will be difficult to know what a normal year looks like under the Act.

In 2021-22 there were 1,361 cases registered and 726 cases resulting in at least one conviction under section 1 of DASA 2018. This was an increase of 14% in cases registered (1,196) and cases resulting in a conviction almost doubled from 367 in 2020-21. Court closures throughout much of 2020-21 resulted in reductions in the number of proceedings and convictions for almost all crime types that year and also in 2021-22 the beginnings of recovery within courts and the wider justice system from the pandemic also impacted these figures and care should therefore be taken in interpreting them.

DASA 2018 was the only crime type to show an increase in the number of proceedings in 2020-21. This may in part reflect efforts by SCTS to prioritise cases involving vulnerable persons throughout the pandemic and is also likely to reflect the fact that the number of cases concluded in 2019-20 was lower than will be the case in future years as it will have taken time for cases to progress to court after the Act came into effect in early 2019-20.

In each year, the majority of cases registered were in sheriff summary proceedings, 95% of all cases registered in 2019-20, 85% in 2020-21 and 79% in 2021-22. sheriff solemn proceedings accounted for 4%, 13% and 16% and the High Court accounted for 1%, 2% and 5% of cases registered in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. No cases were registered in Justice of the Peace courts in any year.

Source: SCTS disposals data (cases registered) and Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (cases resulting in a conviction)

Notes

1. Cases included in the figures contains at least one DASA 2018 charge code at registration.

2. Cases registered in one year may not be disposed of in the same year especially for solemn proceedings.

3. High court and sheriff solemn trial courts were closed for large periods of 2020-21 due to COVID and also during 2020-21 and 2021-22 sheriff summary and justice of the peace courts were closed for significant period of time due to national lockdowns.

Cases registered

4. Charge codes and aggravators can be removed or changed throughout the journey of a case. Therefore, a case classified under DASA 2018 or with a statutory domestic abuse aggravator at registration may not be classified as such at the time of disposal.

Cases resulting in a conviction

5. If a case appears in two different financial years it will be counted only once (in the latest financial year unless that appears with an NHO earlier).

6. Data presented here is based on management information to inform operational delivery and policy development.

Table 1a below provides the number of cases registered with and cases resulting in at least one conviction under section 1 of DASA 2018, for a crime committed on or after it came into effect on 1 April 2019 by sheriffdom.

In each of the three years of the reporting period the sheriffdoms of Grampian, Highlands and Islands and Tayside Central and Fife have the highest number of both cases registered and cases resulting in a conviction with at least one DASA 2018 charge.

Source: SCTS disposals data (cases registered) and Scottish Government Justice

Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (cases resulting in a conviction)

Notes

1. Cases included in the figures contains at least one DASA 2018 charge code at registration.

2. Cases registered in one year may not be disposed of in the same year especially for solemn proceedings.

3. High court and sheriff solemn trial courts were closed for large periods of 2020-21 due to COVID and also during 2020-21 and 2021-22 sheriff summary and justice of the peace courts were closed for significant period of time due to national lockdowns.

Cases registered

4. Charge codes and aggravators can be removed or changed throughout the journey of a case. Therefore, a case classified under DASA 2018 or with a statutory domestic abuse aggravator at registration may not be classifiedas such at the time of disposal.

Cases resulting in a conviction

5. If a case appears in two different financial years it will be counted only once(in the latest financial year unless that appears with an NHO earlier).

6. Data presented here is based on management information to inform operational delivery and policy development

3.2 Cases registered and cases resulting in a conviction for charges with the statutory domestic abuse aggravation

Sections 14(2)(a) and (c)

The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 created a statutory aggravation of domestic abuse, which came into force on 24 April 2017. This particular statutory aggravation is designated by the code “W” and is referred to as the “W aggravation”. An offence is aggravated if in committing the offence the person intends to cause or is reckless about causing their partner or ex-partner to suffer physical or psychological harm. The aggravation can only be applied where there is evidence capable of proving it and evidence from a single source is sufficient to prove that an offence is aggravated. The aggravation requires to be proven in court to apply to a conviction. It is taken into account in sentencing if proven. If the aggravation is not proven in court, it should be removed from the court record.

Table 2 presents the number of cases registered and cases resulting in at least one conviction of a non-DASA offence (under Section 1 of DASA 2018) with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation. Some of these cases could also have a domestic abuse charge under Section 1 of DASA 2018 and therefore may have been counted in Table 1 and Table 1a.

In 2021-22 there were 13,862 cases registered and 8,815 cases resulting in a conviction with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation. This was a decrease of 5% in cases registered (from 14,587) and an increase of 24% (from 7,123) in cases resulting in a conviction from 2020-21. This covers a course of conduct. Court closures throughout much of 2020-21 resulted in reductions in the number of proceedings and convictions for almost all crime types that year and also in 2021-22 the beginnings of recovery within courts and the wider justice system from the pandemic also impacted these figures and care should therefore be taken in interpreting them.

It is possible that following the introduction of the specific domestic abuse offence in 2019-20, some offences which were previously categorised as other offences, for example common assault, with the statutory domestic abuse aggravation applied, may now be recorded as part of the course of conduct falling under the definition of the new domestic abuse offence. Data for future years is required to establish the extent to which this may have occurred.

There was a small proportion of cases (0.8%) that had a W aggravator linked to a charge under section 1 of DASA 2018. As the statutory aggravation of domestic abuse should not be applied to a DASA charge, those cases have been counted only in tables related to cases resulting in at least one conviction under section 1 of DASA 2018 charge.

In each year, the majority of cases registered were in sheriff summary proceedings, 94% of all cases registered in both 2019-20 and 2020-21 and 92% in 2021-22. sheriff solemn proceedings accounted for 4%, 5% and 6% in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively and the High Court accounted for 1% in each of the three years. Less than 0.25% of cases were registered in Justice of the Peace courts in each year.

Source: SCTS disposals data (cases registered) and Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (case resulting in a conviction)

Notes

1. Cases included in the figures contains at least one charge with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation (W aggravator).

2. Cases registered in one year may not be disposed of in the same year especially for solemn proceedings.

3. High court and sheriff solemn trial courts were closed for large periods of 2020-21 due to COVID and also during 2020-21 and 2021-22 sheriff summary and justice of the peace courts were closed for significant period of time due to national lockdowns.

Cases registered

4. Charge codes and aggravators can be removed or changed throughout the journey of a case. Therefore, a case classified under DASA 2018 or with a statutory domestic abuse aggravator at registration may not be classified as such at the time of disposal.

Cases resulting in a conviction

5. If a case appears in two different financial years it will be counted only once (in the latest financial year unless that appears with an NHO earlier).

6. Data presented here is based on management information to inform operational delivery and policy development

Table 2a below provides below provides the number of cases registered and cases resulting in a conviction with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation by sheriffdom.

In each of the three years of the reporting period the sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife has the highest number of cases registered with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation. The second highest number of cases registered is in the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders. South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway and Tayside Central and Fife had the highest number of cases with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation resulting in a conviction.

Source: SCTS disposals data (cases registered) and Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (cases resulting in a conviction)

Notes

1. Cases included in the figures contains at least one charge with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation (W aggravator).

2. Cases registered in one year may not be disposed of in the same year especially for solemn proceedings.

3. High court and sheriff solemn trial courts were closed for large periods of 2020-21 due to COVID and also during 2020-21 and 2021-22 sheriff summary and justice of the peace courts were closed for significant period of time due to national lockdowns.

Cases registered

4. Charge codes and aggravators can be removed or changed throughout the journey of a case. Therefore, a case classified under DASA 2018 or with a statutory domestic abuse aggravator at registration may not be classified as such at the time of disposal.

Cases resulting in a conviction

5. If a case appears in two different financial years it will be counted only once(in the latest financial year unless that appears with an NHO earlier).

6. Data presented here is based on management information to inform operational delivery and policy development

3.3 Cases registered and resulting in a conviction for the statutory domestic abuse aggravation involving a child

Section 14(2)(b)

DASA 2018 introduced aggravations for section 1 offences involving children. This particular statutory aggravation is designated by the code “Y” and is referred as “Y aggravation”. The offence is considered aggravated if it is directed at a child or if the child is used as conduit to direct the behaviour towards the complainant. The aggravation can only be applied where there is evidence capable of proving it and evidence from a single source is sufficient to prove that an offence is aggravated. It is only applied to offences under the Act.

Table 3 presents the number of cases registered and the number of cases resulting in a conviction with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation involving a child (Y aggravation) proved by court type.

In 2021-22 there were 360 cases registered and 156 cases resulting in a conviction with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation involving a child proved. This was a decrease of 27% in cases registered (from 494) and an increase of 77% (from 88) in cases resulting in a conviction from 2020-21. This covers a course of conduct. Court closures throughout much of 2020-21 resulted in reductions in the number of proceedings and convictions for almost all crime types that year and also in 2021-22 the beginnings of recovery within courts and the wider justice system from the pandemic also impacted these figures and care should therefore be taken in interpreting them.

In each year, the majority of cases registered were in sheriff summary proceedings, 97% of all cases registered in 2019-20, 90% in 2020-21 and 85% in 2021-22. Sheriff solemn proceedings accounted for 3%, 10% and 13% and the High Court accounted for 0%, 0.2% and 2.2% of cases registered in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. No cases were registered in Justice of the Peace courts in any year.

Source: SCTS disposals data (cases registered) and Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (cases resulting in a conviction)

Notes

1. Cases included in the figures contains at least one charge with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation involving a child (Y aggravator).

2. Cases registered in one year may not be disposed of in the same year especially for solemn proceedings.

3. High court and sheriff solemn trial courts were closed for large periods of 2020-21 due to COVID and also during 2020-21 and 2021-22 sheriff summary and justice of the peace courts were closed for significant period of time due to national lockdowns.

Cases registered

4. Charge codes and aggravators can be removed or changed throughout the journey of a case. Therefore, a case classified under DASA 2018 or with a statutory domestic abuse aggravator at registration may not be classified as such at the time of disposal.

Cases resulting in a conviction

5. Data from SCTS disposals: The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service uses a live operational case management system for the processing of court business.

Table 3a below provides the cases registered and resulting in a conviction with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation involving a child proved by sheriffdom, for crimes committed on or after it came into effect on 1 April 2019.

In general the sheriffdoms of Tayside, Central and Fife and Grampian, Highland and Islands have the highest number of both cases registered and cases resulting in a conviction with the aggravation involving a child proved.

Source: SCTS disposals data (cases registered) and Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (cases resulting in a conviction)

Notes

1. Cases included in the figures contains at least one charge with a statutory domestic abuse aggravation involving a child (Y aggravator).

2. Cases registered in one year may not be disposed of in the same year especially for solemn proceedings.

3. High court and sheriff solemn trial courts were closed for large periods of 2020-21 due to COVID and also during 2020-21 and 2021-22 sheriff summary and justice of the peace courts were closed for significant period of time due to national lockdowns.

Cases registered

4. Charge codes and aggravators can be removed or changed throughout the journey of a case. Therefore, a case classified under DASA 2018 or with a statutory domestic abuse aggravator at registration may not be classified as such at the time of disposal.

Cases resulting in a conviction

5. Data from SCTS disposals: SCTS uses a live operational case management system for the processing of court business.