Publication - FOI/EIR release

Criminal Law Statistics: FOI release

Published: 14 January 2021
Directorate: Justice Directorate
Topic: Law and order, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202000091572
Date received: 27 September 2020
Date responded: 23 October 2020

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Information requested

Copies of any analysis or report conducted by or for the Scottish Government into the effectiveness of Direct Measures(Alternatives to prosecution) and or expansion in the type and use of the aforesaid measures in Scotland from the year 2000 - 2020;
A breakdown of Race and Offence Categories (as used in Annual Criminal Statistic Report, published by Scottish Government) for each direct measure (alternative to prosecution) given to an accused person for the years 2000-2020; and
A breakdown of Offence Categories (as used in Annual Criminal Statistic Report published by Scottish Government) for each direct measure (Alternative to prosecution) given to an accused whereby the charge contained an aggravating factor.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.

Some of the information you have requested is available from the following web addresses:

Report of the Summary Justice Review Committee (2004)
https://www2.gov.scot/Publications/2004/03/19042/34176 (chapter 11 refers to Alternatives to Prosecution)

Summary Justice Reform: System Performance and Evaluation (2009)
https://www2.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/279187/0084023.pdf (refers to fiscal fines)

Summary Justice Reform: Evaluation of Direct Measures (2011)
https://www2.gov.scot/resource/doc/339672/0112278.pdf

Evaluation of the first two years of Fiscal Work Order (FWO) pilots (2011)
https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20180514223449/http:/www.gov.scot/Publications/2011/01/24140850/

Coronavirus Acts: First Report to Parliament (2020) https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirusacts-two-monthly-report-scottish-parliament/ (contains some reference to increase in maximum level of fiscal fixed penalties)

Coronavirus Acts: Second Report to Parliament (2020) https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirusacts-second-report-scottish-parliament/ (as above)

Coronavirus Acts: Third Report to Parliament (2020) https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirusacts-third-report-scottish-parliament/

Reconviction Rates - offender cohort 2017-18 (2020) https://www.gov.scot/publications/reconvictionrates-scotland-2017-18-offender-cohort/ (section 2 contains information on non-court disposals)

Though not technically within the scope of your request, as it was not produced by or for the Scottish Government, HM Inspectorate of Prosecution produced the following review of the use of Fiscal Fines in 2009 that may also be of interest to you: https://www2.gov.scot/Publications/2009/03/18170358/0.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the
website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. We do not hold the information requested in the second part of your request. The reason for this is that the Scottish Government does not hold or collect information about the ethnicity of persons given direct measures. With regards the third part of your request, we do not hold any data on the use of non-court-disposals with an aggravation for the years prior to 2008-09. We do not yet have data for the year 2019-20.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.