Community Payback Order (CPO) breach statistics: FOI release

Information requested

1. The disposals received by offenders who have breached their Community Payback Orders. Please break this information down by the type of disposal (custodial, financial, admonishment, etc.) for the financial years of 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017- 18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.

2. Please provide reason listed for their breach. For example, if it was a crime or if it was a breach of any conditions that were part of their CPO. Please provide this information for the financial years 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. In addition, if possible, please include the crime that was committed that led to a breach of their CPO.

3. Where an offender who breached their Community Payback Order received a custodial sentence, list the length of this sentence, broken down by the sentence lengths outlined in the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics for the financial years of 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Response

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

A spreadsheet is attached with this reply which sets out information on the number of community payback orders which terminated with the reason revoked due to breach as it is considered this falls within the scope of part 1 of your request. Information is from 2012-13 to 2020-21 so only partially answers the request.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have most of the information you have requested. In particular, we do not hold information on reasons listed for breach or the length of sentence where someone who breached their CPO received a custodial sentence.

The bulk of the information requested is not collected by the Scottish Government through any Scottish Government national statistics data collections. Information relating to criminal justice social work statistics and criminal proceedings statistics have been checked in particular.

This is a formal notice under 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government do not hold the information you have requested.

In regard to your query about the reasons for breach, an alleged crime would be investigated in its own right and breach procedures will be applied if the person on the order is deemed to have breached one of the requirements of the order. National practice guidance makes clear that in cases involving domestic abuse, stalking and other serious offences including sexual/violent offending, a breach of a condition which is intended to prevent access to victims should be acted upon immediately. Police must be made aware of such a breach as soon as possible in order to ensure appropriate victim safety considerations.

The CPO Practice Guidance is available at: Community Payback Order: practice guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

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FOI 202200312713 - Information Released - Annex

File type

Excel document

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12.8 kB