Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland: 2024-25 – Part 1

Annex B Definitions

The following section provides a brief description of the main types of justice social work activity encompassed within this report.

Diversion from prosecution:

Diversion from prosecution is an alternative to prosecution used by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) upon receiving a police report or a report from a specialist reporting agency. COPFS refers the accused to local authority justice social work or a partner agency for support, treatment or other actions to address the underlying causes of the alleged offending with the aim of preventing further offences. Diversion is considered when:

• there is enough evidence to prosecute;
• the accused has an identifiable need contributing to the offending; and
• it is assessed that diversion is the most appropriate outcome in the public interest

Cases commenced which were subject to extended periods of diversion are those cases which were extended beyond an initial three-month period. Such cases are those where COPFS have either agreed to extend beyond three months or have received and agreed to a request from a local authority to extend.

Bail supervision and electronic monitoring for bail

Local authority justice social work assesses suitability for bail supervision and electronic monitoring in appropriate cases. Bail supervision, provided by social work or third sector services, supports people to comply with bail conditions. Updated national bail supervision guidance was published in May 2022

Introduced under the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019, electronic monitoring orders can be issued by courts as part of a bail order. These can be standalone or alongside bail supervision and may include conditions like curfews or staying away from a specific location.

Bail supervision cases successfully completed are where the person has met all the terms of their bail supervision. This includes cases where review(s) took place that did not lead to breach reports.

Fiscal Work Orders

Fiscal work orders allow COPFS to offer unpaid work as an alternative to prosecution, where:

• there is enough evidence to prosecute a summary offence;
• when it is assessed as the most appropriate outcome in the public interest
• justice social work has met with the person and assessed that they are suitable

These orders were introduced nationally on 1 April 2015. They can be for a minimum of ten and a maximum of 50 hours and should be completed within six months.

Structured deferred sentences

Structured deferred sentences (SDS) provide courts with a flexible intervention which can be used post-conviction but before final sentencing. SDS is delivered by justice social work and key partners, and aims to address underlying causes of offending. The court retains discretion to pass sentence in any manner that would have been appropriate at the time of conviction, but with the benefit of information from the period of deferral. The Scottish Government published National guidance on structured deferred sentences in Scotland in February 2021.

Statutory Throughcare

Throughcare is the support provided to prisoners and their families from sentencing, during imprisonment and after release. Those serving over four years are released on licence under statutory supervision. Those sentenced to less than 4 years can be made subject to a short-term sex offender licence under Section 15 of the Management of Offenders, etc. (Scotland) Act 2005, or those with extended sentences or supervised release orders, can also be subject to statutory supervision upon release. The aim is to protect the public, prepare individuals for release, and support their reintegration and rehabilitation into the community.

Voluntary Throughcare

Voluntary throughcare is available to those who are not subject to statutory throughcare, but who request support from local authorities while in custody or within 12 months of release.

Home Leave Reports

Home leave is a key part of progression, allowing temporary release from custody to visit an approved place, such as a family member's or friend's home. This period can last up to seven nights every four weeks, typically for long sentence prisoners who have successfully completed day releases and shorter home leave periods and are preparing for release.

For statutory supervision post-release, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) requests a home leave report from local authority justice social work.

The final decision on home leave rests with SPS and is facilitated by the Risk Management Team (RMT). During home leave, the individual should be seen by their community-based social worker.

Parole/non parole reports

Parole/non-parole reports are prepared for prisoners nearing release by a local authority justice social worker. They visit the prisoner's family home and the prisoner to gather necessary information. The report should cover:

• the social and family context the prisoner will return to.
• how supportive this environment is likely to be
• the level and nature of supervision and support for the prisoner and their family upon release

• details of any resources or programmes to aid social inclusion and reduce the risk of reoffending and harm.

Parole/non-parole reports by the community-based justice social worker supplements an assessment report by a prison-based justice social worker. Since late 2022, the Throughcare Assessment for Release on Licence (TARL) report has been introduced, combining both reports. In 2023-24 and 2024-25, local authorities were asked to report how many of their parole/non-parole reports were TARLs. In 2024-25, around 70 per cent of the parole/non-parole reports were TARLs.

Home Detention Curfew

Home Detention Curfew (HDC), under Section 3AA of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended by the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019, allows eligible individuals to serve a part of their sentence in the community, up to 180 days. They are electronically monitored and managed via licence conditions, including a nightly curfew, for the duration of their release on HDC.

HDC is mainly used for those serving short-term sentences (less than four years). For long-term sentences (four years or more), the Parole Board for Scotland must recommend release on parole before the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) can consider release on HDC. Licence conditions for release of these individuals must mirror those set by the Parole Board.

All eligible individuals considered for release on HDC are risk assessed by SPS, on behalf of Scottish Ministers. This assessment includes a community assessment report (CAR) by local authority justice social work.

Local authority justice social work provides SPS decision-makers with relevant information to support the HDC decision-making process. SPS then decides on HDC release, based on the collective evidence.