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Scottish Parliament election: 7 May. This site won't be routinely updated during the pre-election period.

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

This report presents national level information on many aspects of justice social work activity, as well as the characteristics of individuals involved.


Key Points

  • The number of diversion from prosecution cases commenced rose by seven per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25 from 3,400 to 3,600. This was the highest level in the last ten years.
  • There were 40 fiscal work orders imposed in 2024-25. This was a drop from 100 in 2023-24 and the lowest in the last ten years.
  • The number of bail supervision cases rose by 17 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25 to 1,500. This was the highest in the last ten years.
  • There were 1,600 structured deferred sentences imposed in 2024-25. This was 12 per cent more than in 2023-24 and the highest in the last seven years.
  • There were 1,200 statutory custody-based throughcare cases commenced in 2024-25, 13 per cent up on 1,100 in 2023-24. This was the highest in the last ten years.
  • The number of statutory community-based throughcare cases commenced was 1,000 in 2024-25, a 20 per cent increase on 870 in 2023-24. This was the 2nd highest level in the last ten years.
  • The number of voluntary throughcare cases commenced fell by 18 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25 from 1,700 to 1,400. This was the 2nd lowest level in the last ten years.
  • Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, the number of home leave reports rose by 19 per cent from 1,200 to 1,400. Over the same period, the number of parole/non-parole reports rose by two per cent to 2,600.
  • In 2024-25, there were 1,100 home detention curfew assessment reports. This was an increase of 47 per cent on 2023-24.

 

Six line charts which show how various justice social work statistics were affected over the period of the Covid-19 pandemic and also show what has happened since then. The top left chart shows that bail supervision cases fell sharply in 2020-21 during Covid but have since risen to their highest ever level in 2024-25. The top right chart shows that diversion from prosecution cases commenced have been rising, reaching their highest ever level in 2024-25. The middle left chart shows that structured deferred sentences fell sharply in 2020-21 during Covid but have since risen to their highest ever level in 2024-25. The middle right chart shows that voluntary throughcare cases commenced fell sharply in 2020-21 during Covid and stayed below pre-pandemic levels in 2024-25. The bottom left chart shows that statutory throughcare custody cases commenced fell sharply in 2020-21 during Covid but are now at the highest level in the last decade in 2024-25. The bottom right chart shows that statutory throughcare community cases commenced fell in 2020-21 during Covid but have since risen to their 2nd highest level in the last decade.

Contact

justice_analysts@gov.scot

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