Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2021-22 Offender Cohort
Statistics on reconvictions in Scotland are presented up to the latest cohort of 2021-22. The latest year’s data is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and caution should be used when interpreting trends.
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Introduction
This bulletin presents statistics on the number of people who are reconvicted in Scotland after a previous conviction. We define a reconviction as a conviction that happens within 12 months of someone being released from custody OR a conviction that happens within 12 months of someone being given a non-custodial sentence.
We present data for previous years for comparison to the most recent data. Care should be taken when comparing with the last two cohorts due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Court closures during 2020-21 meant that reconviction statistics for both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 cohort have been impacted, either for the index conviction or the subsequent reconviction.
When someone is accused of a crime, there are three bodies who may deal with them, the Police, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and the courts. Figure 1 shows all the possible outcomes from the point of the police identifying someone accused of a crime, and the routes that are taken to reach those outcomes. The data in the publication is mostly concerned with people who are being reconvicted in courts, but there is a section on repeat non-court disposals from the police and COPFS.