Arrests down 25 per cent before court strike action

Solicitors said the number of people scheduled to appear in court from custody after weekend incidents was much lower than usual.

Yesterday’s strike action was the first in a number of rolling strikes by court staff.

Police Scotland, it is understood, chose not to hold some accused who would otherwise have been taken into custody in order to mitigate the effects of the industrial action.

The single force said that there was “no potential for risk or harm to the community” arising from the decisions.

Glasgow Sheriff Court, Europe’s busiest court, had 74 people due to appear in the custody court yesterday but lawyers claimed normally there would be over 100 at that time of the week.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court, 47 people were due to appear instead of the typical number of between 70 and 90.

Former president of the Glasgow Bar Association, Martin Hughes, said that one of his clients taken in on a warrant was released subject to an undertaking to appear at a subsequent date as a consequence of the industrial action.

He said: “My client was arrested on a warrant and I had a phone call telling me that he might be released on an undertaking because of the potential industrial action and he was then released.

“That’s pretty much unheard of. Actually it’s so unusual, it’s almost entirely exceptional.”

He added: “The prospect of industrial action taking place by the clerks seems to have had a bizarre effect on the number of crimes being committed in Glasgow – maybe they should go on strike more often.”

Mr Hughes added that the court was functioning on a “skeletal basis”.

Paul Dunne, a solicitor in Edinburgh said that the numbers appearing there were “surprisingly low for a Monday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court”.

The action, taken at a time to coincide with the busiest day of the week for the courts, was in protest against Scottish government cost-cutting reforms.

The Scottish Court Service (SCS) advised that some courts were offering a “limited service” as a result of the action – no public counter service was available in Glasgow, Greenock Kilmarnock, Stornoway, Airdrie, Ayr, Lanark and Alloa.

A spokesman for the SCS said: “Joint planning with justice partners” ensured no cases were lost.

He added: “As part of our contingency planning with justice partners, some routine civil and criminal business was adjourned in advance of Monday to ensure that all essential business could be dealt with.”

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “It’s clearly important for Police Scotland to work with its partners in the justice system to ensure that planning is in place so that people in custody are managed appropriately and that arrangements are in place to ensure that business continues effectively.

“All decisions made about custodial status were based on the lord advocate’s guidelines and ensured there was no potential for risk or harm to the community.”

The industrial action comes amid further court closures, with courts in Haddington, Peebles, Duns and Dingwall due to close this week.