Criminal case completions rise by 83 per cent in Scottish courts

The use of remote jury centres, established across Scotland, enabled jury trials to operate at pre-pandemic levels while Sheriff Court summary business showed progress too.

Other highlights include:

• There were 21,550 first instance criminal cases registered in Scottish courts in Q1 2021/22 which is a 15 per cent increase from the number registered in Q4 2020/21.
• The number of trials scheduled has risen 12 per cent to 42,451 when scheduled trials at the end of March 2021 are compared to those still to call as at the end of June 2021. This is mostly attributable to Sheriff summary business which had to be postponed during lockdowns;
• In Q1 2021/22, there were 14,732 summary complaints concluded which is almost double the volume in Q4 2020/21.
• In Q1 2021/22, domestic abuse cases accounted for 24 per cent of Sheriff Summary registrations; 34 per cent of Sheriff Summary trials called and 44 per cent of Sheriff Summary trials in which evidence was led.

SCTS executive director court operations, David Fraser, said: “Our court buildings continue to operate in accordance with guidance from Public Health Scotland to safeguard our staff, judiciary and court users.

“Criminal first instance business is making strong progress due to the excellent collaboration across the judiciary, justice organisations, the legal profession and the third sector which has helped get court business back on track. This will remain crucial during the recovery programme and the anticipated increase in case registrations which are now coming through.

“I am also pleased to be able to include in this bulletin, the new information showing the crimes and offences registered as criminal first instance business which will be of wide public interest and further demonstrates our commitment to openness and transparency around data.”