Thousands of criminal cases dropped due to delays and time-bar limits

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) took no action in over 9,000 cases affected by such delays.

While most cases involved minor statutory offences, legal sources indicated that some included serious charges such as drug dealing and firearms offences.

The findings come as Scotland’s criminal justice system struggles with a backlog of nearly 22,000 scheduled trials, a rise in complex cases, and delays that mean some victims wait years for proceedings to conclude.

Official COPFS data shows that between 2019/20 and 2023/24, a total of 5,355 cases were dropped due to delays by Police Scotland and other reporting agencies, while another 3,733 cases were dismissed because they were time-barred on receipt. Additionally, 80 cases failed to proceed due to delays caused by procurator fiscals.

In total, the 9,168 cases account for 12 per cent of all cases where no action was taken in the past five years. Other reasons for prosecutors deciding not to proceed with cases include insufficient admissible evidence or the view that a civil remedy would be more appropriate.

Stuart Munro, convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Criminal Law Committee, said: “What these figures underline is the complexity of Scotland’s criminal justice system, and how resourcing or other issues in any one part of the system can and do have negative consequences in other parts of the system. It is on this basis that we continue to push for proper resourcing for all parts of the system, including police, the judiciary and criminal defence.”

Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary, said: “These troubling figures expose the SNP’s chronic underfunding of Scotland’s justice system over a number of years.

“Justice delayed often ends up meaning justice is denied for victims who have already suffered enough trauma, especially when a case has been dropped due to time-bar breaches which may leave victims questioning why they reported the crime in the first place.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: “The Scottish government should be doing everything possible to ensure cases are proceeding efficiently through the system. I am particularly concerned by the significant rise in cases dropped because of time-bars and delays.”