The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service statistical bulletin is published today providing quarterly Official Statistics on criminal case activity in Scotland. This bulletin covers the period Quarter 4 2023/24 (January to March).
The 24th Courts Data Scotland: Criminal (formerly known as the Quarterly Criminal Court Statistics) bulletin shows the continued impact of the recovery resources switch from summary to solemn that occurred on 1st April 2023 to provide 2 additional High Court and 6 additional Sheriff Solemn trial courts. The number of Sheriff Solemn trials scheduled fell by 12% to 1,709 as at the end of March 2024 when compared to the previous quarter end.
Other highlights include:
- There were 93,357 first instance criminal cases registered in Scottish courts in 2023/24, which is 9% higher than in 2022/23.
- The overall number of scheduled trials has fallen by 4% to 26,227 as at the end of March 2024 when compared to the previous financial year end (27,406).
- The number of Evidence led trials that called in 2023/24 decreased by 4% to 8,644 when compared to 2022/23.
- The number of Evidence led trials that called in Q4 2023/24 increased by 14% to 2,383 when compared to Q3 2023/24.
- The total number of cases concluded is 7% lower than in 2022/23, with 92,495 cases concluded in 2023/24.
- The total number of cases concluded is 9% higher than in Q3 2023/24, with 24,893 cases concluded in Q4 2023/24.
- In 2023/24 domestic abuse cases accounted for 28% of Sheriff Summary trials called and 32% of Sheriff Summary trials in which evidence was led.