4 Persons Proceeded Against ( Tables 1 and 2)
(Unless otherwise stated, references in this bulletin to the type of crime or offence for which a person is proceeded against or convicted relate to the main charge involved. For the definition of main charge, see Annex, note 13. The final column of Table 4a provides counts of individual offences with a charge proved regardless of whether or not they were the main offence involved. More detailed information on individual motor vehicle offences with a charge proved is also included in Section 9.)
4.1 In 2004/05, the total number of persons proceeded against increased by 1 per cent to an estimated 151,100. This was the fourth consecutive annual increase; however the 2004/05 total was still 14 per cent below the figure of 175,500 recorded for 1995/96.
4.2 Of those persons against whom the procurator fiscal instigates proceedings, nearly all are proceeded against in court. In a relatively small number of cases proceedings are started but are then dropped before the case reaches court. Court workloads will be affected by trends in the use of alternatives to prosecution. For example, the introduction of police conditional offers in 1993 led to a reduction in district court workload.
4.3 An estimated 89 per cent of persons proceeded against in court in 2004/05 were convicted of at least one charge, a total of 134,500 convictions. Two per cent were acquitted on a "not guilty" verdict, and one per cent on a "not proven" verdict. The remaining 8 per cent either had their case deserted by the prosecution or a plea of "not guilty" accepted.
4.4 Information collected prior to 1988 indicates that "not guilty" pleas are more frequent for the more serious crimes such as homicide. Acquittal rates are also higher for these types of crime. In 2004/05 for example, 28 per cent of those proceeded against in court for serious assault and 44 per cent of those proceeded against for rape or attempted rape were acquitted following a "not guilty" or "not proven" verdict. Twenty five per cent of persons proceeded against for theft of a motor vehicle had a plea of not guilty accepted or the case against them deserted. By contrast, 94 per cent of persons proceeded against in court for motor vehicle offences were convicted in 2004/05, with only 1 per cent acquitted on a "not guilty" verdict and most of the remaining prosecutions either being deserted or having a plea of "not guilty" accepted.
4.5 Of those persons acquitted in 2004/05 (as opposed to those who had a plea of not guilty accepted or the case against them deserted), 18 per cent received a "not proven" verdict. This proportion varied by type of crime: for example, it was higher than average for homicide (71 per cent), serious assault (23 per cent), crimes of indecency (26 per cent), fraud (33 per cent) and dangerous and careless driving (26 per cent); it was lower than average for shoplifting (4 per cent), and speeding (11 per cent).
Chart 2: Overview of action within the criminal justice system 2004/05
- Crimes recorded in 2004/05 may not be cleared up or dealt with until 2005/06 or later.
- A report to the procurator fiscal may involve more than one crime or offence and more than one alleged offender.
- The total number of reports to the fiscal includes reports on non-criminal matters such as sudden deaths.
- Figures relate to offers which were accepted.
- Figures for persons with a charge proved count the number of occasions on which a person is convicted.
A number of outcomes may result in subsequent prosecutions or referrals to other agencies, for example if a condition such as payment of a fixed penalty is not complied with. For simplicity, these pathways are not shown in the diagram.