HC Deb 31 October 1988 vol 139 cc501-3W
Mr. Home Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will produce a table showing(a) the percentage of criminal cases reported by the police which are brought to court and (b) the average period between pleading diet and trial for each sheriff court in Scotland.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

Figures relating to the number of cases reported by the police resulting in proceedings in the sheriff court are not centrally held. The figures in the table, supplied by Crown Office, show the percentage of cases reported by the police and other agencies in respect of which proceedings were taken in each fiscal area for the period April 1987 to April 1988. They do not include cases which were diverted from the court system and dealt with by other means than prosecution such as conditional offers of a fixed penalty in terms of the Transport Act 1982 or section 56 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1987, warning letters and other alternative methods of diversion from prosecution.

Information on the maximum period between pleading diet and trial for summary criminal cases is also given in the table for each sheriff court. Statistics on average periods are not held centrally.

Maximum Period (in weeks) Between Pleading Diet and Trial for Summary Criminal Cases
Sheriff Court 30 June 1988
Aberdeen 17
Airdrie 14
Alloa 17
Arbroath 14
Ayr 18
Banff 13
Campbeltown 16
Cupar 11
Dingwall 12
Dornoch 9
Dumbarton 31
Dumfries 20
Dundee 8
Dunfermline 15
Dunoon 13
Duns 4
Edinburgh 16
Elgin 10
Falkirk 11
Forfar 10
Fort William 20
Glasgow 18
Greenock 21
Haddington 45
Hamilton 16
Inverness 10
Jedburgh 4
Kikmarnock 17
Kirkcaldy 8
Kirkcudbright 12
Kirkwall 12
Lanark 8
Lerwick 14
Linlithgow 14
Lochmaddy 12
Oban 10
Paisley 19
Peebles 10
Perth 14
Peterhead 14
Portree 12
Rothesay 9
Selkirk 11
Stirling 14
Stonehaven 12
Stornoway 14
Stranraer 12
Tain 8
Wick 9

Percentage of cases reported in respect of which proceedings were taken
Fiscal area April 1987 to April 1988 per cent.
Aberdeen 57
Airdrie 61
Alloa 63
Arbroath 68
Ayr 58
Banff 61
Campbeltown 82
Cupar 58
Dingwall 64
Dornoch 72
Dumbarton 66
Dumfries 81
Dundee 74
Dunfermline 54
Dunoon 74
Duns 37
Edinburgh 54
Elgin 51
Falkirk 56

Fiscal area April 1987 to April 1988 per cent.
Forfar 56
Fort William 66
Glasgow 50
Greenock 59
Haddington 55
Hamilton 65
Inverness 63
Jedburgh 54
Kilmarnock 67
Kirkcaldy 56
Kirkcudbright 50
Kirkwall 86
Lanark 48
Lerwick 66
Linlithgow 69
Lochmaddy 91
Oban 78
Paisley 62
Peebles 58
Perth 58
Peterhead 60
Portree 64
Rothesay 79
Selkirk 44
Stirling 63
Stonehaven 55
Stornoway 79
Stranraer 63
Tain 63
Wick 75
Scotland 59