Inefficiency in Scotland’s justice system costs time and money

Inefficiency in Scotland's criminal justice system causes delays for everyone involved, including victims and witnesses, and cost at least £10 million in 2009/10.

An Audit Scotland report published today, An overview of Scotland’s criminal justice system, finds that the criminal justice system cost an estimated £857 million in 2009/10. While cases are now processed through the courts quicker, many cases still have to repeat stages, costing around £10 million in 2009/10, others are subject to late decisions not to proceed, costing an additional £30 million. Much of this inefficiency is avoidable.

The report also finds that reoffending is a continuing problem in Scotland. Most prisoners are reoffenders; over two-thirds of those sent to prison in 2009/10 had five or more previous convictions. Less than 10 per cent of estimated criminal justice spend - around £81 million in 2009/10 - is spent directly on services to reduce reoffending.

The report warns there are risks to the long-term sustainability of criminal justice services because of falling budgets, rising costs and limited control over demand. New legislation, case law and the increasing complexity of cases are driving up some costs.

Auditor General for Scotland, Robert Black, said:

“Scotland’s criminal justice system is very complex, involving many different public, private and voluntary organisations each with different roles and accountabilities. While this ensures justice is impartial and transparent, it means it is difficult to manage the system as a whole. However, it is good to see that joint working has improved in recent years. Despite improvements, there is still a significant amount of inefficiency in the system which results in delays, repeated processes and unnecessary costs. Much of this can be avoided and money could be saved. All the different bodies need to continue to work together to further improve the processes for the benefit of everyone involved.”

Chair of the Accounts Commission for Scotland, John Baillie, said:

“The problem of reoffending needs to be addressed. Over two-thirds of those sent to prison in 2009/10 had five or more previous convictions. Reducing reoffending would have many benefits – fewer crimes, fewer victims, fewer cases to process and costs to pay. However, services to reduce reoffending vary across the country and the lack of consistent performance information makes it difficult to compare the effectiveness of different services.”