Pressures are mounting on Scotland's sheriff court system
Reducing budgets and more complex cases are putting pressure on Scotland's sheriff court system, Audit Scotland has reported.
Around 88,000 people face prosecution in the sheriff court system every year. Thousands more experience the system as victims, witnesses, prosecutors, defence agents, court staff and the judiciary.
A new report, Efficiency of prosecuting criminal cases through the sheriff court system, has found fewer cases are concluding within the 26-week performance target, the average time for cases to conclude risen, and a greater proportion of cases are going to trial. This is, in part, due to a greater focus on more complex cases involving domestic abuse and historic sexual offences, and a subsequent rise in reporting of these types of crimes.
Since 2010/11, the budgets of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Court Service have experienced a more significant reduction than the overall Scottish Government budget.
The estimated annual cost of prosecuting sheriff courts cases is over £200 million. Almost half of court appearances did not proceed as planned in 2014/15, with an estimated £10 million spent on cases repeating stages unnecessarily.
The report notes that establishment of the Scottish Government's Justice Board has improved joint working between key national bodies and management of the system as a whole. This helped manage a 10 per cent increase in the number of cases in 2013/14. It's important that work is undertaken to replicate that progress at a local level.
Audit Scotland is also recommending that the bodies involved in the system take a fresh look at how they measure and report the performance of sheriff courts, and consider how to build upon the 26-week performance target to provide a broader public picture of the system's efficiency.
Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said:
"Scotland's sheriff courts are an important part of our justice system, experienced by thousands of people, including victims and witnesses, every year.
"Like many parts of the public sector, the sheriff court system is facing falling budgets. Together with an increasing focus on cases which are more complex, this is putting pressure on the system as a whole. To deal with this, all the bodies involved in our sheriff court system must continue to develop how they work together, both nationally and locally."
