Written Question · S1W-33923 · Session 1
How many cases have been marked no proceedings for reasons of (a) delay by the police or other reporting agency, (b) delay by the procurato…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been marked no proceedings for reasons of (a) delay by the police or other reporting agency, (b) delay by the procurator fiscal, (c) lack of court resources, (d) procurator fiscal staff shortage and (e) time-bar in the current financial year to date.
The answer
The information requested for the period April 2002 to end December 2002 is as follows:April 2002 to December 2002Total Reports Received | Total No Proceedings | Delay Police or Reporting Agency | Delay PF | Lack of Court Resources | PF Staff Shortage | Time-Bar
224,779 | 37,776 | 11,533 | 141 | 0 | 2 | 1,861
As % of Total Reports | 17% | 5% | 0.06% | 0% | 0% | 0.8%
There is strict guidance on use of these no proceedings categories by procurators fiscal when marking cases. In particular, the "time-barred" category is only to be used when the offences are time-barred at the time the report is received from the police or other reporting agency.While the overall proportion of cases marked no proceedings has remained steady, the proportion marked no proceedings because of delay in reporting by the police has increased since 2001-02, largely because of reporting problems in the Strathclyde Area. This is attributable by the police to a number of factors around an increase in detection rates, reporting policies, technology and resources. It is a temporary problem, which has been identified and is being addressed by the police, in partnership with the Area Procurators Fiscal in Strathclyde.
224,779 | 37,776 | 11,533 | 141 | 0 | 2 | 1,861
As % of Total Reports | 17% | 5% | 0.06% | 0% | 0% | 0.8%
There is strict guidance on use of these no proceedings categories by procurators fiscal when marking cases. In particular, the "time-barred" category is only to be used when the offences are time-barred at the time the report is received from the police or other reporting agency.While the overall proportion of cases marked no proceedings has remained steady, the proportion marked no proceedings because of delay in reporting by the police has increased since 2001-02, largely because of reporting problems in the Strathclyde Area. This is attributable by the police to a number of factors around an increase in detection rates, reporting policies, technology and resources. It is a temporary problem, which has been identified and is being addressed by the police, in partnership with the Area Procurators Fiscal in Strathclyde.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S1W-33923 by reference.