Written Question · S2W-22702 · Session 2
How many times the (a) 110-day rule and (b) 140-day rule have been extended in each year since 1999, broken down by sheriff court area.
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) 110-day rule and (b) 140-day rule have been extended in each year since 1999, broken down by sheriff court area.
The answer
The information requested as it applies to sheriff court cases is not held centrally.
High Court figures cannot be broken down by sheriff court area.
The number of High Court custody time bar extensions per year was not routinely collected until the introduction of an electronic case management system in April 2004. No data are held centrally for 1999 and 2000. The total number of custody time bar extensions from 2001-03 is not known, but research undertaken during Lord Bonomy’s review established that during 2001 in 32 of a sample of 141 custody indictments the 110-day period was extended at least once. An interim report of the evaluation of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004 showed that between the start of January 2002 and the end of April 2004 there were 369 custody indictments in which the 110-day period was extended at least once, resulting in at least 709 extensions over the 28 month period. For the period from April 2004 to end March 2005, there have been 274 extensions granted by the High Court in respect of the 110-day time limit, relating to 144 custody indictments.
For extensions to the 140-day time limit in High Court cases in the period since the enactment of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22255 on 25 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
High Court figures cannot be broken down by sheriff court area.
The number of High Court custody time bar extensions per year was not routinely collected until the introduction of an electronic case management system in April 2004. No data are held centrally for 1999 and 2000. The total number of custody time bar extensions from 2001-03 is not known, but research undertaken during Lord Bonomy’s review established that during 2001 in 32 of a sample of 141 custody indictments the 110-day period was extended at least once. An interim report of the evaluation of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004 showed that between the start of January 2002 and the end of April 2004 there were 369 custody indictments in which the 110-day period was extended at least once, resulting in at least 709 extensions over the 28 month period. For the period from April 2004 to end March 2005, there have been 274 extensions granted by the High Court in respect of the 110-day time limit, relating to 144 custody indictments.
For extensions to the 140-day time limit in High Court cases in the period since the enactment of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22255 on 25 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-22702 by reference.