Scottish trial backlog approaches 50,000 amid historic high remand population

The Scottish courts are straining under the pressure of Covid-19, with almost 50,000 trials outstanding and record high levels of prisoners on remand.

New figures published by the Scottish Government as part of their monthly analysis into the impact of the pandemic on the justice system show the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service has an estimated backlog of 48,993 trials.

It also notes a continued trend of record high numbers of prisoners on remand in Scottish jails, with almost 2,000 people either awaiting trial or sentencing.

The number of prisoners on remand is at record levels

Just under 85 per cent of those prisoners, 1,679 people in total, are on remand and awaiting trial, figures show.

A further 306 are awaiting sentencing and the total remand population makes up more than a quarter of the total prison population.

The most common offences linked to those on remand and awaiting trial are common assault, breach of the peace, crimes against public justice, handling offensive weapons, and attempted murder and serious assault.

Individuals on remand are given additional rights while in prison due to the fact they are yet to be found guilty.

Lockdowns caused by Covid-19 significantly impacted the ability of the courts to continue operating.

In January 2021 and from March, the majority of criminal cases ceased entirely while court buildings were shut and the majority of justice proceedings occurred virtually.

The Scottish Parliament’s justice committee warned at the turn of the year the backlog from Covid-19 could last ten years.

The use of remote jury centres, often based in cinemas, has been extended by the Scottish Government to help tackle the backlog.

In total, 42,451 trials are outstanding and a further 6,542 cases in the courts’ system which are considered likely to come to trial.

More than 313 of the most serious cases are outs

The backlog has doubled from pre-pandemic levels. At the end of the 2019/20 year, a total of 18,355 trials were outstanding.

The overall number of recorded crimes in Scotland is lower than the past two years, with fewer than 19,000 crimes recorded in 2021 compared to 20,440 in 2020 and 21,000 in 2021.

The number of offences is also lower when compared to previous years with 20,333 in 2021, down from 21,892 in 2020 and 21,645 in 2019.

Responding to the figures, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “To mitigate the court backlog caused by necessary public health restrictions, innovations such as remote jury centres in cinemas have been used for the most serious criminal trials, while most civil work is being dealt with online or virtually.

“In addition, we will see an increased court capacity from September, which includes the expansion of remote jury centres and a daily increase of four additional High Courts, two additional Sheriff Solemn Courts and up to ten Sheriff Summary Courts.

“We committed to investing £50 million this year to the Justice Recover, Renew and Transform programme to drive further reform and help increase the throughput of court cases, which is the single biggest way to reduce remand numbers.”

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