Adam Tomkins

Answer · James Wolffe QC · 2 Feb 2021

The following table sets out the number of charges of culpable and reckless conduct at common law reported by Police Scotland to COPFS in the calendar years 2018, 2019 and 2020. It should be noted that a single charge which is reported to COPFS may relate to a number of different incidents which have occurred.
The following table also sets out the outcomes for the charges reported to COPFS in the calendar years requested. When a charge is reported to COPFS, prosecutors will decide whether there is sufficient evidence in law, and, if so, whether it would be in the public interest to take prosecutorial action in relation to the charge. Where it is decided that prosecutorial action would be appropriate, the prosecutor will select the appropriate action, which may be the initiation of proceedings in court, or an alternative to prosecution (including warning letters, fiscal fines, fiscal compensation orders, referral to the Children’s Report and diversion).
There are a number of cases awaiting a decision, including those where further information has been requested.  
Calendar Year Reported  
2018
2019
2020
 
Total Charges Reported 
1,070
1,040
1,681
 
No Action 
163
74
83
Alternative to Prosecution 
109
76
108
Proceeded in Court 
591
647
897
Not Separately Actioned 
172
185
203
No Decision 
35
58
390
“Not Separately Actioned” relates to charges that were not actioned (either through prosecution or an alternative to prosecution) but where other charges for the same accused within the same case were actioned. Those other charges which were actioned may have included details from the charges which were not actioned.
The information provided is taken from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service live operational database. The information provided may therefore be subject to change as the Service’s systems are updated.

Answer · Humza Yousaf · 1 Feb 2021

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of arrests made by the police. Information is available on the number of culpable and reckless conduct (not with firearms) crimes recorded by the police, and is provided in Table 1. It should be noted that, in addition to crimes recorded under common law, these figures may include a small number of crimes recorded under statutory legislation. In addition, where the act causes serious injury this is recorded under a different crime category and therefore not included in these figures. In 2019-20, 52 crimes of causing serious injury etc. by culpable and reckless conduct were recorded.
Table 1: Number of crimes of culpable and reckless conduct (not with firearms) recorded by the police, 2017-18 to 2019-20
Year
Crimes recorded
2017-18
2,496
2018-19
2,325
2019-20
2,464
Source: Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2019-20 National Statistics
 
In addition to the annual National Statistics on recorded crime, more recent information is available from the monthly Official Statistics – which we introduced to inform users about trends in crime during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Between April and December 2020, 2,009 crimes of culpable and reckless conduct (not with firearms) were recorded by the police. In order to produce the new monthly Official Statistics in the necessary shorter time frames, the information supplied by Police Scotland is extracted from a different database than the one used to produce the most recent National Statistics on Recorded Crime in Scotland (referenced in Table 1). The data is therefore not directly comparable although is likely to be very similar. The annual Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin remains the primary source of information on crimes and offences recorded by the police.

Answer · Michael Matheson · 5 Mar 2020

Cycling Scotland will be trialling a new delivery model for Pedal for Scotland in 2020, focussing on smaller scale, community focused events in towns and cities across the country. There have been no discussions between Transport Scotland and commercial partners regarding a replacement funding stream for Pedal for Scotland.
2019 was Pedal for Scotland’s 20th Anniversary year and the final running of the Glasgow to Edinburgh “Classic Challenge” and “Big Belter” routes.