There has been in increase in reporting of sexual offences meaning the High Courts workload has increases by 10 percent this year in Scotland. There is 225 Trials scheduled for the end of this year compared to 192 last year.
Experts in the field believe this will continue to rise. Also the percentage of trials adjourned due to lack of court time in the High Court fell from 2.2 per cent in 2014/15 to 1.3 per cent for 2018/19. It is undeniable there is an increase in prosecution of sexual offending cases. David Fraser, operation officer for the system stated: “Overall the data in this report shows the system is performing well. The number of trials scheduled and adjournments for lack of court time are both down which are good indicators of overall performance.”
Experts in the field believe this will continue to rise. Also the percentage of trials adjourned due to lack of court time in the High Court fell from 2.2 per cent in 2014/15 to 1.3 per cent for 2018/19. It is undeniable there is an increase in prosecution of sexual offending cases. David Fraser, operation officer for the system stated: “Overall the data in this report shows the system is performing well. The number of trials scheduled and adjournments for lack of court time are both down which are good indicators of overall performance.”
