What alternatives to prison are used in Scotland?

The range of alternative punishments which are used by courts in Scotland include:

• Community Payback Orders
• Restriction of Liberty Orders
• Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs)
• financial penalties (fines)
• admonishments (verbal warning)

Alternatives to prison disposals usually have better outcomes for reducing re-offending but some people feel they do not effectively punish or deter offenders, and some offenders commit further crimes while subject to Community Payback Orders or Restriction of Liberty Orders

There are a range of alternative punishments which are used by courts in Scotland other than sending a person to prison.

Community payback schemes are punishments designed so that offenders put something back into the community.

Projects undertaken by offenders include:

• Litter clearance
• Graffiti removal
• Repairing and redecorating community centres
• Environmental work, e.g. maintaining public spaces and churchyards

A restriction of liberty order means that offenders will be restricted to a specific place for a maximum of 12 hours per day for a maximum of 12 months.

This is monitored using an electronic tag. The tag sends a signal to a monitoring unit, which is placed in the area of restriction. If the person leaves, someone is alerted, and action is taken. This is likely to mean that the offender will be taken back to court for breaking their conditions.

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) are designed to reduce or stop offending by addressing problem drug use. Orders last between 6 months and 3 years

DTTOs aim to:

• reduce levels of drug-related offending
• end offenders misuse of drugs

To do this they combine drug treatment and a testing regime with regular court reviews, in addition to supervision involving social workers, addiction specialists and medical teams.

In 2020-21 the crimes/offences where community sentences were most given for that type of offence were:

• other sexual crimes – 389 people, or 67% of court disposals for these crimes
• sexual assault – 87 people, or 59%
• Domestic Abuse (Scotland)Act -216 people or 56%
• other non-sexual crimes of violence – 57 people, or 51%
• theft of a motor vehicle – 66 people, or 40%
• handling offensive weapons – 476 people, or 39% of court disposals
• other dishonesty – 160 people, or 38% of court disposals
• common assault – 1,647 people, or 34% of court disposals
• other theft – 260 people, or 29% of court disposals

Courts can also give out fines. The amount varies depending on the crime and on the court handing them down as each has a maximum:

• Justice of the Peace Court – up to £2,500
• Sheriff Court – up to £10,000 for summary cases
• Sheriff Court – unlimited for solemn cases
• High Court – unlimited

Fines are the most common sentence handed out by the court. In 2021-22, 39% of punishments were fines.

On some occasions, courts also, or as an alternative, impose compensation orders where those found guilty in court must pay money to the victim of their crimes.

Other sentences are mostly admonishments.

This is where a verbal warning is given by a sheriff to someone found guilty in a court.

According to Scottish Government statistics, in 2020-21:

• 8,417 people were admonished
• this represented 20% of all convictions

The crimes where admonishments were most given were shoplifting and crimes against public justice.

Although there is no one agreed way to measure the effectiveness of alternatives to prison disposals, it could be argued that alternatives are more effective as:

• Use of alternatives to prison sentences usually have better outcomes for reducing re-offending
• Alternatives to prison allow offenders to continue working and stay at home, reducing the negative impact on families
• Alternatives to prison have much lower costs than holding someone in prison

However, it could also be argued that:

• Some offenders fail to complete Community Payback Orders, Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, or pay their fines
• Some offenders commit further crimes while subject to Community Payback Orders or Restriction of Liberty Orders
• Victims and the general public have concerns that offenders don't take community sentences seriously, and may feel they do not effectively punish or deter offenders

(Source: Victim Support)

All figures from Scottish Government: Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2019-20 Offender Cohort (Published June 2023)

Note: it is difficult to compare sentences and conviction rates directly for a variety of reasons:

• reconviction rates vary considerably for different lengths of custodial sentences
• different sentences may be used for different types of crime
• the high rates of reconviction after DTTO is likely to relate more to substance misuse than to the sentencing

Alternatives to prison are less costly than holding someone in custody.

Based on figures from 2016-17:

• custody costs £37,334 per prisoner per year
• each Community Payback order costs £1,894
• each Drug Treatment and Testing Order costs £14,661
• electronic monitoring costs £887 per person

Figures from Scottish Government: Costs of the criminal justice system in Scotland dataset: 2016-17 (published December 2019)

The range of alternative punishments which are used by courts in Scotland include:

• Community payback schemes are punishments designed so that offenders put something back into the community
• A restriction of liberty order means that offenders will be restricted to a specific place for a maximum of 12 hours per day for a maximum of 12 months
• Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) are designed to reduce or stop offending by addressing problem drug use.
• Financial penalties (fines) with the amount varying depending on the crime and on the court handing them down. Fines are the most common sentence handed out by the court.
• Admonishments which is where a verbal warning is given by a sheriff to someone found guilty in a court.

Alternatives to prison disposals usually have better outcomes for reducing re-offending compared to prison sentences.

Victims and the general public have concerns that offenders don't take community sentences seriously, and may feel they do not effectively punish or deter offenders.