HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY AND SHERIFF COURTS. Notes to the Tables VII.-Persons proceeded against, nature of crimes, and results of VIII.-Penal servitude and imprisonment sentences and fines X.-High Court. Persons proceeded against in each County. PAGE 47 48 50 52 53 54 58 XVI.-Persons proceeded against. Nature of crimes and results of proceedings PLACES OF DETENTION. XVII. Children and young persons received 62 63 64 65 APPENDIX.-CRIMES AND OFFENCES, CLASSIFIED LIST, INDEX 8885 66 83 BARONET, D.S.O., M.P., His Majesty's Secretary of State for Scotland. SIR, DEPARTMENT OF JUDICIAL STATISTICS, 11 RUTLAND SQUARE, EDINBURGH, 5th December 1927. We have the honour to submit the Criminal Statistics of Scotland for the year 1925. Prior to 1925 these Statistics were published, together with Statistics of Civil Proceedings, in a volume known as the Report on the Judicial Statistics of Scotland: a Stationery Office publication of foolscap folio size. We came to the conclusion in 1925, in considering the scope of these Statistics, that it would greatly enhance their utility if they were issued as a Parliamentary publication, and we accordingly decided to effect the change with the volume for 1925. A reduction in the size of the work to royal octavo was an essential part of the change, and, as we were of the opinion that the form and extent of the Statistics were open to considerable improvement and modification, we decided to consult the Permanent Consultative Committee on Official Statistics before undertaking the revision which the reduction in size necessitated. The Consultative Committee examined the Statistics, together with the proposed alterations, and the present volume embodies their recommendations in regard to the Criminal Statistics. The Civil Statistics will, in future, be issued as a separate publication, and that volume also has been modified to accord with the views of the Committee. Although the changes in the current volume have been almost entirely in the direction of reduction and the elimination of details of minor importance, additions have been made where it has been considered advantageous. The collection of the information for the additional particulars, and the difficulties attendant upon the compression of a mass of material into a small compass, have delayed the issue of this volume very considerably. We very much regret this delay, which we hope will be minimised with each succeeding volume, until the normal date of issue is reached again. In this volume the principal changes are the omission of the Prisons Tables and those relating to Criminal Lunatics and Habitual Drunkards. These Tables are published in the "Annual Report of the Prison Commissioners for Scotland." The Borstal and the Reformatory and Industrial Schools Tables have been modified and deal only with receptions, particulars of discharges, &c., being omitted, these Tables also appearing in the Prisons Report. Particulars regarding Appeals and Bills of Suspension and the exercise of the Prerogative of Mercy will be found in the Introductory Notes instead of in separate Tables, as heretofore. A Table giving results of proceedings in Juvenile Courts has been added, and a classified list of Crimes and Offences, which, until the year 1920, appeared at the beginning of the volume and was thereafter discontinued as a measure of economy, has been restored in the form of an Appendix. A short Note on Criminal Procedure in Scotland has been provided and precedes the Statistical Tables. It is hoped that reference to this Note may make the figures more readily intelligible to those not familiar with Scottish practice. The Index which has been appended to the volume will facilitate reference to the particular subject desired. CRIMES AND OFFENCES. The total number of persons brought before the Criminal Courts in Scotland in 1925 was 115,138, an increase of 3,530 or 3.16 per cent. over the figure for the previous year. A reference to Diagram I below, which shows, in the form of a graph, the fluctuations in the total numbers proceeded against from 1903, reveals immediately how insignificant the increase is. This diagram shows clearly the downward tendency of the figures since 1903, apart from the sudden fall in the war years, and although the numbers since 1922 show a slight rise, the incline is so gradual as to be almost horizontal. The other six diagrams are interesting as showing the downward tendency reflected in each class of crime except "crimes against property with violence," and unspecified crimes, the bulk of which are crimes of indecency, as distinct from indecent assaults, &c. In each of these two classes the slow but certain rise is unmistakable. This increase may be due to one of several reasons: the actual number of crimes committed may not be any greater, but, owing to greater activity or efficiency on the part of police forces, apprehensions may be greater in number from year to year; or the increase may be accounted for by the normal growth of population with corresponding increases in the numbers engaged in crime, and in the numbers of their victims; or it may be due to the ever growing numbers of persons unemployed, to some of the more lawless of whom the prospect of "a good haul" may seem attractive. DIAGRAM I. Total number of persons disposed of for crimes and offences (year 1925, 115,138). 180,000 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1913/1913/1911 1918 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 5,100 4800 4.500 4.200 3.900. 3.600 3,300 3.000 2.700 2.400 2,100 1.800 1,500 DIAGRAM II. Crimes against the person (year 1925, 2,642). 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 DIAGRAM III. Crimes against property with violence (year 1925, 2,139). 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 [་qio ]་q་་ 2.700 2550 2400 2250 2,100 1950 1800 1650 1.500 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 DIAGRAM V. Malicious Injuries to property (year 1925, 3,012). 4650 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1300 DIAGRAM VI. Other Crimes not included in the above, chiefly indecency (year 1925, 870). 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1200 1,100 1,000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 DIAGRAM VII. Miscellaneous Offences, including drunkenness, disorder, Police Acts offences, &c., &c., &c. (year 1925, 94,294.) 160.000 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 The number of persons proceeded against for Serious Crimes -Class I to VI throughout the volume-increased from 20,498 in 1924 to 20,844 in 1925, and those proceeded against for Minor Offences-Class VII-increased from 91,110 to 94,294. In Class VII the numbers dealt with for Breach of Peace and Drunkenness decreased from 45,576 to 44,997, a figure which is slightly higher than those recorded in 1922 and 1923, but considerably lower than those of the immediate post-war years. A Table showing the number of persons proceeded against for Breach of |