Justice Social Work Reports
Number of justice (formerly criminal justice) social work reports (JSWRs) by various characteristics. Prior to 2011, these were called Social Enquiry Reports.
Data
Justice Social Work Reports
Description
This table includes data on justice social work orders, as well as characteristics of the individuals involved. The information contained in this table is derived from annual returns made to the Scottish Government by Scottish local authority social work departments. Further breakdowns and information are available on the website.
Social work orders include community payback, community service, probation, supervised attendance, drug treatment and testing and fiscal work orders. Data at local authority level for all years back to 2004-05 for total social work orders commenced and\u00A0social work orders terminated are also available.
Metadata
| Theme | Crime and Justice |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Scottish Government |
| License | UK Open Government Licence (OGL) |
| Published | |
| Last updated | |
| Next update | 1 Jan 2026 |
| Update frequency | annual |
| Reference period | 2000 to 2024 |
| Geographic coverage | Council Areas, Country |
| Contact | justice_analysts@gov.scot |
Data quality
Completeness
Data at local authority level is also available from the additional datasets.
Uniqueness
Not assessed
Consistency
Not assessed
Timeliness
It is the aim to publish Justice Social Work Statistics as soon as possible after the end of the financial year in question. Most of the statistics are published in the September after the end of the financial year in question. The remainder, including justice social work reports, are published around 9 or 10 months after the end of the financial year in question.
Validity
The returns from local authorities give a more complete picture of justice social work activity. For example, while criminal proceedings data provides details of orders given by courts, this only covers orders given as a penalty of first disposal and misses out those which, for example, are given as a penalty for fine default.
Accuracy
The data is considered of good quality. It is obtained from recording systems which local authorities use for case management and internal monitoring. The data has, in addition, been extensively quality assured by the Scottish Government via a series of validation processes prior to publication.
Quality management
Not assessed
Additional details
Revisions
Sometimes figures are revised due to changes made to the data by local authorities. These changes are normally made at the time they are advised rather than as part of the annual cycle of updating the figures. The 2016-17 to 2019-20 data was revised in January 2022 as a result of revised information being provided for the Aberdeen City area.
Confidentiality policy
Because the data is obtained at aggregate level from local authorities, there are no issues with information about individuals being obtained from the data.