Community Justice Outcome Activity Annual Report 2023-2024 Key Points
What is the Community Justice Outcome Activity Annual Report?
The Community Justice Outcome Activity Annual Report looks at how well Scotland is using community justice to support people who have committed offences to serve their sentences in the community, rather than going to prison.
The report considers progress across 13 priority actions set out in the National Strategy for Community Justice. It includes things like unpaid work, support with housing, mental health, and addiction services. The aim is to help people make positive changes in their lives, reduce reoffending, and keep communities safe. It covers from April 2023 to March 2024 and explains what’s working well, what challenges remain, and what needs to happen next. This summary is written to be clear and accessible for everyone.
You can read the full report here.
What is community justice?
Community justice is about holding people to account for their actions while also supporting them to change their behaviour. People who have broken the law are held to account and supported to reconnect and contribute to their communities. In addition to paying back to the community, people can receive support with addiction, mental health, finding a job or housing. Evidence shows that community justice reduces reoffending, helps people move on with their lives, and makes communities safer.
Key achievements this year
- More than 3,300 people – an increase of 28% – were safely diverted from prosecution and given targeted support to tackle the root causes of their behaviour—such as mental health or substance use—reducing their chances of reoffending.
- Bail supervision was used more widely, offering courts a safe and structured alternative to imprisoning people before they face trial, with regular monitoring and support.
- Electronic monitoring (such as ankle tags) provided courts with effective tools to restrict movement and maintain public safety while people remain in the community.
- More than 15,000 Community Payback Orders were issued—holding people accountable through unpaid work, supervision, and rehabilitation, with 71% completed successfully.
- Court orders that help individuals contribute to and integrate within their communities lead to better outcomes than sending people to prison for short periods—which often results in people serving many short sentences without being rehabilitated.
- Although some processes to help people find homes have been improved, the housing emergency and other factors would suggest that lack of suitable housing has worsened.
- Local areas improved information-sharing practices with third-sector providers and other agencies to better support individuals transitioning from custody to the community.
Challenges that need action
- Scotland’s prison population has grown to more than 8,000 people, showing the urgent need for strong and effective alternatives in the community.
- More than 1 in 4 people in prison are on remand—held while waiting for trial or sentencing—putting pressure on the system and costing more money, without leading to better results for people or communities.
- Community justice services are under-funded and restrictions make it hard to plan ahead, train staff, or build strong local support.
- Research evidence tells us that community justice is the right approach to make Scotland safer, but a lack of in-depth Scottish data makes it harder to fully understand what’s working, where support is needed most, and how to make improvements.
- We need more people to have the skills to contribute to community justice outcomes in their work, so more training is required.
- Scotland is not yet realising the opportunities from electronic monitoring.
Spotlight on specific work
- The Caledonian System is a structured programme that works with men who have been abusive in relationships. It helps them change harmful behaviour, making families and communities safer. It will soon be available in 24 council areas and further expansion is planned.
- Addiction support is now being offered earlier to help people deal with problems that can lead to further offending.
- Voluntary Throughcare gives people leaving prison the support they need to rebuild their lives and avoid reoffending. Its availability has recently been expanded, but still not everyone can access it as there are so many people who need support.
- Restorative Justice gives people affected by crime the chance to be heard and ask questions. It also helps people who have committed crimes take responsibility for their actions. This is not yet widely available.
What needs to change
- Community justice services need reliable, long-term funding so they can properly supervise people, reduce reoffending, and protect the public—not just get by year-to-year.
- Improved access to housing, health care, and employment support is needed —especially before people leave prison to help reduce reoffending.
- The justice system should be fair and accessible to everyone, including people with learning difficulties or language barriers, while still keeping the focus on public safety.
- Courts and the public need clear evidence that community sentences work—and can be trusted as strong, effective alternatives to prison.
- Victims, families, and people with lived experience must help shape services, so justice is not only done, but seen to be done.
Scotland’s Goal: Community First
Scotland’s aim is a ‘Community First’ approach to justice. This means using prison when it is needed to protect the public—and using strong, well-managed community options when it is safe to do so. Community justice holds people to account, supports them to make changes, and reduces the chance of further harm. With the right investment and leadership, this approach can deliver better results for victims, communities, the justice system and our country as a whole.