More than 4,000 cases have been dealt with at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in the last year, new figures have revealed.
Statistics released by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service show the number and type of hearings held at the city centre court building in the last financial year.
A total of 3,620 summary level complaints were concluded, while 439 indictment-level cases were also dealt with in 2019-20, making a total of 4,059 cases.
The numbers are slightly up on the previous year, which saw 413 indictments dealt with and 3,585 summary complaints.
Meanwhile, at summary level, 602 trials called in which evidence was led in 2019-20, up from 574 the previous year, with 163 trials adjourned due to lack of court time.
At solemn level a total of 103 trials called in which evidence was led, an increase from 81 in 2018-19.
In addition, 30,686 complaints were concluded in the Justice of the Peace court in Aberdeen in the most recent financial year
At Peterhead Sheriff Court 874 summary cases were concluded in the most recent financial year, down one from 2018-19.
And Elgin Sheriff Court saw 828 complaints dealt with, a drop of 60 from the previous year.
A total of 682 petitions were registered at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2019-20, an increase of 84 from the previous year.
At Peterhead 186 petitions were registered, while 158 were registered in Elgin.
A report released with the statistics analysed the national statistics and stated: “The volume of petitions registered is a useful indicator of future levels of solemn business as petitions tend to become registered indictments at the High Court or Sheriff Court.
“There were 9,780 petitions registered (in Scotland) in 2019/20, a rise of 620 (6.8%) from 2018/19.
“A rise in indictments registered is also apparent when 2018/19 is compared to 2019/20.
“The volume of evidence led trials in 2019/20 is 1,134 which is comparable to 2018/19.
“When compared with the number of trials scheduled at the end of March 2019, there has been a reduction of 7% in the number of trials scheduled at the end of March 2020 to 461.
“The percentage of trials adjourned due to lack of court time fell from 7.1% in 2014/15 to 1.8% in 2019/20 – a drop of 5.3 percentage points.”
The report added: “Summary business in the Sheriff Court has seen a 9% rise in the volume of complaints registered between 2018/19 and 2019/20 with an average of 16,300 complaints being registered per quarter.
“Cases calling for trial during this period are showing a 7% reduction compared to the previous year.
“The volume of evidence led trials has decreased by 10% between 2018/19 and 2019/20 to 6,946 evidence led trials.
“The volume of trials scheduled has risen by 24% between 2018/19 and 2019/20 with 13,971 trials still to call as at the end of March 2020.
“The percentage of trials adjourned due to lack of court time fell from 6.1% in 2014/15 to 3.0% in 2019/20 – a drop of 3.1 percentage points.”
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