The Scottish criminal records system has historically been different from, and separate to, the institutions of England and Wales.
When the Act of Union took place in 1707, the Scottish legal and criminal justice systems remained separate from England. Since then, Scotland has generally continued to maintain its own systems, overseen by Scottish institutions. Historic Scottish criminal records now survive in different online collections.
If your ancestors were among Scotland's poor, they might well have been driven to crime to survive at some point. You can use these websites to help find their Scottish criminal records.
The best websites for Scottish criminal records
1. ScotlandsPeople
The Government pay-as-you-go family history website for Scotland has recently added 2,175 images from Perth Prison registers that were created between 1867 and 1879, and 1888 to 1921. This adds up to over 50,000 indexed entries for Perth Prison including details of both male and female prisoners. This is the first tranche of records with more prison registers held by the National Records of Scotland to come.
The records are free to search but cost six credits to view (£1.50). Included in the records is Suffragette Arabella Scott who was sent to Perth Prison to be force-fed in 1914.
2. National Records of Scotland
Family historians looking for Scottish criminal records can't afford to miss the National Records of Scotland (NRS) guide. It looks at both institutions, such as the burgh courts, High Court of Justiciary and sheriff courts, and individual criminals. It also explores transportation - only prisoners who had been tried at the High Court of Justiciary could be sentenced to be transported. In addition the guide details the different Scottish criminal record record sets that you can consult at the NRS building in Edinburgh. You can locate records using the NRS online catalogue.
3. Findmypast
Findmypast has the Scotland Prison Registers Index 1828-1884, taken from Scottish criminal records at the NRS. Transcripts offer details such as name, age, birth year, birth county/country, occupation, residence, crime, prison (and prison location), archive and archive reference. To get the full record after locating an individual in the index, you would need to go to the NRS. You can also order a full transcription, for a fee, from Scottish Indexes (see below).
4. Scottish Indexes
As well as indexes on Scottish mental health records, Poor Relief and other invaluable collections, Scottish Indexes, run by Emma and Graham Maxwell, has an impressive database of over 400,000 Scottish criminal records taken from over 30 prisons from across Scotland. You can see a detailed breakdown of which prisons and dates are covered here.
5. Ancestry
Ancestry has several Scottish criminal record sets relating to Fife, drawn from Fife Archives. You can search criminal registers covering 1910-1931; the register from 1912 to 1923 includes photographs (see top image above).
6. TheGenealogist
TheGenealogist has a good collection of transportation records, including Scottish criminal records, drawn from the series HO10 and HO11 at The National Archives. The List of Convicts in Tasmania, from HO11, has several entries relating to Scottish criminals who were transported to Australia. One of them, Ann Bryan, was convicted in Scotland and received a life sentence in 1817. These records can help tell you when your ancestors were sentenced and transported; what ship they were transported on; when they arrived in Australia; and when their sentence expired.
7. The Mitchell Library
Glasgow City Archives, at the Mitchell, includes several police records, such as Glasgow Police Court books for the early 19th century (B3/1/1/ 1–10) and circuit-court indictments for 1896– 1977 (SR22/53/2–3), although many records only survive for a limited period (for example the Dunbartonshire Constabulary criminal photographs register, which covers 1903–1914). Unfortunately the Glasgow records have not been digitised or indexed, so you will need to visit the Mitchell and be prepared to spend time going through the material to find the information that you need. The library has created an informative guide to Glasgow criminal records.
8. The British Newspaper Archive
The British Newspaper Archive has many Scottish newspapers for you to search, and these include details of various criminal trials. The newspapers are also available through Findmypast if you're a 'Pro' subscriber.