Police are being called to attend incidents at courts in the north and north-east about eight times every month, it has emerged.
Figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives show that there have been 274 call-outs in northern Scotland in the last three years – including 199 at Aberdeen’s courts.
The Granite City accounted for 9% of the 2,228 calls to courts, with only Glasgow recording more.
There were no figures available for Inverness, but police were called to Elgin’s court 34 times in the period, and to Peterhead on 31 occasions.
A further four 999 calls to police were made as a result of incidents at Kirkwall, there were three at Fort William, and one each at Stornoway, Tain and Banff.
A variety of crimes were detected at each call-out across Scotland, including 162 reports of drug-taking and 138 assaults.
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Incidents contained in the statistics also included one related to “animals” in Ayr in 2016, a public demonstration in Dumbarton, and a person consuming alcohol in a courtroom in Glasgow.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said the figures showed Scotland’s courts service to be under huge strain.
He said: “This just shows the kind of pressure our sheriff courts system is under.
“They are constantly being asked to do more with less, and now it emerges these facilities are at the centre of hundreds of 999 calls each year.
“It underlines what a brave job people working at sheriff courts do, and the importance of the system more generally.
“The vast majority of these aren’t minor incidents, and put the safety of those in the court building at risk.
“It’s vital that both our courts service and police force don’t have to continue cutting back so they can do the important job of delivering justice swiftly and safely.”
The Scottish Government said that progress had been made in addressing the “extra demand” placed on courts.
A spokesman said: “Court performance is improving with the latest figures showing 97% of Sheriff Courts offer trial diets at the optimum 16 weeks compared to 50% in 2014. We have provided additional resources to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to address the extra demand created by the increased reporting and prosecution of certain categories of crime.”
The Crown Office and the police both declined to comment on the figures.
