Citing witnesses in the sheriff court

The aim of this inspection was to assess how effectively and efficiently prosecution witnesses are cited to give evidence in the sheriff court. This includes members of the public who have been the victim of a crime or who have witnessed a crime, as well as police and professional witnesses.

The inspection has been carried out jointly by HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS) and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), which has allowed us to consider the citation process from both a prosecution and policing perspective.

In 2024/25, a total of 157,615 citations and 179,475 re-citations were issued in sheriff summary courts.[1] In the same year, 31,238 citations and 30,386 re-citations were issued in sheriff and jury courts. This amounts to 398,714 occasions on which witnesses’ lives were potentially affected and disrupted.

In 2024/25, 48,360 summary and 5,919 solemn cases called for trial in sheriff courts across Scotland. However, evidence was led in only 13% of summary and 21% of solemn cases.[2] Many witnesses will have been cited to give evidence and attended court for trials that ultimately did not proceed.

While there are some signs of improvement across both organisations, we found that much work remains to be done by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and Police Scotland to reduce the impact of citation on witnesses – not least as most of those we heard from found the citation experience a negative one.

The personal and economic impact of the citation process on witnesses, the police and prosecution services, and the justice system have all been considered. Despite the high volume of citations issued, we found that COPFS and Police Scotland do not adequately monitor performance data on the citation process to allow for accurate identification of costs, issues, demand forecasting, or service improvement opportunities.

We looked at the current legal and policy frameworks for citing witnesses in the sheriff court; how COPFS and Police Scotland intend to deliver their obligations to cite witnesses to court; and to what extent the citation process is informed by an understanding of the current operating context and the needs of witnesses and the justice system.

We were particularly struck by the lack of oversight, leadership, governance, strategy and monitoring of the citation process across both organisations. This should be addressed as soon as possible to ensure the necessary improvements to what is an inefficient and largely outdated system.

We found that COPFS and Police Scotland training and awareness of the citations process was not as practical or effective as it should be. Nor did it take account of how fundamental citation of witnesses in the sheriff court is to the criminal justice system in Scotland.

This has led to many operational police and prosecution staff not fully understanding how their role operates as part of the wider citation process, or the interdependencies between COPFS and Police Scotland to ensure an efficient and effective process. We observed that this lack of knowledge has contributed to negative perceptions between staff in each organisation, which often hampered collaborative working. A culture shift is required to ensure positive change.

In considering the end-to-end citation process we found systemic failings from the outset across both organisations:

• Police Scotland rarely obtains witness availability and sometimes does not obtain sufficient contact details when taking witness statements, leading to unsuitable court dates and citation challenges
• When witnesses provide availability, this is rarely considered when trial dates are fixed, resulting in witness excusal requests, countermands (cancellations) and longer journey times of cases
• COPFS failure to deal with witness excusal requests or countermands effectively or timeously is extremely impactful on all witnesses
• Police Scotland faces challenges serving witness citations due to the volume of personal citations and the need to balance this with other operational commitments
• There is ineffective consideration, by both organisations, of the adequacy of existing technology and lack of digital solutions.

We have looked at the current methods of citation in the sheriff court and the impact of being cited as a witness, particularly in light of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025. This mandates trauma-informed practices for investigations, prosecutions and court proceedings and – while we found evidence of a desire to ensure a trauma-informed approach by both organisations – there is still a long way to go.

We have also considered whether the experience of being cited to attend court as a witness can be improved, and whether there is scope to modernise and achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in the citation process, including through use of digital technology.

We found that while many organisations across Scotland communicate with their customers digitally, and electronic communication is used routinely by most people in their daily lives, most citations for civilian witnesses are issued by post. This is not compatible with an effective, modern criminal justice process that has service delivery and customer care at its heart.

We also drew significant learning from how witnesses are cited in other jurisdictions where digital citation methods work effectively. With this in mind, we make recommendations for a more efficient, witness-centred approach to citation.

This is also in keeping with the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy for Scotland, launched in November 2025,[3] which aims to use technology to deliver improved public services in Scotland.

We would like to thank those from COPFS, Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority, along with all the witnesses and victims who shared their experiences of the citation process with us. Their views helped shape our findings and recommendations.

HM Chief Inspector of Prosecution in Scotland

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary

March 2026