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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.
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Additional
Areas for development
- Police Scotland should review and actively manage the workloads of first-line supervisors in relation to additional functions created by the removal of case management units, to ensure they have sufficient capacity and support.
- Police Scotland and COPFS should regularly review their joint ‘Guidance for Reducing Unnecessary Police Witnesses in Standard Prosecution Reports’, and ensure that staff are kept up-to-date.
- COPFS should ensure that accurate trial court minutes are kept by prosecutors, and Police Scotland should collect data to record how many officers are cited to court and give evidence.
- Police Scotland should clarify an appropriate and proportionate approach to the use of officers for duty who are on standby for court.