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Foreword
This report sets out the work of HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS) between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.[1] I have greatly enjoyed adapting to my role as HM Chief Inspector of Prosecution (Chief Inspector) since taking up post in July 2025; it has been a busy and productive year at IPS. We have published our holistic, large-scale joint inspection with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) on citing witnesses in the sheriff court,[2] a strategic plan for 2026-29[3] and a terms of reference for a new focused follow-up inspection[4] on communication with victims of domestic abuse in summary cases. We have also continued to oversee implementation of inspections.[5]
In March 2026 I was delighted to be invited to give evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee about the state of the criminal justice system and challenges for the new parliament. This was an opportunity for IPS to put on record our reflections, achievements and concerns.[6] It also increased awareness, accountability and transparency about our role, purpose and value of our work in inspecting the operation of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
Value of inspection work
As Chief Inspector, I am committed to making a practical difference and contributing to the improvement of COPFS through our evidence-based inspection.[7]
COPFS continues to undergo a period of significant change which is discussed further below. That, along with public sector reform, financial austerity and limited IPS resources can make our role challenging. We identify inspection topics which will benefit most from independent scrutiny – aspects of COPFS work which are not currently being reviewed or changed by COPFS or being considered in other reviews or audits – and which would add the greatest value and improvement to the prosecution authority, its service users and the wider criminal justice system.
We bring an extensive, collective operational knowledge of the prosecution service and ensure the necessary expertise to produce thorough, evidence-based inspections and make outcome-focused recommendations. As discussed in the ‘our inspection activity’ section of this report and shown in our detailed implementation tables,[8] when achieved, our outcome-based recommendations bring about real, positive change for victims, witnesses, accused, the wider public, other criminal justice stakeholders and COPFS.
Change across COPFS and impact on IPS work
A wide-ranging, change programme called ‘Designed for Success’ (DFS) is ongoing across COPFS. We understand that DFS aims to modernise the prosecution service to ensure it remains resilient, efficient and supports and gets the most from its staff, while meeting long-term public expectations, during a period of significant change across the justice system. DFS has involved an organisational and governance restructure, review of management structures and roles and responsibilities, while embedding a new leadership and management framework and creating improved training. This is consistent with the aims in the current COPFS Strategic Plan.[9]
DFS was scheduled to conclude by the end of 2025 however, it has involved the creation of a number of new Directorates including a Performance and Service Improvement Directorate and a Transformation and Change Directorate for which recruitment remains ongoing. These changes have impacted the implementation of some of our recommendations as new senior leaders have considered the appropriate approach afresh, in particular Responding to enquiries: service delivery through National Enquiry Point (Enquiry Point) discussed further at paragraph 95. Similarly, a change in the governance of our inspection reports, explained below, has also contributed to an initial delay to implementation of our inspection on Citing witnesses in the sheriff court.
Over the course of the last year COPFS has continued to focus on digital projects including Witness Gateway,[10] Defence Agent Service (DAS),[11] Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC),[12] and Body-Worn Video Integration.[13]
From our inspection activity, we are aware that the current COPFS case management system still causes widespread difficulties and inefficiencies. We understand that the intention is to replace this but there are no firm timescales. Despite COPFS advising that changes to oversight brought about by DFS are now in place it remains unclear to us whether there is sufficient prioritisation or oversight of COPFS digital projects led by COPFS Information Services Division (ISD).
Going forward, we will aim to consider whether the changes in the COPFS governance structure and leadership including training for COPFS staff, along with technological advances are realising the intended benefits.
Further COPFS initiatives and changes are discussed further below in the context of IPS priorities.
Budget, spending and workload across COPFS
The COPFS budget for 2025-26 was £264.7 million.[14] COPFS is wholly funded by the Scottish Government and is subject to annual budget allocations via Resource and Capital Spending Reviews.
The IPS budget is 0.17%[15] that of COPFS.
The COPFS budget allocation was provided to COPFS to enable it to:
ensure criminal cases are effectively and independently investigated and prosecuted or have other proportionate action taken in the public interest.
ensure financial gain achieved by criminal means is removed from criminals using proceeds of crime laws.
ensure that victims, nearest relatives and witnesses and those accused of an offence are treated with dignity and respect.
ensure deaths which need further explanation are appropriately and promptly investigated.[16]
COPFS had a staff of 2600 FTE in 2025-26.[17]
IPS has a staff of 4.57 FTE – just under 0.2% that of COPFS.
This year, the impact of Covid-19 timebar removals and an increase in reported cases have combined to create significant pressures in the COPFS High Court Sexual Offences and Major Crime teams. COPFS implemented a ‘national casework stabilisation plan’[18] to address this but we understand that this is now a COPFS-wide stabilisation plan. Since February 2026, this has involved movement of staff from other functions to those teams and the movement of work across national casework teams.
We will consider the nature, volume and impact of COPFS workloads throughout our inspection activity.
Inspection aims and values
In our 2024-25 annual report[19] I set out my priorities for IPS and they remain as follows;
1. People
2. Practical
3. Process
4. Primary
5. Progress
6. Public
People
Prosecution and death investigation involve people – those who require to engage in the criminal justice system, criminal justice stakeholders and COPFS staff.
Mindful that many victims, witnesses and bereaved next of kin will have no experience of the criminal justice system and their involvement with the prosecution authority will often come without choice, we have continued to focus on improving the experiences and service provision for victims and witnesses through our inspection activity.
We are aware that COPFS continues to encourage a trauma-informed approach across all its work, including establishment of a Trauma-Informed Focus Group and introduction of trauma-informed rooms across the COPFS estate. There is also associated mandatory trauma-informed e-learning. The take up rate of this e-learning by staff across COPFS has improved since last year which is encouraging though there is still progress to be made.[20] In order for COPFS to become a trauma informed organisation it is vital that as a minimum all staff undertake the necessary mandatory training. COPFS also aim to improve much needed vicarious trauma support for staff.
A VIA[21] Modernisation Programme (VMP) was commissioned by the previous Lord Advocate in late 2022. In 2024-25, VMP was to consider the fundamental elements of the VIA service and devise changes to ensure it continues to meet the needs of victims, witnesses and next of kin.
I commented last year that we had seen little evidence of the impact of VMP particularly in the context of implementing the recommendations from our inspection report on The prosecution of domestic abuse cases at sheriff summary level. While a number of those recommendations have now been progressed and are discussed in further detail later in this report, the pace of VMP has remained regrettably slow and we have recently been advised that it has been paused in light of ongoing COPFS structural change.
In April 2026, COPFS introduced ‘all staff’ calls. These are monthly Teams meetings hosted by the COPFS Corporate Communications Team and the Crown Agent to which all COPFS staff are invited. The Crown Agent and other leaders provide updates about what is happening across COPFS and there is an opportunity for staff to ask questions and express thanks to colleagues. The meetings are well attended and appear to be a positive way in which to share messaging and news across a large organisation.
Practical
We continue to work with COPFS throughout our inspection activities and to support implementation of the recommendations made in our inspection reports.
COPFS is committed to supporting the work of IPS, accepting and implementing our recommendations, often using our inspection reports as a platform for change and improvement. A number of our recommendations have progressed this year albeit pace of delivery can be an issue. With that in mind, we have introduced some recommendations with timescales for implementation.[22]
Unfortunately, as commented upon elsewhere in this report, the practical impact of COPFS reviewing its inspection oversight and implementation model, has meant that work did not start immediately to progress these recommendations which has contributed to the recommendations not being achieved within the stated timescales. Now that there appears to be a settled governance model to oversee our recommendations, going forward I would expect COPFS officials with oversight responsibility for our work[23] to discuss with IPS any delay in implementing time sensitive recommendations and request a formal extension where appropriate.
We will also continue to ensure that thorough follow-up work across our inspections is carried out where necessary. My strong desire to determine what practical difference has been brought about by COPFS in response to our inspection on The prosecution of domestic abuse cases at sheriff summary level was one of the main factors which prompted IPS to undertake our first Focused follow-up inspection on communication with victims of domestic abuse in sheriff summary cases.[24]
The COPFS operating model for inspection implementation to date has been to appoint a senior COPFS official with sufficient knowledge and experience of the inspection topic to achieve the recommendations as an implementation lead. For some inspection topics there is also an associated working group, made up of relevant practitioners and senior leaders to support and assist with implementation.
With the exception of the Enquiry Point implementation lead who had been ringfenced to work on that inspection report, this tends to be in addition to busy ‘day jobs’ which can be onerous, not least as some of our inspection recommendations can be wide-ranging and require culture change and collaboration from a number of different teams across COPFS and partner organisations. Other factors such as legislative change or future investment can also make this task difficult.
We understand that going forward the Performance and Service Improvement Directorate will have corporate oversight of all inspections, audits and reviews which COPFS require to implement simultaneously, including our inspection reports.
We are also advised that the COPFS Transformation and Change Directorate will have the remit of overseeing all projects across a number of different strategic portfolios within COPFS. We understand that digital activity will be considered within this wider change and transformation environment, rather than operating only as an ISD-led programme of work. This may be useful for IPS as our recommendations often straddle several COPFS functions. We will provide a further update about how these changes in oversight operate in practice in our 2026-27 annual report.
Over the course of the last year, we have noticed some changes in the COPFS approach to IPS work. We are pleased to see how our inspections have been adopted into the COPFS Business Plan 2026-27 and the Local Court Business Plan 2026-27.
There has also been reference to our recommendations and what COPFS is doing to achieve them in process and policy changes. We are also aware that our inspection aims[25] are widely referenced in domestic abuse training, demonstrating its clear relevance and value for the prosecution service, which is encouraging.
Process
There is a great deal of process change across COPFS. Summary Case Management (SCM) is now embedded across the criminal justice system.[26]
We are aware from an evaluation report published by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) in May 2026[27] that SCM has brought about transformative change to summary justice.[28]
While the overall number of scheduled criminal trials has reduced from over 43,000 in January 2022 to just over 13,000, the number of scheduled High Court trials has continued to rise. The number of indictments registered at the High Court is projected to be over 2000 in 2026-27 compared to 935 in 2023-24.[29] We understand that there will be a similar review of solemn case management which will, amongst over things, take account of the current backlogs in solemn courts across Scotland.[30] We note that successful work on this area was undertaken previously by the Bowen Review[31] and resulted in legislative change. As we observed in our most recent inspection many of the benefits from this review had fallen away during the Covid pandemic. The way forward may be in ensuring these valuable principles and processes are adhered to rather than starting completely afresh.
To complement SCM, COPFS aims to introduce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and develop steps involved in SCM processes, setting out who should do what and when. This will be linked to casework standards. We understand that work is due to commence on SOPs in Autumn 2026.
In June 2026, COPFS introduced a new prosecution test and code.[32]
We will consider if these processes would benefit from IPS inspection in due course.
Primary
Failure demand is when an organisation’s failure to deal with an issue effectively the first time – primary – prompts additional and unnecessary work, time and resource whilst damaging confidence in the organisation. Failure demand is a recurrent problem identified across our inspection activity which has been highlighted in our three most recent inspections – The prosecution of domestic abuse cases at sheriff summary level, Responding to enquiries: service delivery through National Enquiry Point and Citing witnesses in the sheriff court. In those inspections failure demand related to inefficient processes and lack of staff resources, training and experience.
In an effort to address failure demand in casework, COPFS has very recently established a Quality Assurance Team. COPFS acknowledge that the organisation does not have a consistent internal framework for assessing compliance and evidencing the quality of their casework. This programme aims to address that gap by creating the standards, processes and governance arrangements needed to provide meaningful assurance across the organisation with a view to establishing a Quality Assurance Framework.
We also understand that the COPFS Chief Operating Officer intends to address failure demand at a corporate level. The 2026-27 Corporate Services business plan states that COPFS aims to improve the failure demand rate on whether enquiries reach the right organisation the first time by 20% by February 2027.[33]
One cause of failure demand is a lack of centralised record of witness contact within COPFS systems. This has been a recurring theme since 2023 and has arisen across our four most recent inspections.[34] Despite making repeated recommendations to address the obvious risks of key witness information not being shared with prosecutors or other relevant staff and the requirement to meet disclosure obligations we have not seen any evidence of practical change.[35]
We will continue to monitor and identify failure demand across our inspection activities.
Progress
There has been significant change, challenges and progress across the wider criminal justice system this year which may influence our future inspection activity.
The Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 which received royal assent in October 2025 and will be implemented in phases, contains historic reforms to transform victims’ and witnesses’ experience of the justice system and ensure they are treated with compassion, while continuing to safeguard the rights of the accused.
These include abolishment of the ‘not proven’ verdict in all criminal trials[36] and a change from the jury majority required for a conviction from a simple majority to at least two-thirds of the jury.
The Act also requires trauma-informed practice to become embedded across the criminal justice system to avoid victims being re-traumatised by the legal process.
The are also significant new measures to meet the needs of victims of sexual offences including by establishing a specialist Sexual Offences Court to enable victims to give their best evidence while minimising the potential for re-traumatisation.
Scotland’s prison population is an ongoing issue; in March 2026, 8452 people were in prisons across Scotland. As a temporary and exceptional measure seeking to reduce the Scottish prison population prosecutors have previously been instructed to have regard to the current pressure on prison population as a relevant public interest factor in their decision making until the issue is alleviated. As part of this, prosecutors were asked to take the use of direct measures into consideration. We undertook a Joint review of diversion from prosecution with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland in 2023.[37] Despite these current pressures, this inspection has taken a not insignificant time to implement which will be discussed later in this report.
There has also been a significant legal development in the prosecution of domestic homicide. In the case of HMA v Lee Milne, after many months of domestic abuse, Kimberley Milne completed death by suicide and though the accused did not physically kill her, was charged and convicted of culpable homicide and abusive behaviour. This is the first such conviction in the United Kingdom and it has drawn interest worldwide.[38]
There is an increased focus on digitisation and modernisation across the criminal justice system, which will require Scottish Government investment to deliver accessible, efficient and digitally enabled services, which chimes well with many of the recommendations we made in our inspection on Citing witnesses in the sheriff court.
Public
As the public prosecutor and investigator of all sudden and unexpected deaths in Scotland, COPFS requires to be transparent and accessible to the public. As the COPFS inspectorate, the requirement for public accountability falls equally upon IPS.
With this in mind, in our inspection on Citing witnesses in the sheriff court we recommended that COPFS should put more information on their website.[39] Similarly, as set out in the ‘other inspection activity’ section of this report, we have continued to raise awareness of and engagement and confidence in our role.
Finally
I am extremely grateful to the inspectorate team for all of their hard work, kindness and support throughout the year, as I have continued to adjust to my role.
Our most recent published inspection, Citing witnesses in the sheriff court, a full-scale review of the entire citation process and witness experience, was a very large joint piece of work with HMICS. I am grateful to HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Craig Naylor and his team along with all of those who have shared their experiences of the citation process to help bring about much needed change and modernisation.
I would also like to thank the Law Officers, Crown Agent and all of the COPFS staff who have given so willingly of their time, knowledge and experience across our inspection activity.
It remains my privilege and pleasure to lead IPS as Chief Inspector. I look forward to working productively with the newly appointed Law Officers, Crown Agent and COPFS to continue to drive improvements and to make positive, practical changes for victims, witnesses, next of kin, accused, the public, COPFS stakeholders and staff through our independent scrutiny.
Deborah O’Brien Demick
HM Chief Inspector of Prosecution in Scotland
September 2026