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Footnotes
1 As our annual report is, traditionally, not published until later in the year some of the narrative and supporting evidence relates to developments during 2026-27.
2 Citing witnesses in the sheriff court
3 Strategic Plan 2026-29 | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland
5 Inspection of the management of criminal allegations against the police by COPFS | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland; Joint review of diversion from prosecution | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland; The prosecution of domestic abuse cases at sheriff summary level | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland; Responding to enquiries: service delivery through National Enquiry Point | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland. This will all be discussed in greater detail in the ‘Our inspection activity section’ part of this report.
6 Criminal Justice Committee | Scottish Parliament TV
7 As reflected in The 10 principles of public sector inspection – Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates
8 See Appendix 2.
9 Strategic Plan 2023-27 | COPFS
10 The COPFS Witness Gateway is a digital portal which aims to enhance trauma-informed services for victims and witnesses. It can enable witnesses to securely access case-related information online.
11 Defence Agent Service (DAS) this portal provides solicitors with secure online access to case information and digital services, supporting more efficient engagement with prosecutors.
12 Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC): an electronic system whereby digital evidence is shared and managed in collaboration with justice partners in summary cases.
13 The national roll out of body-worn video footage by Police Scotland concluded in April 2026 – this enables Police Scotland to share body-worn video footage with COPFS via DESC.
14 Annual Report 2025-26 | COPFS
15 IPS budget for 2025-26 is £463,000.
16 Annual Report 2025-26 | COPFS
17 This excludes non-executive directors of which there were 6 and Advocates Depute of which there were 74.
18 COPFS National Casework Function is a new function responsible for the investigation, management and prosecution of a broad spectrum of cases across 9 units which include High Court Sexual Offences and the Major Crime Team.
19 Annual Report 2024-25 | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland
20 There are two trauma-informed e-learning modules, a trauma-informed module (module 1) which is mandatory for all staff and trauma-informed and skills modules (module 2) which are mandatory for staff who interact with victims and witnesses. As at August 2026, 73% of COPFS staff had completed module 1 and 56% of eligible staff had completed module 2. Legal staff are to complete both modules and there is KPI for 90% compliance. This compares to figures as at August 2025 Module 1 had been completed by 17.73% of COPFS staff and Module 2 had been completed by 20.3%.
21 Victim Information and Advice – VIA staff are part of COPFS and provide information on the criminal justice system, updates on court cases, support at court and referrals to other services.
22 Citing witnesses in the sheriff court | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland – Recommendations 16, 37 (b) and 40 (b).
23 We understand that oversight of our work will sit with the Audit, Risk & Assurance Team which is part of the Performance and Service Improvement Directorate.
26 SCM is a judicially-led initiative designed to create a more effective system for handling summary cases through early disclosure, engagement between parties, and proactive judicial management. SCM aims to resolve cases earlier, reduce witness citations, and ensures trials proceed when scheduled, delivering better outcomes for all involved, including victims and witnesses. SCM was initially piloted in Dundee, Hamilton and Paisley sheriff courts and then rolled out nationwide.
27 final-scm-national-rollout-report.pdf
28 SCTS data shows significant reductions in the amount of witnesses cited and re-cited, more trials going ahead on the date they are scheduled and scheduled summary trials falling over all to 9,000 from over 30,000 during the pandemic. Over 100,000 fewer police officers were cited to give evidence during the period of the national rollout of SCM, approximately 3,000 fewer child witnesses were cited, representing a reduction of 40% in the same period and more trials now proceed on the scheduled day, with fewer adjournments to new trial diets. The percentage of adjourned trials has fallen from 40% to 27%.
29 Source, SCTS.
30 Criminal courts backlog follow-up | Audit Scotland
31 [ARCHIVED CONTENT] The Independent Review of Sheriff and Jury Procedure
32 This replaces the first prosecution code issued in 2001. The old two stage test for prosecution was -1. Evidential Test, 2. Public Interest test.
The new test is – 1. Evidential Test
(a) Legal sufficiency of evidence
(b) The prospects of a conviction being recorded
2. Public Interest test
The new test means that prosecutors will require to record more information about their decision making.
33 Responding to enquiries: service delivery through National Enquiry Point | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland – Recommendation 4.
34 The prosecution of domestic abuse cases at sheriff summary level (April 2024) – paragraph 451 and Recommendation 22; Responding to enquiries: service delivery through National Enquiry Point (January 2025) – paragraph 250 and Recommendation 12; Citing Witnesses in the Sheriff Court (March 2026) – paragraph 340 and in our current Focused follow-up inspection on communication with victims of domestic abuse in summary cases.
35 We were advised, for the purposes of our 2024-25 annual report that a Working Group had been established to consider this, however we understand that it only met once. From evidence submitted in relation to our inspection on the prosecution of domestic abuse cases at sheriff summary level an updated VIA minute sheet to capture this information now appears to be proposed.
36 The Not Proven verdict was abolished on 1st January 2026.
37 Joint review of diversion from prosecution | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland
39 Recommendation 9.
41 5. WORKING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE OUTCOMES - Christie Commission on the future delivery of public services - gov.scot
42 Inspection Framework | HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland
43 EVE requires prosecutors to telephone victims in summary domestic abuse cases in the early stages of proceedings and offer an in person meeting to victims in summary cases where the complaint contains a charge of contravening section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.
44 Recommendation 12 - with regard to bail in domestic abuse cases, COPFS should:
(b) work with justice partners, particularly the police and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, to ensure that victims are informed of the outcome of the accused’s first appearance on the same day, and update all guidance and protocols accordingly.
45 Recommendation 19 - in relation to communicating with victims in summary domestic abuse cases, COPFS should:
(a) take immediate steps to ensure that victims are receiving basic information about their case, including its outcome, timeously.
46 Recommendation 3.
47 Recommendation 40 (b) – COPFS should issue guidance and train staff to ensure that Police Scotland is advised when witnesses are countermanded.
48 Recommendation 37 (b) – that COPFS should implement a consistent national process on responding to sheriff court excusals and monitor compliance.
49 Recommendation 16 – COPFS should ensure all prosecutors engaged in the conduct of sheriff and jury business are aware of the content of the Sheriff Court Solemn Procedure Criminal Courts Practice No 1 of 2024 and are adequately trained on the contents to ensure compliance. Existing sheriff and jury prosecutors should undertake this training within six months of the publication of this inspection report, and prosecutors transferring to sheriff and jury teams should undertake relevant training within a month of their transfer.
50 An electronic system used by Police Scotland to track legal documents to be served, including citations. COPFS can access data on citations and attempts to serve citations on an interface called the Legal Document Exchange (LDX).
51 Carried out jointly by HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland.
52 Those under the age of 18.
53 Updated national guidance on diversion from prosecution published - Community Justice Scotland
54 In the reporting period 2024-25 COPFS indicated that it no longer accepted recommendation 28 that it should inform justice social work.
55 The national unit within COPFS where initial decisions are made about alternatives to prosecutions and prosecutions in the justice of the peace courts or sheriff courts before a judge without a jury.
56 Recommendations 12, 15, 17, 29, 30 and 33 are examples in which evidence of new processes being followed in practice is of particular importance.
57 In certain circumstances victims have a statutory right to ask for a review of a decision not to prosecute or to stop or discontinue a case once proceedings have started in court.
58 copfs-strategic-plan-2023-27.pdf
59 Though not considered during our inspection, COPFS have recently issued guidance in relation to non-fatal strangulation and suffocation in domestic abuse cases.
60 Recommendations 1 (b) and (c).
61 The Domestic Abuse Manual is internal COPFS guidance on how practitioners should deal with cases that involve domestic abuse.
62 Recommendation 14.
63 Recommendations 2 (a), (b) and 12 (a).
64 In applying a ‘risk lens’ prosecutors have a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) duty to consider risk of harm to the victim and mitigate against it. In domestic abuse cases, this means recognising the totality of risk, separate to the offending reported, to make holistic decision. It will inform decisions on whether to prosecute; bail; and Non-Harassment Orders (NHOs).
65 COPFS state ‘intersectionality’ means recognising difference, acknowledging that individual experiences of abuse will be different.
66 Recommendations 2 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and 12 (c).
67 Recommendation 13.
68 Recommendation 3.
69 Recommendation 14.
70 COPFS provided dip sampling across all 6 sheriffdoms for 10% of all summary domestic abuse cases from October to December 2025 in relation to recommendations 2 (d), 3, 4, 12 (a) – (e), 13 (a) and (b), 14, 15 (a), 15 (d), 17, 19 (a) and 24.
71 Recommendation 20.
72 final-scm-national-rollout-report.pdf
73 Recommendations 6(d), 8, 11, 21 and 24.
74 In August 2025 74% of SCM of domestic abuse cases had recorded prosecutor contact being made with victims, this COPFS advised that ‘prosecutor contact’ means a record made of making or attempting to make a call by a legal member of staff in the early stages of the case. This contact is distinct from VIA contact or from any additional/at court contact by prosecutors. The 74% figure relates to SCM data COPFS wide with the exception of the sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife where SCM is considered to be ‘embedded’.
75 Recommendation 17.
76 Recommendation 6 (d).
77 Recommendations 6 (e) ,17 and 18.
78 Recommendation 22.
79 There were 18 recommendations in the report but three have two parts namely recommendations 6,10 and 11 which total 21 recommendations.
80 Recommendations 10 (a), 10 (b) and 16.
81 Criminal Justice Committee | Scottish Parliament TV
82 Policing Performance Committee - 10 June 2026 | Scottish Police Authority (agenda item 5.3)
83 Criminal Allegations Against the Police (CAAPs), 2021-22 to 2025-26 | COPFS
84 Scottish Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders.
85 In this regard charge codes are classification records on COPFS systems for outcomes that will allow COPFS to record the different potential outcomes of diversion more accurately.
86 COPFS Local Court Business Plan 2026-27.
87 COPFS International Co-operation Unit.