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Foreword
I am pleased to introduce HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland's (IPS) Strategic Plan for 2026-29 which is my first as HM Chief Inspector.
Our new three-year strategic plan sets out who we are and what we do, and how we will continue to support continuous improvement in the service provided by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and help strengthen public confidence in the justice system by ensuring transparency and accountability. We will keep our strategic plan under review and update it if necessary to take account of any significant changes or feedback which we receive.
We have considered our existing vision and values and concluded that they should remain unchanged from those published in our first strategic plan as they continue to reflect our purpose and approach. Again, the five current strategic objectives which underpin our actions remain largely unchanged though it is important to acknowledge the need to take a trauma-informed approach across our work, not least within user-focus, and the need to take account of improved technology, in particular AI, and how it can support our work.
As set out in our 2024-25 annual report,[1] my priorities for IPS are as follows:
1. People – the need for COPFS, as the sole prosecution and deaths investigation authority in Scotland, to have people at its heart.
2. Practical – IPS requires to make recommendations that are realistic and achievable which will improve COPFS and help to bring about meaningful change for victims, witnesses, next of kin and wider service users, including the accused, the public and COPFS staff as quickly as possible.
3. Process – IPS requires to undertake effective consideration of existing COPFS processes, identifying what works well and where there is scope for improvement. This is vital given the number of significant legal, structural and process changes COPFS is undergoing and will continue to experience for the foreseeable future as reflected in our annual reports.
4. Primary – through our inspection activity, identifying and addressing ‘failure demand’ to ensure that COPFS is getting it right first time and providing a high standard of service delivery.
5. Progress – ensuring that we are keeping abreast of legal changes, including in prosecution policy and technological developments, to provide an informed approach that adds value to COPFS throughout our inspections.
6. Public – IPS requires to be transparent and accessible to the public, as do COPFS. Lived experience and user perspective is key and it will be vital across our inspection activity to make recommendations that will assist COPFS in de-mystifying the role of the Procurator Fiscal.
My 6 priorities for IPS also chime with our strategic objectives.
Our strategic plan also continues to reflect the inspectorate's commitment to our own continuous improvement. We require to fulfil our statutory purpose at a time of reduced fiscal spending and to build on our achievements, particularly raising awareness about our work and role. We have considered what the inspectorate does well and where we can develop and improve. It is important for us to ensure we deliver an independent, credible and meaningful inspection programme that adds value and can bring about tangible change for COPFS, its stakeholders and the wider criminal justice system as promptly as possible. This is why, going forward, some of our recommendations will have timescales for implementation. We will work with COPFS to monitor implementation of our inspections and consider more focused follow-up inspections when there is clear merit and public interest in effective implementation of our recommendations, but there is limited evidence to demonstrate that COPFS is achieving them.
One of our biggest challenges over the next three years will be significant changes in the staffing profile of our small team. We will take this as an opportunity to reconsider and modernise our existing staffing structure.
My thanks to the inspectorate team and all those who participate in and support our scrutiny activity. Their contribution helps us to fulfil our purpose, vision and values and meet our strategic objectives – to inspect the operation of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service through credible, independent, evidence-based scrutiny.
Deborah O’Brien Demick
HM Chief Inspector of Prosecution in Scotland