Inspectorate of Prosecution publishes annual report
A thematic review of the investigation and prosecution of solemn cases in the sheriff court, and a follow-up review of fatal accident inquiries, were the main items of work undertaken in 2018-19, according to the annual report of the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland, published today.
The sheriff court study was carried out following the phasing-in of the reforms recommended by Sheriff Principal Bowen. It found that after the reforms, "there was an increase in earlier resolution of cases and reduced churn with a high degree of compliance with the prosecutor's statutory duty to agree evidence". However, victims who had vulnerabilities but were not automatically entitled to special measures were dealt with inconsistently. Seven recommendations made by the report were all accepted.
For fatal accident inquiries, the team carried out a follow-up review to the thematic review of 2016. Here it reported a "concerning" lack of progress in several areas that had been the subject of recommendations, and in particular in shortening the timeline for holding mandatory inquiries. Three new recommendations were made, including prioritising the FAI of any death of a young person in legal custody – but "Given, in particular, the number of recommendations that remain in progress, continuing delays in dealing with mandatory FAIs and the three new recommendations, we will re-visit the investigation of FAIs in a further follow-up review next year."
Regarding the evidence and procedure review, and the new Vulnerable Witnesses Act, the Inspectorate says it will "watch with interest how these developments unfold with a view to, in the future, assessing the impact within COPFS on efficiency of sheriff summary work and the services provided to victims and witnesses".
It is also monitoring the wider use of digital technology across the justice system.