Justice agencies report on service standards for victims and witnesses

Annual reports on the standards of service for victims and witnesses have been published, providing an update on how criminal justice agencies are performing against set criteria.

The consolidated annual report document, produced jointly by the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service (SCTS), Police Scotland, the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Prison Service and the Parole Board for Scotland, is the fourth since the standards were established in support of provisions in the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014.

As well as extending the availability of special measures to support giving evidence in court, the Act requires the agencies to demonstrate what measures are being taken in order to improve the experience of victims and witnesses during their engagement with the criminal justice system.

The SCTS report includes figures on the number of applications for special measures, running to more than 25,000 in summary cases and 5,200 in solemn cases in 2018-19.

Chief executive of SCTS, Eric McQueen, said: "SCTS remains committed to working closely alongside our justice partners to help improve the quality of services available to victims and witnesses who are required to attend to give evidence.

"As well as commenting in our report on the specific standards we have set, we have taken the opportunity this year to highlight the good work taking place more widely in the system to improve the justice experience. With the support of the Scottish Government, this includes the development of specialised evidence suites for capturing evidence at a very early stage and negating the need for vulnerable witnesses to attend at court. Diligent case management is also having a significant impact on the levels of cases which proceed to trial in court, which again is a positive result for those who might otherwise be cited to attend."

The agencies acknowledge the input of members of the Victims Organisations Collaboration Forum Scotland (VOCFS), chaired by Victim Support Scotland, for their support and valuable feedback on the standards of service.

Click here to view the report.

• A separate report from SCTS, also published this week, the SCTS Mainstreaming Equality Report 2019, covers progress on SCTS equality outcomes from 2015 to 2019, and a set of new outcomes for the period 2019-23. Click here to view.