MSPs launch scrutiny of prosecution service effectiveness

A major inquiry into the effectiveness of the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has been opened by Holyrood's Justice Committee.

Individuals and organisations are invited to give their opinions on Scotland’s independent prosecution service ahead of the MSPs taking evidence in the autumn.

The inquiry will look at:

• COPFS's effectiveness and efficiency, and how well it works with other stakeholders in the criminal justice system;
• Whether COPFS has the resources and skillsets it needs to carry out its core role;
• COPFS’s responsiveness to new challenges and opportunities, including the evolving nature of crime in 21st century Scotland, advances in technology, and changes in the delivery of court services that may affect access to justice;
• How COPFS protects and supports witnesses and victims of crime.

It will also look at the role and function of the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (the independent inspectorate of the COPFS), but not COPFS’s two other roles of establishing the cause of sudden, unexplained or suspicious deaths or investigating allegations of criminal conduct against police officers, except in relation to the general issue of whether COPFS has the resources it needs to carry out its purpose.

Views would be particularly appreciated on:

• the overall efficiency and effectiveness of COPFS in its core role of considering reports about crime from the police and bringing prosecutions; in what ways its services could be improved, such as through technology, criminal procedure reforms or better case management, and whether such changes also bring risks, in terms of the overall interests of justice or of access to justice;
• how well COPFS works with other stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including police, defence lawyers, courts, prison service, criminal justice social work and victims' and offenders' organisations, to provide a joined up and complementary service that helps meet the ends of justice;
• whether COPFS as presently constituted has the resources and skillsets it needs to carry out its core role effectively, whether it is future proofed to deal with new technologies available to criminals, the changing profile of crime, or withdrawal from the European Union, and if not, what additional capacities it needs;
• how well COPFS responds to the needs of victims of crimes and to witnesses (especially vulnerable witnesses), and meet its legal obligations towards them;
• what respondents know of the Inspectorate and their views on its effectiveness in carrying out its role.

Committee convener Margaret Mitchell MSP commented: “The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service is absolutely fundamental to the operation of an effective justice system in Scotland. This is why this committee has chosen to make it the focus of its first major inquiry.

“MSPs on the previous Justice Committee raised several concerns about the additional pressures that the organisation faced in recent times – including an increase in complex historic sex abuse and domestic abuse cases and new requirements required by legislation.

“The COPFS’s responsibilities towards victims and witnesses have also been increasing – and rightly. This has all taken place against a backdrop of tight budgetary settlements in recent years.

“It is likely these significant pressures will continue, so fundamental to this inquiry will be to determine if the COPFS has the resources it needs to bring offenders to justice, and is 'future proofed' to deal with new challenges.”

Welcoming the inquiry, Gordon Jackson QC, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, commented: “There have been concerns for some time and the feeling that the decision making processes are not as good as they once were, and that the frontline is struggling with the resources available.

“The appointment of a new Lord Advocate from outside the service provides an ideal opportunity for a full re-evaluation.”

In an open letter to Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC, published in today's Scotsman, Mr Jackson expresses his concern that the “admirable principle” of an independent prosecution service, acting in the public interest, “is being eroded in practice”. Advocates depute and junior fiscals alike, he writes, are seen as reluctant to make decisions but refer cases to their superiors, and prosecutors have admitted to him that they are not following their own judgment on what can be proved “because of the family's position” – referring to the now common practice of meeting victims' families.

Click here to view the call for evidence. The closing date for submissions is Wednesday 19 October 2016.