Society appeals for experiences of acting for vulnerable accused

The Law Society of Scotland is appealing to solicitors who have represented vulnerable individuals facing criminal prosecution to share their experiences.

The Society’s Criminal Law Committee has convened a working group of individuals from practice and academia, to review existing Scottish legislation and practice with a view to suggesting how the criminal justice system may be improved to support vulnerability in those accused of criminal offences. The project builds on work the committee undertook last year and its published report. (Click here for article.)

Experiences would cover all stages from police interview through to trial. In particular the group would like to hear:

• how the situation arose;
• what was done, and by whom;
• when the situation occurred (to ensure the report is up-to-date, examples from the past 12 months are preferred);
• the court or sheriffdom it occurred in.

The working group is chaired by Eamon Keane, convener of the Scottish Legal Action Group and a member of the Society’s Criminal Law Committee, and also comprises Professor James Chalmers, Mhairi Logan, Grazia Robertson, Laura Sharp and Rosalyn McTaggart. Gillian Mawdsley is secretary.

Mr Keane commented: “We know from the work undertaken previously in this area that there appears to be a concerning inconsistency of practice across the Scottish criminal justice system in the identification and support of vulnerable accused individuals.

“While there has been significant legislative and political attention directed at improving the experience of vulnerable witnesses, the scope of this work has tended to focus largely on those reporting alleged criminality. We believe it is vitally important that appropriate attention is equally directed at addressing and supporting vulnerability in those accused of criminal offences, and our review of the legislation and practice in this area seeks to assess how effective current practice in this area and what improvements can potentially be made.

“We are really keen to hear from practitioners about their experience of acting for vulnerable accused individuals, from the stage of police interview through to trial and I would urge all solicitors to respond with any information or thoughts they have.”

All information received will be considered in confidence. Please email the secretary at gillianmawdsley@lawscot.org.uk

Click here for further information.