Area Inspection

Dumfries and Galloway

Jan 2008

CONTENTS

Page No(s)

Preface 3 - 4

1- Introduction 5 - 7

2 - Case Analysis 8 - 30

3- Managing Performance 31 - 33

4 - Disclosure 34

5 - Service to Victims and Witnesses 35 - 39

6 - Deaths 40 - 41

7 - Management Issues 42 - 49

8 - Relations with Criminal Justice Partners 50 - 51

9 - Equality and Diversity 52 - 53

10 - Securing Public Confidence 54

11 - Conclusions and Recommendations 55 - 56

Appendix 1 Breakdown of Statistics for Dumfries and Galloway Area 57 - 64

Appendix 2 Target Achievement 65

Analysis of Questionnaires Completed by Witnesses 66 - 68

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Diversity Structure 69

2 PREFACE

The Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland was initially created on an administrative basis in December 2003 and is part of the Scottish Government but independent of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The Inspectorate was placed on a statutory footing in April 2007 by the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 (sections 78 and 79).

The Inspectorate has carried out one full cycle of office inspections based on race related issues. In addition thematic reviews usually in conjunction with criminal justice partners have been undertaken as follows:

¾ Thematic Report on Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Response on Race Issues ¾ Joint Thematic Report on the Provision of Services to Witnesses ¾ “Case Study” - a joint thematic inspection of Case Management ¾ Death Cases - A Thematic Report on Liaison in Death Cases with Particular Reference to Organ Retention ¾ Complaints Against the Police

HM Chief Inspector reports directly to the Lord Advocate.

All reports are published at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/ipis.

The function of the Inspectorate is to inspect the operation of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and make, where appropriate, recommendations that will contribute to improvement in Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service service delivery, making Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service more accountable and enhancing public confidence. All reports are submitted to the Lord Advocate and an annual report is laid before the Scottish Parliament.

The Inspectorate is concerned with improvement. How outcomes and results have been achieved is examined and the identification and promotion of good practice and minimising risk is promulgated.

The Inspectorate is committed to observing the Government’s policy on the principles of inspection including taking a customer focus and all reports and recommendations being evidence based.

Methodology:

This inspection is the first of a new programme of Area (as opposed to Office) based inspections. The new programme will see all Areas (and Crown Office) inspected on approximately a three-year period.

3 It includes a combined compliance audit, audit of corporate governance, identification of any policy/practice gaps and identification of and promulgation of best practice.

In preparation for inspection

¾ Local performance information, local business and other plans and general local information were examined ¾ Local policies and protocols were reviewed ¾ 125 recently closed case files were selected for review across all categories of offence and disposal methods ¾ Contact was made with local criminal justice partners and other community bodies and specialist agencies

On site

¾ Meetings were held with criminal justice partners and other bodies ¾ Interviews were held with members of staff

4 1 INTRODUCTION

As stated in its business plan the Dumfries and Galloway Area covers a large geographical area in the South West of Scotland. It is the smallest Area within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in terms of the volume of reports received and accounts for about 4% of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service caseload.

There are two Procurator Fiscals offices in the Area situated at:

¾ 44 Buccleuch Street, Dumfries (covering Dumfries and Kirkcudbright) ¾ The Sheriff Court, Stranraer

The Area Management Team is based in the Dumfries office.

The Area covers Sheriff Courts at Dumfries, Stranraer and Kirkcudbright with District Courts at Dumfries, Stranraer, Kirkcudbright and Lockerbie.

The Dumfries Office is due to be refurbished this financial year and the relocation of the Stranraer Office is being considered.

The Dumfries and Galloway Area is responsible for:

¾ Considering, and taking appropriate action, on reports in respect of crimes committed in Dumfries and Galloway ¾ Conducting related prosecutions in the Sheriff and District Courts and investigating the most serious crimes for prosecution in the Sheriff and Jury and High Courts ¾ Investigating sudden deaths which occur in the Area and conducting Fatal Accident Enquiries ¾ Investigating all complaints alleging criminal conduct by police officers in Dumfries and Galloway and conducting related prosecutions

The staffing structure for the Dumfries and Galloway Area is as follows:

5

DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY AREA STRUCTURE

AREA PROCURATOR FISCAL

DISTRICT DISTRICT PROCURATOR FISCAL PROCURATOR FISCAL DUMFRIES AND STRANRAER KIRKCUDBRIGHT

PROCURATOR PROCURATOR PROCURATOR PROCURATOR PROCURATOR FISCAL DEPUTE FISCAL DEPUTE FISCAL DEPUTE FISCAL DEPUTE FISCAL DEPUTE

PROCURATOR AREA BUSINESS FISCAL DEPUTE MANAGER

2nd YEAR TRAINEE

DUMFRIES and P/T PRECOGNITION PRECOGNITION KIRKCUDBRIGHT PRECOGNITION OFFICER OFFICER OFFICE MANAGER OFFICER

AREA PA

DUMFRIES and STRANRAER VIA OFFICER KIRKCUDBRIGHT OFFICE MANAGER DISTRICT PA

DUMFRIES AND KIRKCUDBRIGHT VIA ASSISTANT x 2 FISCAL STRANRAER FISCAL OFFICERS X 14 OFFICERS X 3 plus Temporary Fiscal Assistant

6 The Area Business Plan states that the Area’s population increased in 2006/2007 by 1%.

Also highlighted in the Area Business Plan was the fact that the Area experienced a 5% increase in criminal reports received. Recent Crown Office figures1 show that in year July 2006 to June 2007 there was an increase on the previous year of 7% which is higher than the national average of 2% in the same period.

The Area Business Plan also indicated that there was a 45% increase in cases initiated by petition (i.e. the most serious cases) during 2006/2007. This information would have been gathered at a specific point in time and would have reflected the change in business during the periods reviewed. Recent Crown Office figures show that for period July 2006 to June 2007 there was an increase on the previous year of 14% of cases placed on petition and an increase of 19% in net petitions (cases remaining on petition after further information received and considered) compared with national figures of 15% and 15% respectfully.

The Area Business Manager indicated that this is the eighth successive year that there has been an increase in the number of criminal reports received by the Area.

1 Figures extracted 04/09/07

7 2 CASE ANALYSIS – Review of Case Marking and Processes

As the main function of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the investigation and prosecution of crime a major focus for the inspection is how reports from the police and other agencies have been considered and what action taken.

As part of the Inspection process 125 recently closed cases (all closed on the IT system in April 2007) were selected for review. The criteria was to select a number of cases relating to various different offences (ranging from minor statutory and nuisance offences to the most serious High Court matters) which would allow inspection of case marking and case processing decision-making across the full range of cases from receipt of the reports to closing off of the cases. Other than an attempt to review a variety of types of offences and disposals the selection process was essentially random and the number of cases reviewed is not intended to be statistically significant however the review process does provide a useful snapshot of the workings of the offices concerned.

The review process involved requesting the original case papers and manually reviewing these together with interrogating the related IT Systems. 125 original sets of case papers were sought from the offices (mostly Dumfries but a few from Stranraer under each head of selection). Hard copy papers were provided for 106 cases, no hard copy having been processed for ‘No Proceedings and Warnings’ cases and as such were not available. Where no hard copy papers were provided review was carried out solely by interrogation of the IT systems where this was possible. There are currently a number of IT Systems on which cases are processed and data preserved. The systems work in tandem and data is shared and moved from system to system and from hard copy to IT thus data integrity is an issue of some importance.

RESULTS OF ANALYSIS:

No Proceedings Markings

The Procurator Fiscal has discretion to mark a case reported as ‘No Proceedings’. This means, as it says, there will be no action taken by the Fiscal by way of prosecution regarding the subject matter of that report. Indeed when that ‘marking’ is disclosed to the accused the Crown is precluded from any prosecution.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines and policy require the reasons for a ‘No Proceedings’ marking to be clearly minuted on each case. There are a number of approved categories of reasons for ‘No Proceedings’ – 12 specific and a 13th reason of ‘other specified reasons… which must detail reasons why it would not be appropriate to prosecute’. In short these

8 reasons range from there being insufficient admissible evidence available to secure a conviction to various other reasons why it would not be ‘in the public interest2’ to prosecute or take other positive action against the accused (such as a Fiscal Fine or a Warning).

10 cases in which proceedings were not taken were selected for inspection for this report (8 from the Dumfries office and 2 from Stranraer). A high degree of adherence to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service policy and guidelines was found with all cases being marked ‘No Proceedings’ in compliance with stated policy and guidelines. In 1 case the incorrect category was selected as the reason for applying the ‘No Proceedings’ marking but the marking itself was entirely appropriate (another category fitted the case).

The breakdown of categories of reasons for ‘No Proceedings’ in this sample was:

¾ 1 case - Civil remedy more appropriate (minor road traffic incident) ¾ 5 cases - Insufficient admissible evidence ¾ 4 cases - Further action disproportionate (although one case in this category should have been marked insufficient admissible evidence)

Other Comments: Timings:

There is an agreed protocol with the police that reports of criminal offences be submitted to the local Procurator Fiscal within 28 days of the offence or caution and charge. This target was met by the police in 7 of the 10 cases inspected.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service target to mark and implement further action in criminal cases reported to it has recently been enhanced; with effect from April 2007. The target until the end of March 2007 was to do so in 75% of cases within 5 weeks of receipt. From April 2007 this period has been reduced to 4 weeks. All cases in this sample were marked and closed within these timescales.

It is noted however the Area is finding the new enhanced target challenging. In the year to March 2007 the Area substantially exceeded the 75% of cases ‘take and implement’ target within 5 weeks by doing so in 89% of cases. In the period from April 2007 to July 2007 the monthly statistics indicate the percentage of cases meeting the new 4 week target have been 71%, 74%, 77% and 74% just marginally short of meeting the new target in 3 of the 4 months.

2 The Public Interest – The decision whether to take proceedings and the nature of any proceedings will be determined by the Procurator Fiscal’s assessment of the public interest. The Procurator Fiscal will have regard to the whole circumstances including the gravity of the offence. He will also take into account the interests of the victim, and the effect of prosecution on the accused and the local community or general public opinion.

9 Communication With Victim/Complainer:

None of the cases were such that Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines would suggest initiation of communication and/or intimation of the decision with the victim/complainer. Interrogation of the IT system did not find any request for such information nor that any such contact was made.

Good Practice:

In 3 cases the marking Depute had taken time to correspond with the reporting officer to advise why the decision had been taken in the particular case and to provide advice for submission of future cases.

Warnings

The Procurator Fiscal has discretion as to what form of action should be taken in cases reported. Indeed where there is sufficient evidence of both a crime and that a particular person committed it, consideration should be given as to whether court proceedings are merited in the public interest or whether some other action would be sufficient. This may take the form, in minor cases, of issuing a ‘Warning’ to the accused. This may be a written or personal warning although in practice personal warnings are rarely issued. This does not apply in cases reported by the Health and Safety Executive who have their own power to warn.

In the year to 31 March 2007 only 49 offers of personal warning were made by the service as a whole i.e. throughout Scotland, with 9 of these being made in Dumfries. This fairly high proportion being in Dumfries is probably explained by the geography and rural nature of the jurisdiction.

Once a warning has been issued the Fiscal has waived the right to prosecute in court. This system of warning does not result in a conviction against the accused. However, the Fiscal is required to keep a local register of warnings and intimate in the warning that should a further similar report be received court proceedings will be considered.

10 cases were selected for inspection for this report (8 from Dumfries and 2 from Stranraer).

In line with the nature of this marking these should be minor offences and there was noted a high level of adherence to Crown Office policy in this sample with 1 notable exception. One of the cases was a contravention of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 section 49 (carrying of knives in public places).

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines and policy are clear that warnings should only be issued where there is sufficient evidence against an

10 accused. At review it was noted there were 3 instances where a warning letter was issued and there was not ‘ex facie’ a sufficiency of admissible evidence in the police report. One of these cases was the aforementioned carrying of knives in a public place case. Further inquiry with the police may have ascertained sufficiency in these 3 cases but this was not carried out.

Timings:

The police adhered to the timing protocol by submitting cases to the Procurator Fiscal in 8 of the 10 cases within 28 days of offence or caution and charge. In 1 of the cases submitted outwith this period the report was only 1 day late. Similarly the Fiscal issued the warning letter within the target of 4 or 5 weeks (depending on when the case was received) in 8 of the 10 cases and in the other 2 cases within days of receiving from the police further information which had been sought prior to marking.

Communication with Victim/Complainer:

None of the cases were such that Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines would require initiation of communication and/or intimation of the decision with the victim/complainer. Interrogation of the IT system did not find any request for such information nor that any such contact was made.

Areas to be strengthened:

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines and policies are clear that warnings should only be issued where there is sufficient admissible evidence. The member of the public receiving the warning is unable to dispute the warning and as such great care should be taken that they are only issued in accordance with guidelines. While this is only a snapshot of cases it is concerning the high proportion that did not meet this standard.

A warning letter was issued to an accused where the police report stated in terms the accused struggled with reading, writing and living independently. Details of the accused’s social worker were provided in the report. Issuing a warning letter with legal jargon or wording to such an individual appears inappropriate.

Fiscal Fines

The Procurator Fiscal may in cases where there is sufficient admissible evidence of a crime committed by a named accused person, consider that action is merited in the public interest and that action stronger than a warning is required to mark the offence. In these circumstances there is statutory provision authorising the Procurator Fiscal to issue a monetary penalty by way of a ‘Fiscal Fine’ or Road Traffic ‘Fixed Penalty’.

11 This is done in terms of statutory framework provided by The Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 for Fiscal Fines and The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 for road traffic matters. The current penalties range from £25 to £100 for Fiscal Fines and to £200 for road traffic Fixed Penalties. Where the Fiscal Fine/Penalty is unpaid, unless there are compelling reasons, the matter should be taken further and prosecuted. The type of offences which may be considered for Fiscal Fines is self-limiting in that they require to be able to be capable of being prosecuted at the District Court in event of non-payment of the fine. The Road Traffic offences covered by the legislation are detailed in the relevant legislation.

10 cases were selected for inspection for this report (8 from Dumfries and 2 from Stranraer). These cases were chosen to provide a variety of offences and levels of Fiscal Fines offered.

The cases inspected displayed full adherence to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service policy and guidelines relating to this marking. All cases were appropriately marked as Fiscal Fine and the level of fine was within the appropriate range. Records indicate all the Fines were paid and further action was not required in any case.

Timings:

All 10 cases were submitted by police within the agreed time protocol. All 10 cases were marked by the Fiscal within 5 weeks of receipt (all of these cases were received at the Procurator Fiscal’s office prior to the reduced period now targeted for taking and implementing decisions).

The offences disclosed in the inspection were principally Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 section 5(2) (possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use), contravention of Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 section 47 (urinating in public), minor Breaches of the Peace etc.

Although there were 10 cases these involved a total of 14 accused persons (a number of cases had multiple accused) and the fines offered ranged as follows:

¾ 2 x £25 ¾ 10 x £50 ¾ 1 x £75 ¾ 1 x £100

All of the penalties offered were paid by the accused who have the right not to pay should they disagree with either the evidence that they committed the alleged offence or the level of penalty offered.

12 Good Practice:

All cases were processed by the police and Procurator Fiscal Service ahead of time targets. All cases were properly marked for this alternative and with an appropriate level of penalty. The offences have accordingly been dealt with by the Criminal Justice System without the necessity of court proceedings.

It is anticipated that the Summary Justice Reform, which is being introduced by the Criminal Procedure Reform etc (Scotland) Act 2007, will have a significant effect on both the number of cases being processed by way of Fiscal Fine and the level of Fine available (a fine of up to £300 with the Procurator Fiscal additionally being able to offer the accused the opportunity to pay up to £5,000 in compensation) - these reforms are due to come into force in 2008.

No Further Proceedings

The Procurator Fiscal retains the duty to prosecute in the public interest throughout the course of proceedings. Where circumstances change and it is no longer in the public interest to prosecute then the Prosecutor should discontinue proceedings as appropriate. This may be by stopping the proceedings completely and marking the case as ‘No Further Proceedings’ or accepting a plea to some charges as current circumstances or evidence dictates.

Similarly to the ‘No Proceedings’ marking there are categories within ‘the No Further Proceedings’ marking that require to be completed on the case papers to record the reason for this final marking. There are 14 detailed categories eg Accused dead, Acceptable explanation offered3 etc together with a 15th reason of ‘Other’ which must only be used where none of the other specified reasons apply and a specific set of circumstances apply to that particular case. With each of the categories comes a code to be inserted on the paperwork with the reason for this marking and this code is transmitted to the IT system for statistical purposes.

10 cases were selected under this head (8 from Dumfries and 2 from Stranraer). Original case papers were recovered in 8 of the cases; consequently full review of 2 cases was not possible. The cases were chosen to provide a variety of types and gravity of offence and coincidentally all cases were chosen from the ‘Other’ category, otherwise the selection of cases was random.

In relation to the 2 cases where papers were not provided by the local office 1 of these related to a minor case some 10 years old which appears to have

3 Where further information now provided which amounts either to a complete defence or to a substantial plea in mitigation…such that it is no longer appropriate to prosecute in court

13 only been formally closed off on the IT system in April 2007. It is impossible to comment on the marking, if indeed this is an accurate record of the marking, as the system seems to indicate there was a successful prosecution against one accused and ‘No Proceedings’ against a second accused.

The second case, a case that had proceeded to Sheriff and Jury trial before being deserted, simply had a short note indicating the reasons for discontinuance being difficulty with statements. Without the original file a view of the propriety of this decision is not possible.

In all cases fully reviewed it was found that the decision to take ‘No Further Proceedings’ complied with Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service policy and guidance. In 5 of these 8 cases however the incorrect category of ‘No Further Proceedings’ marking was noted on the IT System.

It is of note that in those 5 cases the Depute marking the case has failed to insert the recognised code on the papers albeit they have narrated the reason for the decision on the hard copy case papers. On the ‘No Further Proceedings’ marking being entered on to the IT System the ‘Other’ code has been inserted although the reason narrated may more properly fit one of the specified categories provided. A Fiscal Officer rather than a legally qualified Fiscal Depute carries out the job of entering the code on the IT System.

Good Practice:

In the 8 cases subject to full review the Fiscal had taken proper cognisance of further information and change of circumstances and reviewed the original decision in the case and prevented further and unnecessary court proceedings. Reasons for the change of marking have been correctly marked on the papers.

Areas to be strengthened:

The Depute marking the ‘No Further Proceedings’ final marking has in 5 of 8 cases failed to use the up-to-date published marking category codes. The wrong code has been entered on the IT System. This results in data integrity issues. It is of note that in this selection of 10 cases 5 demonstratively have the wrong code attached to the marking.

District Court – Cited Cases

The Dumfries and Galloway Area has 5 District Courts operating in its jurisdiction; these are based at Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Stranraer, Lockerbie and Annan. There are currently in excess of 2,000 cases prosecuted each year at the District Courts in the area - 2,139 cases disposed of in the year to June 2007.

14 The District Court is the forum for prosecution for the more minor criminal offences reported to the Procurator Fiscal which merit, in the public interest, either direct prosecution at court or prosecution at court because an alternative has failed such as a Fiscal Fine has been offered and remains unpaid.

District Courts can competently try a wide range of crimes and the magistrates have powers to impose fines up to £2,500 and/or 60 days imprisonment (regulated by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s7). This scale of sentencing power effectively self-limits the type of offence that can appropriately be tried at the District Court.

Legislation specifically prohibits a number of more serious offences being tried at the District Court eg murder, rape, assault to the fracture of a limb, housebreaking etc and in addition the Lord Advocate has formally directed that particular types of crime should as a matter of principle not be prosecuted at the District Court eg breaches of (or offences aggravated by a breach of) Sex Offenders Orders, where a Non-Harassment Order would be an appropriate disposal or cases involving a racial element etc.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines require that an alternative to prosecution be considered before court proceedings are initiated in less serious cases and that where the Procurator Fiscal marks a case for immediate prosecution at the District Court the reason for so doing is minuted (unless the reason falls within a defined category of cases not to be offered an alternative to prosecution).

20 District Court cases were selected for inspection, 15 cases from Dumfries and 5 from Stranraer. These cases were chosen to provide a variety of offences – both statutory and common law ; otherwise the selection process was random. 15 original sets of hard copy papers were recovered and reviewed.

In all these cases there was sufficient evidence to prosecute and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service policy and guidelines were followed. It was appropriate to prosecute all these cases in the District Court.

All cases met the 5-week target and 13 were reported by the police within 28 days.

The reason proceedings were taken at the District Court was minuted on the IT system in all cases where this was required although it was noted in a number of cases this was done by a Fiscal Officer rather than the legal member of staff who had marked the case suggesting this step had been omitted at first instance by the marking Depute.

The reasons minuted were, however, all appropriate and in accordance with Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines and policy. The reasons

15 provided included 7 cases of statutory vandalism (Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 section 52) where compensation might be an anticipated disposal and 5 cases where there was previously unpaid Fiscal Fine.

The remainder of the cases were miscellaneous minor offences where it was appropriate the matter be prosecuted at court eg due to the accused’s record, nature of the offence etc.

All cases reviewed proceeded upon reports received from the police as the reporting body. The police reports contain draft charges and in a number of these the marking Depute had improved these by making stylistic changes and in one case had removed the draft charge and substituted a more appropriate statutory charge albeit none of the police draft charges were incompetent. In all occasions the resulting charges were of good quality and would be resilient to legal challenge on competency or relevancy.

Preparation for Trial at Case Marking Stage:

It was noted that in all Stranraer cases reviewed

¾ Those witnesses who would be required for any subsequent trial were identified ¾ Where possible the witness highlighted if it appeared evidence could be agreed ¾ Productions required for any trial were noted and ¾ Instructions provided re service of statutory certificates etc

It is of note this step in case preparation was carried out in only one of the Dumfries cases reviewed.

Disclosure:

There has been a significant change in processes relating to the disclosure of evidence required by the Crown since the judgements issued by the Privy Council in the cases of Holland and Sinclair in 1995. There is now a presumption in favour of disclosure of witness statements to the defence in all cases where a not guilty plea is tendered and a trial fixed. This has involved fresh protocols being agreed with the police about the submission of statements and arrangements about checking of the statements and provision of these to defence solicitors. The IT systems allow for these procedures to be set in place at the marking stage to avoid ‘double-handling’ of cases (i.e. a second Depute reading the case to choose witnesses should there be a trial fixed).

At the marking stage Stranraer cases reviewed were marked for disclosure of witness statements in the event of a not guilty plea and a trial being fixed. In the event all Stranraer cases pled guilty at the first calling and the statements

16 did not require to be disclosed. In contrast only one Dumfries case had been so marked for disclosure.

Preparation for Trial:

Only 2 of the cases in this sample had a plea of not guilty (or partial plea of not guilty) tendered requiring a trial to be fixed. Both of these cases were from the Dumfries office. In neither of these cases were witnesses identified for citation, full statements marked for request, an order made for lodging of productions or statements identified for disclosure to the defence at the marking stage.

These steps were clearly taken shortly after the Pleading Diet (first calling in court of the case in summary procedure) and procedures set in motion for full statements to be lodged, witnesses to be cited etc but the IT systems do not retain full details of when, how and by whom this was carried out.

It is of note that in both cases the full statements - as received - were not sent to the defence by way of disclosure within the agreed time framework i.e. no later than 28 days prior to the Intermediate Diet.

In one of the cases the disclosure statements were sent to the defence, according to the IT System on 30 March 2007 (after the intermediate diet) albeit the statements were marked to be disclosed on 12 March 2007 and had been received, again as recorded on the IT System, on 19 February 2007. In this case the Intermediate Diet was fixed for 29 March 2007 – the original trial diet fixed for 12 April 2007 was adjourned for an unrelated reason and the matter proceeded to trial on 26 April 2007. In conclusion it would appear that the statements were not disclosed to the defence timeously.

In the second case where at Pleading Diet on 13 July 2006 a trial was fixed for 5 October and Intermediate Diet for 21 September 2006, the agent sent 4 requests for disclosure statements. The statements were submitted to the Procurator Fiscals office by the police in 2 batches: police statements on 8 August 2006 and the civilian statements on 4 October 2006, which was the day before the trial diet. The police statements were disclosed on 18 September 2006, more than a month after they had been received and 3 days before the Intermediate Diet) The civilian statements were noted as being sent for disclosure on 4 October i.e. the day they arrived in the Procurator Fiscal’s Office. It appears from interrogation of the systems that PCOCs (Previous Convictions and Outstanding Cases for civilian witnesses) were neither sought, chased nor disclosed. At the Trial Diet on 5 October 2006 the accused pled guilty as libelled.

In neither of the cases reviewed did the Crown require to seek a further Intermediate Diet to allow further preparation.

17 There was no evidence of a formal checklist procedure being carried out prior to trial diets; however, the papers were reviewed in office in preparation for trial as evidenced by instructions noted on the papers.

It is of note there was failure to comply with agreed arrangements relating to timings on disclosure to agents.

Although there were notable difficulties regarding case preparation in context this review considered only 2 cases that proceeded to Trial Diet and the Area as a whole produces a very high rate of pleas of guilty at Pleading Diet. The figures for pleas at Pleading Diet (at the District Court) to years ending June 2006 and June 2007 are 88% and 89% respectively as opposed to national corresponding figures of 78% each year.

It is anticipated that the Summary Justice Reform, which is being introduced by the Criminal Procedure Reform etc (Scotland) Act 2007 will have a marked effect on both the number of cases being processed by way of Fiscal Fine and the level of Fine available (up to £400)– these reforms are set to come into force in 2008.

Summary Sheriff Court Cases

The Dumfries and Galloway Area has 3 Sheriff Courts operating in its jurisdiction; these are situated at Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Stranraer. In the year ending June 2007 there were 4,240 cases prosecuted which is an increase of 14% on the previous year’s 3,704.

The Sheriff Summary courts can competently try a wide range of crimes with a few excluded by statute such as murder, rape and treason. The maximum sentences available to the Court are of a fine up to the prescribed sum (£5,000 until December 2007 when it will rise to £10,000) and up to 12 months imprisonment depending on the offence or record of the accused.

50 Sheriff summary cases were selected. We requested 10 cases where the accused had been kept in custody by the police pending appearance at court from Dumfries, 5 custody cases from Stranraer, 30 cases where the accused was not in custody for the offence and 5 from Stranraer. We examined 46 sets of papers, 14 of which were custodies.

Custody Cases:

14 custody cases were examined.

¾ 4 immigration cases from Stranraer were all marked for opposition to bail.

¾ 6 cases were Domestic Abuse cases:-

18

• 3 were marked that bail was not opposed but special conditions were sought. In each case bail was allowed with special conditions. • 1 was marked that bail was not opposed but special conditions sought. The Accused pled guilty. • 1 was marked that bail was to be opposed; bail was refused. • 1 was marked that bail was to be opposed, bail was granted but with special conditions. The decision was not appealed.

¾ Of the remaining 4 custody cases: -

• 1 was marked that bail was to be allowed on the standard conditions. • 1 was marked that bail was to be opposed and bail was refused. • 1 was marked that bail was to be opposed and the accused pled guilty. • 1 was not clearly marked in relation to the bail position and there was no custody statement. The absence of custody statement would suggest bail was not being opposed.

All the cases examined with the exception of the last mentioned had an appropriate bail marking. The last mentioned case was suitable for bail and absence of custody statement would suggest that the appropriate decision has been made.

Marking:

All 46 cases reviewed proceeded upon reports received from the police as the reporting body. The police reports contain draft charges and in a number of these the marking Depute had improved these by making stylistic changes and in a few cases adding in Bail aggravations, which the police had omitted, and in some cases the charges had been appropriately merged. All cases were marked in compliance with Crown Office policy.

19 Preparation for Trial at Case Marking Stage:

As noted in our examination of District Court case - in Stranraer there is a practice of full preparation at the case marking stage, Dumfries do not follow this practice.

In Dumfries in the year to June 2007 75% of cases pled guilty at the Pleading Diet, in Stranraer in the same period 55% of cases pled guilty at that stage and in Kirkcudbright 64%. Nationally for that same period only 45% of cases pled guilty at the Pleading Diet.

No cases were identified where early diets should have been sought.

Disclosure and Preparation for Intermediate and Trial Diets:

As detailed in our analysis of District Court cases the new process of disclosure has involved new working practices with criminal justice partners.

In 25 cases out of the 46 pleas of not guilty were tendered and Intermediate and Trial Diets fixed. The disclosure requirements were complied with in 11 cases. In 4 cases we could not ascertain if the time limits were complied with. In 8 cases it was impossible to meet the time limits due to when the statements were submitted by the police. In 2 cases the statements were submitted on time but not disclosed timeously.

Intermediate Diet checklists to ensure the case is fully prepared for trial were used in both offices. In some cases it is clear that Intermediate Diet checklists have been used and it is evident in all cases that pre-trial preparation was carried out but the formal checklist was not always present on the file which may be due to weeding (i.e. removal of non-essential papers prior to storage).

In one drugs case we found no forensic report available at the Intermediate Diet. The accused failed to appear and a warrant taken. We could find no evidence of the forensic report being chased up and no sign of receipt. The accused subsequently appeared from custody and pled guilty to another charge.

In one custody case the Intermediate Diet was adjourned for a week, as witnesses had not been cited. At the continued Intermediate Diet the accused was liberated and further diets fixed in normal course.

None of the cases we examined required special measures such as screens or CCTV (where the witness would give evidence through a live link with the courtroom).

20 Preparation for Trial

At Trial Diet:

At Intermediate Diet 10 cases maintained the plea of not guilty. 6 of these proceeded to trial without the necessity for any further work and were resolved at the trial diet. 3 cases were adjourned, 2 on defence motion. The motions to adjourn in the circumstances appeared reasonable. In one case the police produced CCTV evidence of which neither Crown nor Defence were aware. The other 2 cases were adjourned on Defence motion, in 1 to obtain expert evidence, and in the other the defence had just been instructed.

Referrals to Victim Information and Advice:

Of the 46 cases 7 were appropriately referred to VIA. VIA (Victim Information and Advice) is part of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and has 3 main functions:

¾ To provide information to certain victims, witnesses and bereaved next of kin about the criminal justice system ¾ To keep victims, witnesses and bereaved next of kin informed about the progress of cases ¾ To advise on and facilitate referral to other agencies for specialist support and counselling as required

We found that the 7 cases, which were referred to VIA, were done so appropriately, one was a race case and the others domestic abuse.

One of the cases examined, however, should have been referred to VIA but was not. The case involved witnesses said to be in fear due to the reputation of the accused and in the full statements one of the witnesses was described as “petrified”.

Good Practice:

We found that all pleas of guilty accepted were appropriate and reasonable and that all cases were marked and prosecuted in accordance with Crown Office policy and guidelines.

Areas to be strengthened:

It was not always clear from the available papers if productions had been requested but only 2 cases were identified where there were issues with productions. One case was the case mentioned earlier where CCTV evidence was produced at the trial diet, which was not previously known about.

21 We found that there may be an issue with the audit trail for cases. In some cases where there were productions we could not find hard copy or any indication on FOS, SOS or PROMIS (IT systems) to confirm that they had been requested. Additionally communication by e-mail without putting a copy in the file compromised the audit trail. We found one case where this may have been an issue.

Solemn Cases

In serious cases (solemn cases) the case goes through an extra stage of investigation called precognition and this means that the Fiscal or a member of the Fiscal’s staff may see witnesses as well as instruct and oversee any other further investigation required by the case. The case will then be reported to Crown Office for a further layer of checking and instructions on how to proceed.

Proceedings in solemn cases in the High Court or Sheriff and Jury courts are taken in the name of the Lord Advocate. The Solicitor General for Scotland and Crown Counsel assist the Lord Advocate in issuing instruction in serious cases and prosecuting in the High Court. Crown Counsel is the collective name for the Lord Advocate’s Deputes, Advocate Deputes.

Serious cases are split as follows:

¾ Cases where the likely sentence is likely to be more than 5 years imprisonment are prosecuted by Crown Counsel in the High Court and ¾ Cases likely to attract a sentence of 5 years and less are prosecuted in the Sheriff and Jury Courts by Procurators Fiscal

Solemn cases start, in the main by the accused appearing first on Petition in the Sheriff court. The case is then prepared for court by the Procurator Fiscal by precognition, a process that requires ‘prompt, thorough and effective investigation of a reported case….4’. Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in its stated key objectives commits to “give priority to prosecution of serious crime, including drug trafficking…5”. There are specific Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines and policies setting out standard procedures that require to be followed to achieve this aim.

There are in general more onerous duties of investigation and preparation in High Court cases than in other cases.

It was reported to us that the general countrywide increase in solemn work happened in Dumfries and Galloway in advance of the rest of the country. When the last Principal Depute retired he was not immediately replaced and

4 COPFS Book of Regulations Chapter 4 5 COPFS Strategic Plan 2006 - 08

22 this left a significant gap in the management of the solemn work at Dumfries. (The principal depute post has been filled since our inspection took place) The District Fiscal had to take on the duties of the Solemn Manager but it was not physically possible for him to carry these out in addition to his designated work. Consideration was given to a solution to this problem and what was put in place was a 2-team system of Precognition Officers and legal staff with operations being “overseen” by the 2 legal managers of the teams who were both of Depute grade. The legal staff in Dumfries are all extremely experienced and there was confidence that they would be able to take on some of the devolved duties expected of legal managers in solemn work. This structure is not as specified in Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Book of Regulations Chapter 4 but there was a conflict with the Book of Regulations and the reality in the Office.

Initial allocation of precognitions would be carried out by the District Fiscal who would review the cases and carry out some of the necessary pre-precognition work. Corners could be cut in the pre-precognition work required as the cases would be overseen by 2 very experienced members of legal staff. There was considered no need to give specific instructions in the majority of cases. The legal manager posts were rotated round the legal staff. The cases would then go to the teams for precognition. The precognition and legal staff worked very closely and the team system worked well particularly for the new Precognition Officer.

Cases are reviewed and countersigned by the legal managers although the District Fiscal would countersign some cases, for example if the Deputes were on leave or road traffic collision deaths.

We requested 10 Sheriff and Jury cases and 5 High Court cases.

Sheriff and Jury Cases

We requested 8 cases from Dumfries and 2 from Stranraer. The Dumfries Office could not find one set of papers.

In these cases we found confirmation of the high level of pleas reported by the Area. In all bar one of the cases the accused pled guilty removing the need for a trial. In 5 cases the accused pled guilty by accelerated procedure (section 76 indictment), which can spare the precognoscer in whole or in part from full precognition of the case. In 3 of the cases the accused pled guilty at a first diet (a hearing in advance of the trial) meaning that witnesses could be advised in advance that they did not have to come to court. In the remaining case the accused went to trial and was acquitted.

23 Marking:

Looking at the initial charges used by the Fiscal we found that in 8 of the cases the initial charges (on the petition) were well drafted by the Fiscal. In 7 of the cases changes were required to the police charge. In some cases these were minor or to add detail.

Judicial Examination:

In none of the cases were judicial examinations (limited questioning which can be asked of the accused by the prosecutor in Court at first or second appearance in court) carried out. There were no cases where we considered that such an examination should have been carried out.

Custody Cases:

In 5 of the cases the accused remained in custody until the police reported the case to the Fiscal. In all of those cases the Fiscal correctly applied Crown Office policy and opposed bail.

In one case where it was appropriate when the court was granting bail in the face of Crown opposition special conditions were sought to be attached to the bail order.

Precognition Process:

It is expected that a Solemn Legal Manager of at least Principal Depute grade will give detailed guidance to precognoscers. The duties laid down on these managers are onerous and in the Dumfries Office, as detailed above, this does not happen. Given that in the main these cases were going to experienced legal members of staff the risk involved is relatively small. 7 of the cases went to such members of staff, in one case guidance was given and in another we could not tell from the case papers submitted to us whether guidance had been issued or not.

Disclosure:

Disclosure of Crown witness statements should generally be made within 28 days and we found that this was done in 4 cases, late in 3, one case was an early plea and it is not known in the remaining case when disclosure was carried out.

Performance against Departmental Targets:

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has set targets for processing of cases either in accordance with statutory time limits or in some cases to deliver justice with appropriate speed. The targets for Sheriff and Jury Courts are to indict 100% of custody cases where the accused has been remanded in

24 custody pending trial within 80 days of the accused’s appearance at court for committal for trial and Dumfries and Galloway meet that target.

In bail cases the Departmental targets in bail cases are to indict 80% of cases within 9 months and 60% within 8 months.

It was of note that despite the increase in solemn business the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service targets have been achieved and exceeded. In the year April 2006 to March 2007 the 80% target in 9 months was exceeded (96%) and the 60% in 8 months exceeded (91%). From April 2007 to June 2007 the 80% target in 9 months was exceeded (92%) and the 60% in 8 months exceeded (79%).

Crown Office also has internal targets for reporting precognitions to Crown Office and all bar one of the cases were reported to Crown Office when they should have been.

Good Practice:

In general we found good evidence of communication with the defence, which has borne fruit in the large number of pleas resulting in witnesses not having to come to Court.

Areas to be strengthened:

In one case we found that where an accused person reneged on an accelerated plea of guilty the matter did not appear to be re-reported to Crown Office.

A lack of minuting (i.e. recording of what had happened with a case) on the papers although most gaps could be supplemented with the electronic record in some cases.

High Court Cases

The High Court in Scotland is the highest court for criminal proceedings and sits permanently in Edinburgh and Glasgow and regularly elsewhere throughout the country – including in Dumfries.

The most serious cases must be prosecuted at the High Court - these are defined by statute (including as would be expected murder and rape), cases where there is a likelihood the sentencing powers available to the High Court are required i.e. a sentence higher than that available at Sheriff and Jury level (maximum of 5 years imprisonment) or the offence is of such a nature that public policy requires the case be treated with this gravity. Volume of Cases:

25 It was of note the increase in cases proceeding to the High Court at the Dumfries and Galloway Area for the period year-end June 2006 to year-end June 2007 increased by 19% (an increase of 31 cases to 37 cases) whereas the increase for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service nationally for the same period was 1%. This is a significant additional workload.

Performance against Departmental Targets:

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has set targets for processing of cases either in accordance with statutory time limits or in many cases exceeding these time limits to deliver justice with appropriate speed. The targets for High Court cases are currently to indict custody cases (i.e. where the accused has been remanded in custody pending trial) within 80 days of the accused’s appearance at court for committal for trial; and where the accused is liberated on bail to indict all cases within 10 months of the accused’s first appearance on petition. These 2 targets are essentially in accordance with legislative requirements and an enhanced target to indict 80% of the bail cases within 9 months of first appearance.

It is of note that notwithstanding the increase in volume of High Court cases in the Area the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service targets have been achieved and in fact exceeded. In the year to March 2007, 100% of High court cases indicted met all targets - both statutory and Departmental enhanced - and the available figures to June 2007 indicate this level of performance has continued. This is a commendable performance.

Guilty Pleas:

It was of note that the number of early pleas of guilty by section 76 procedure was significantly higher in the Dumfries and Galloway Area as opposed to the service as a whole. In the year to June 2007 Dumfries and Galloway dealt with 45% of its cases in this way as opposed to 15% of cases nationally. In the previous year the figures were similar - 48% Dumfries and Galloway and 17% nationally.

Case Review:

5 High Court cases were selected at random. The papers received were 4 Dumfries cases and 1 Stranraer case. 3 of these cases had ultimately been resolved by way of section 76 plea. In 2 of the cases the section 76 cases the plea had been received sufficiently early to avoid the full precognition process and as such there was no full precognition prepared. In 1 case the full precognition process had taken place and the case prepared for report to Crown Office when the section 76 letter arrived. Of the 2 cases which resulted in the accused being indicted to trial at the High Court only parts of the paperwork were available for review eg correspondence files missing and as such the review was carried out on the available paperwork and interrogation of the IT Systems.

26

There were 3 drugs trafficking cases and 2 cases of attempted murder.

4 of the 5 cases were reported to the Procurator Fiscal with the accused in custody and in the 5th case the accused was already imprisoned in Dumfries Prison serving a life sentence for murder.

The Crown position regarding bail is considered separately for each accused whether they appear on a petition alone or with a co-accused. One of the 5 cases had 2 accused on the original petition and therefore review was carried out of all 6 accused appearing on the initiating petitions. In 2 instances bail was granted unopposed at first appearance. In another 2 bail was not sought by the accused at first appearance and they were remanded in custody. In the final 2 bail was sought, opposed by the Crown and refused by the Sheriff.

Of those remanded initially

¾ 2 accused subsequently made no application for bail at Full Committal and were remanded pending trial or conclusion of the case. ¾ 1 accused applied for bail at Full Committal and this was granted without Crown opposition with special conditions. ¾ 1 accused sought bail at Full Committal, this was opposed by the Crown and refused by the Sheriff. This decision was, however, overturned on appeal and the accused subsequently granted bail.

All bail decisions were reviewed and complied with Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service policies/guidelines.

The Crown position re all 6 accused appearing on petition was reviewed against current Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines/policy relating to (1) sufficiency of evidence to place on petition and (2) forum i.e. choosing to commence proceeding by way of petition rather than summary complaint and was, in all cases, found to adhere to Crown Office policy.

Marking:

In 2 of the cases the petition charge or charges simply followed that provided in the police report. In 1 case there was minor stylistic improvement to the police charge. In 2 cases there was substantial variation from the police charge or charges, in 1 case adding an additional charge and as it transpired this was the appropriate charge to which the accused subsequently pled guilty and in 1 case removing all charges against a co-accused who was reported for a very minor non-contemporaneous assault where this co-accused was the victim in the attempted murder charge.

The resultant charges on the petitions were of good quality and complied with Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidance.

27 Judicial Examination:

In none of the cases was a Judicial Examination instructed or carried out by the Crown. None of the cases fell into a category where a Judicial Examination would be required or indicated by Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines nor could it been anticipated to be advantageous to the ultimate prosecution of these crimes.

Intimation to Crown Office:

Procedure has been set in place for local offices to intimate to Crown Office notice of potential High Court trials in order that High Court diary issues may be resolved at an early stage (court facilities required, location of court, any special requirements for equipment or accommodating witness or other needs) and indeed that Legal Aid for High Court preparation becomes available for the defence. In all cases reviewed the appropriate intimation was forwarded by the local office to Crown Office in good time.

All cases were reported to Crown Office in good time to allow indictment for trial or section 76 plea within Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service stated targets.

Precognition Process:

4 of the cases were allocated to legal members of staff to carry out the precognition and 1 case to a Precognition Officer (a non-legally qualified but specialist member of staff). Two of the cases were ultimately reported to Crown Office by Precognition Officers but the papers do not disclose why and at what stage the precognition was transferred from legally qualified Depute to Precognition Officer.

In general the guidance provided for precognition at the original allocation of the case appears to be minimal – the comment ‘this ought to be a plea…’ occurring in at least 2 sets of papers with no specific guidance as to which witnesses should be interviewed. This perhaps reflects both the experience of precognoscing staff and the high level of section 76 guilty pleas in this Area – anticipating very few cases will in fact proceed to a trial.

In 2 cases, which proceeded to full precognition reports to Crown Office, there was no actual precognition interview of witnesses. In 1 case this was subject of comment by the Indicter at the Crown Office High Court Unit. In the other case there was some minor handwritten additions to the medical witness’ statement submitted by the police - perhaps suggestive of a phone call with the witness however the statement as submitted to Crown Office was stamped ‘Not Precognosced’. Again Crown Office commented on the lack of precognition and required that actual precognition of a number of witnesses took place. The paperwork provided suggests that there was little effort made to carry out this instruction.

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Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service guidelines instructs that, at a minimum, in all High Court precognitions the Reporting Officer should be interviewed and envisages that the complainer and other eyewitness and essential witnesses be precognosced unless there are compelling reasons to do otherwise. There does not appear to be compliance of this in all the cases reviewed.

In all cases the final report contained sufficient information to allow Crown Counsel to make a decision re further proceedings.

In all cases the full precognition, or the streamlined S76 Report, was signed or countersigned by a legal member of staff although not always of the grade of Principal Procurator Fiscal Depute (PPFD) or above as sought by Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service policies and guidelines.

Disclosure:

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has committed to disclose statements held by it to the defence within 28 days of the accused’s 1st appearance at court in High Court cases. In 3 of the 5 cases the statements were disclosed in good time. In the 4th case the bulk of the statements were disclosed 2 weeks late albeit they had arrived with the Procurator Fiscal in good time. In the 5th case the statements were disclosed approximately 3 weeks late although the statements had been submitted to the Fiscal by the police in good time to allow timeous disclosure - although it was noted the late disclosure did not prevent the case resolving by way of a section 76 guilty plea. The review by way of examination of papers provided and interrogation of the IT systems failed to confirm if PCOCs (Previous Convictions and Outstanding Cases of Crown civilian witnesses) had been properly disclosed in those cases where an Indictment had been served.

Communication with Agents:

There were a number of examples, even in this limited sample, of early and useful contact with agents exploring the possibility of the case resolving by way of a guilty plea. The contact takes the form of case specific information, substantially more than the standard appendage to a style letter used as a matter of course within the Service, and included, on a number of occasions, a summary of the evidence against the accused. This is striking in that it appears to correlate with the high number of early pleas in the Area. The Area is to be commended on this.

Victim Information and Advice (VIA) Involvement:

Both cases of attempted murder were appropriately intimated to VIA. In 1 case the papers provided failed to disclose what, if any, contact was made by VIA to the victims. The other case disclosed that on review VIA personnel

29 had decided not to make contact with the victim as he had been jointly reported for a minor assault.

Preparedness for Trial:

In 1 case that was indicted for trial the accused pled guilty at the Preliminary Hearing and no further action was required by the Crown.

In the 2nd case that was indicted, albeit there was a matter still awaiting agreement after the Preliminary Hearing (to allow a S67 procedure to be carried out - to add an additional production to the Indictment) this did not necessitate an adjournment of the Trial Diet and the case proceeded to trial at the original diet fixed.

There were no adjournments or delays occasioned in the cases reviewed due to action/inaction of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff.

Good Practice:

There is a practice of making direct contact with defence agents, providing details of available evidence and enquiring into possible pleas at an early stage, and obtaining these thus avoiding the necessity of full precognition, inconvenience to witnesses, administrative costs and delays etc occasioned by trials.

Areas to be strengthened:

Staff of a grade lower than Principal Procurator Fiscal Depute (PPFD) provide instruction on the investigation and management of cases at Precognition - the ‘allocation’ of a case. Staff of a grade lower than PPFD sign/countersign the final report to Crown Office. It is noted the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Book of Regulations indicates precognition should be managed by a member of the service of at least PPFD level. There is no evidence of direct instruction to precogoscing staff at the allocation stage instructing which witnesses should be interviewed/precognosced, which productions should be viewed/shown to witnesses, particular lines of enquiry or possible defence to be examined. There is little priority given to seeing witnesses. Some High Court cases have been submitted to Crown Office without essential witnesses being seen. Even after instruction from Crown Office this is not always carried out. There is little evidence of the Solemn Legal Manager maintaining responsibility for the precognition.

30 3 MANAGING PERFORMANCE

Performance management is an activity of tracking performance against targets and identifying opportunities for improvement to allow for delivery of a better quality service. To manange performance an organsisation should:

¾ Know what its aims and objectives are ¾ Know what has to be done to meet objectives ¾ Know how to measure progress towards objectives ¾ Be able to detect poor performance and take corrective action

Operational priorities identified in the Dumfries and Galloway Business Plan for 2007/08 are as follows:

60% of Sheriff Summary and District Court cases disposed of within Target 1 26 weeks of the date of caution and charge by March 2008 (Joint target with the Justice Portfolio6)

To implement agreed recommendations of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Inspectorate’s Review of the prosecution of Target 2 racial crimes by March 2006 and other agreed recommendations of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Inspectorate’s Reviews within two years of such agreement

Serve indictments in 80% of Sheriff and July cases that involve bail Target 3 within eight months of first appearance on petition by March 2008

To serve all High Court indictments that involve bail within 10 Target 4 months of first appearance on petition and 80% within 9 months of first appearance on petition by March 2008

In partnership with Justice portfolio, reduce 10% the level of High Target 5 Court trial diet adjournments by March 2008

To communicate court bail decisions within 24 hours to 90% of Target 6 victims in cases in which the accused has appeared from custody by March 2008

In deaths which require further investigation, to conclude Target 7 investigation and advise next of kin of outcome within 12 weeks in 80% of cases by March 2008

6 The Scottish Executive monitors target achievement in this criterion

31

The Area submits statistics monthly to Crown Office on performance against targets. The Area for its own information and use collate a quarterly performance report on its own offices to analyse for trends. Performance information is kept long term to show progression over the years, analyse peaks and troughs and performance over the longer period. This is of assistance if an approach has to be made to Crown Office, for example, for further resources.

Information received from Crown Office Management Information Division is described as both timely and useful.

Any perceived poor performance could be addressed at the monthly Area Business meetings and managers are encouraged to be more reactive and proactive in order to ensure the targets are met. Performance information is also fed back to staff at team briefings and office meetings. This allows all staff to know when performance is going well and when there is a need to focus on specific areas of performance.

Looking at Crown Office figures for the periods July 2004 to June 2005 and July 2005 to June 2006 there was an increase in criminal reports received of 3% and an increase of 4% in total reports received. This compares with a service wide average increase of 2% for both. In the periods July 2005 to June 2006 and July 2006 and June 2007 there was a further increase of 7% in criminal reports received and 6% in total reports received. This compares with a service wide average increase of 2% for both.

Again, looking at the periods July 2004 to June 2005 and July 2005 to June 2006 there was an increase in petitions with an 18% increase in cases being placed on petition and a 27% increase in net petitions. This compares with a service wide average increase of 12% and 18% respectively. Looking at the period July 2005 to June 2006 and July 2006 to June 2007 there is a further 14% increase in the number of cases placed on petition with an increase of 19% in net petitions. This compares with service wide increases of 15% respectively for both.

Despite the increase in petitions this has not, to the credit of the Area, affected the meeting of the targets for service of indictments.

Figures showing percentage change in business under all categories of work between periods July 2005 to June 2006 and July 2006 to June 2007 are shown in the tables at Appendix 1.

Achievement of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Targets:

On examination of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service management information for April 2006 to March 2007 and April 2007 to June 2007 we

32 found that the Area as a whole met the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service internal targets for serving indictments in custody and bail cases, take and implement decision (initial case marking), the investigation of routine deaths and the Complaints against the Police 10-week target. Of the 11 targets relevant for the Area in this period the Area only failed to meet two - investigation of 80% of deaths within 12 weeks and closing 90% of Complaints against the Police within 12 weeks.

In this later period of April 2007 to June 2007 the take and implement target was moved from its 2006/07 target of 5 weeks to 4 weeks, which the Area met.

Achievement of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service targets for period April 2006 to March 2007 and April 2007 to June 2007 are shown at Appendix 2.

33 4 DISCLOSURE

Disclosure, which is the term used to cover the provision of information to an accused person by the Crown of the evidence against him or her, has been a challenging issue for Dumfries and Galloway as it has for the whole Service.

The Area introduced revised processes to enable full disclosure of evidence, which has involved Dumfries and Galloway staff in considerable extra work.

For a 6-week period in March and April 2007 the Area piloted an initiative to disclose summaries of evidence with the complaint in all summary cases reported by the Police.

The result was to reduce to a minimum the need to “redact” i.e. edit the summaries of evidence, which were automatically created when the police reports were submitted electronically to the Service.

The Department has greeted this as a success and intends to roll this scheme out nationally on cases reported on or after 1 October 2007.

The Area indicated that disclosure is expected to remain a significant challenge.

The extra burden that the new rules on Disclosure placed on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service cannot be over-emphasised. These arrived suddenly without the opportunity for considered planning and the resources to deal with the new demands.

34 5 SERVICE TO VICTIMS AND WITNESSES

There have been many changes in policy in recent years relating to the provision of service to victims and witnesses. For many years courts have been able to permit children and vulnerable witnesses to give evidence using special measures such as a screen to shield the child from the accused, CCTV live link from a room outside the courtroom but in the court building and/or to be accompanied by a support person.

The Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 came into force on 1 April 2005. This consolidated and further developed the law surrounding the giving of evidence by vulnerable people. The Act is being commenced in stages from April 2005.

¾ In April 2005 special measures for children were introduced in solemn cases except for giving evidence on commission7 as were provisions relating to identification procedures, use of expert witnesses and the abolition of the competency test ¾ November 2005 saw the partial commencement of provision for giving evidence on commission for child witnesses in certain solemn cases ¾ April 2006 the provisions for adult vulnerable witnesses in solemn cases commenced ¾ April 2007 the provision for special measures for children in summary cases commenced ¾ November 2007 should see the commencement of special measures for child and vulnerable witnesses in civil cases including Fatal Accident Inquiries and finally ¾ April 2008 should see the commencement of special measures for vulnerable adult witnesses in summary cases

In 2004 on the instruction of the then Solicitor General, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service commenced a review of the handling of investigation and prosecution of rape and other serious sexual offences. This review, ‘The Sexual Offences Review’ made 50 recommendations including the development of training and guidance for prosecutors, revision to policy and practice, accelerated precognition of such cases, strengthening communications with victims and earlier communication with the police.

The implementation of the provisions of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 to summary cases and the implementation of the recommendations of the Sexual Offices Review are described as some of the main challenges facing Dumfries and Galloway in 2007/08.

7 Evidence is taken from the witness by a Commissioner appointed by the court, the evidence is video taped and no party to the case can, except by leave of the court, be present but are entitled by means as seem suitable to the court to watch and hear proceedings

35 The Sexual Offences Review is rightly identified as likely to have implications for staff resources in terms of guidance, training and enhanced monitoring of the preparation of cases.

Operation of Victim Information and Advice (VIA):

A dedicated Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service was set up and rolled out by December 2004 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service as a result of concerns relating to the lack of information available to victims and witnesses. The principle aims of VIA are:

¾ To provide information to victims, bereaved next of kin and some witnesses about the criminal justice process in general ¾ To keep victims and bereaved next of kin informed about the progress of the case that affects them in particular ¾ To advise on and facilitate referral to other agencies for specialist support and counselling as required

Certain cases should be referred to VIA in order that they can make appropriate arrangements for the victim/witness. Cases, which must be referred, include certain serious (solemn) cases, which have a victim; deaths cases reported for consideration of criminal proceedings or Fatal Accident Inquiry or where there are likely to be significant further inquiries, domestic abuse cases, racially aggravated cases, cases involving children, sexual offences and cases with vulnerable witnesses.

The Dumfries and Galloway Area have a VIA Officer and two part-time VIA Assistants to provide this service. They have put in place a system to check PROMIS, the Departmental case tracking system that all relevant cases are referred.

There is a protocol between VIA and the Witness Service which covers referrals from VIA to the Witness Service. This covers referrals, pre-court visits for witnesses and the exchange of information.

When changes were made recently to the protocol VIA and Witness Service met to discuss this. We were told by the Witness Service in Dumfries that the protocol operates well locally and good communications exist between VIA and the Witness Service. The quality of information provided by VIA is good and timely, information is provided about child and vulnerable witnesses timeously. Both co-operate and work well together.

The Witness Service indicated that there is an open door policy with the Dumfries office in that staff can be approached at any time with a query although there is more contact with VIA. Meetings also take place with Witness service staff, VIA and Procurator Fiscal staff on Fridays before the start of a High Court sitting. This allows them to discuss cases and ensures that all information is passed on.

36

Both the Witness Service and VIA advised that they would deal with witnesses who do not fall under their remit as they will not turn anyone away who has concerns about attending court.

The only issues causing the Witness Service concern are outwith the control of the Procurator Fiscal. The first is that there are currently no remote sites in Dumfries where witnesses can attend and be connected with the court through video link. Two sites had been identified but were found not to be suitable. However, arrangements are in place to identify new sites. The second issue is use by the High Court of the only court where CCTV is available. This means if this is required for a summary case during a High Court sitting then the summary case will have to be adjourned.

Independent feedback was received from witnesses at court in the form of a questionnaire and we are indebted to the Witness Service for the help given to us in obtaining this information. The questionnaires were given to witnesses over the week commencing 13-17 August 2007 and we received 18 completed questionnaires. 17 witnesses had attended for the Sheriff Summary Court and one for the High Court.

Drawing conclusions from our review of the completed questionnaires:

¾ The majority of witnesses appear to be cited for the Sheriff Summary Court by postal citation freeing up police time for other matters. ¾ Witnesses are cited for court in good time to enable them to make appropriate arrangements. ¾ The majority of witnesses received information on being a witness and on the location of the court. ¾ Witnesses were well served in the provision of information while waiting at court. ¾ All were treated with courtesy which is no less than should be expected but is reassuring to have this confirmed. ¾ Only one witness asked for a pre-court visit and it is a little disappointing that this need was not met and there is no way of ascertaining to whom the request was made. When we checked this further it was considered unlikely by the Witness Service that this happened as reported as the Witness Service accommodate those who ask for court visits even if they only ask on the day of the trial. If it cannot be arranged in the time available the volunteers talk the witness through a diagram and court photographs.

A more full analysis of the responses can be found at Appendix 3.

The feedback from witnesses has shown that there is good exchange of information at court and the Witness Service also advised that witnesses are kept up to date. This is in line with the agreed protocol between the Sheriff Court Service and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

37 Feedback from Women’s Aid:

Women’s Aid lavished praise on the member of staff who dealt with them being described as being “wonderful with women” and as being extremely sensitive.

One issue, which was raised, by Women’s Aid was the effect on women and children when cases were marked for ‘No Proceedings’. There was perhaps reluctance by Women’s Aid to contact the Fiscal for additional information but some had done this. Other issues for women were the time gap between reporting and going to court and accused being on bail. Relations between Women’s Aid and the Procurator Fiscal’s Offices were described as being “really good”.

Victim Information and Advice (VIA) staff were also praised for their letters and the fact that the VIA Officer in the Area was very approachable.

The Fiscal’s Office has been proactive in organising training on relevant issues.

The issue of support of witnesses going to court was described as being handled quite sensitively.

We noted that there was an abundance of different Women’s Aid leaflets at the Procurator Fiscal’s Office counter and that the good relations are of long standing.

Feedback from Rape Crisis:

Rape Crisis described relations with the Procurator Fiscal’s Office as quite healthy with good communication between both organisations to the extent of a member of the Fiscal’s staff proactively making herself available for training and discussion. Rape Crisis staff do become involved in training Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff. The Area Fiscal was praised for being approachable.

At the time of the Sexual Offences Review the Area Fiscal convened a meeting with Victim Support, Rape Crisis and criminal justice partners to discuss the review.

An example was given of good practice where a victim’s support needs were accommodated when giving evidence at a court out of the Area.

We note again that these good relations are of long standing.

38 Feedback from Victim Support:

We received information from Victim Support that a good relationship had developed in the long term between the Procurator Fiscal’s Office and Victim Support. Successive Procurators Fiscal had been supportive of the work of Victim Support. There is good information sharing and the relationship is described as open. Stranraer Office came in for particular praise. Victim Support train at Fiscals’ staff training and Victim Support have no problem obtaining a Fiscal trainer for their training.

Victim Support has one concern which is the lack of intimation to complainers of cases marked for ‘No Proceedings’.

39 6 DEATHS

It is the duty of the Procurator Fiscal to investigate all sudden, suspicious, unexplained, unexpected and accidental deaths as well as any death occurring in circumstances, which may give rise to public concern. It is a duty that Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service acknowledges must be carried out with the greatest care and attention. Comprehensive guidance is available for staff dealing with deaths.

Certain deaths require further investigation such as deaths arising from industrial disease or poisoning, any death indicating suicide, any death under medical or dental care, any death by drowning, any death resulting from a road traffic collision and a number of others.

Further to this certain deaths should be reported to Crown Office for Crown Counsel’s instructions.

The Procurator Fiscal also has responsibility for carrying out Fatal Accident Inquiries under the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976, which provides for the holding of mandatory and discretionary Fatal Accident Inquires in the Sheriff Court. Fatal Accident Inquiries are mandatory where a person has died in custody or prison or in the course of employment. A discretionary inquiry is at the request of the Lord Advocate in cases giving rise to serious public concern and where it appears to the Lord Advocate to be in the public interest that an inquiry should be held into the circumstances.

The District Fiscal for Dumfries is an Area “Resource” for deaths. All Deputes deal with routine enquiries. Generally Dumfries Office deals with Dumfries deaths and Stranraer Office with Stranraer deaths. An Area record is kept of all deaths. The Area reports dealing with a high level of road traffic collision deaths, around 25 a year and these generate a significant amount of work. The Area reported good communications with the local Health Board which we found borne out in our evidence gathering for our recent thematic report on the handling of death cases.

On looking at Crown Office performance management information comparing the year July 2004 to June 2005 with July 2005 to June 2006 the Area experienced an increase in the deaths reported to the Fiscal of 24% and a 5% increase in the number of deaths requiring to be reported by the Fiscal after investigation to Crown Office. This compared to a national average of no increase in the number of deaths reported to Fiscals and a 6% decrease in deaths reported by Fiscals to Crown Office. In this regard the Area is going against the national trend of a reduction of this work. This continues into the comparison of July 2005 to June 2006 with July 2006 and June 2007 with a small reduction in the deaths reported to the Dumfries and Galloway Area of 1% but an increase of 17% of deaths reported to Crown Office. This differs from the national trend where there is an average reduction of 2% in deaths

40 reported to Fiscals and no change in the number of deaths reported by the Fiscal to Crown Office. While these numbers are not huge this is an area of work, which is resource intensive, and emotionally challenging for staff.

There are two Crown Office targets for deaths:

¾ To investigate 80% of routine deaths within 6 weeks ¾ To investigate 80 % of deaths within 12 weeks

For April 2006 to March 2007 the Area far exceeded the 80% target for routine deaths within 6 weeks (96%) and from April 2007 to June 2007 this continued (98%).

The Area failed to meet the target of 80% within 12 weeks for both April 2006 to March 2007 (72%) and from April 2007 to June 2007 (68%).

Achievement towards targets can be found in table in Appendix 2.

The Area provides or contributes to training on the role of the Procurator Fiscal in relation to deaths to outside agencies including Victim Support, Police, Junior Hospital Doctors and nursing staff. The Area liaises with Victim Information and Advice (VIA) staff concerning deaths that fall within the VIA remit. The recently transferred District Fiscal at Dumfries is currently leading in the national roll out of deaths training.

41 7 MANAGEMENT ISSUES

Leadership:

Leadership is a way of focusing and motivating others to enable them to contribute toward the success and effectiveness of the organisation for which they work. It also involves being accountable and responsible for the group as a whole.

A leader should provide inspiration and drive and be flexible in managing changes of direction.

Senior staff in the Area have attended the Leadership Development programme run by the Department. There are regular meetings held for the Area and for the Offices. The previous District Fiscal at Dumfries was very proactive in cascading information down to staff. The new District Fiscal started the day before our review took place but will doubtless continue the good practice.

The Dumfries and Galloway Area attempt to hold Area Business meetings on a monthly basis. Attendance is expected from all management grades. There can be some slippage here due to other commitments, for example, the Area Fiscal being heavily involved in the Summary Justice Review. Agendas and minutes of meetings were provided and it was noted that the meetings covered a wide variety of work, for example:

¾ Freedom of Information ¾ Deaths ¾ Forensic Pathology contract ¾ Disclosure ¾ Budget update ¾ The refurbishment of the Dumfries office ¾ Feedback from Area Fiscal Group Meetings

Monthly Business Review meetings are held in respect of both offices. As well as discussing issues such as those mentioned above this involves reviewing current expenditure levels in relation to staff costs, case related costs and office costs. The District Fiscals and Managers are actively encouraged to be more involved in monitoring expenditure. This has resulted in savings in the case related costs, for example, citing witnesses for the District Court by ordinary post rather than recorded delivery. As is the case across the service there were issues with data integrity but the Area tackles these at the monthly meetings. Team meetings are also held regularly in the administrative staff teams.

Area management encourages staff involvement in the business planning process. They have also been included in plans for the refurbishment of the Dumfries Office. Alternatives were put to staff and the consensus followed.

42 The Area Team make sure that they make themselves available for support. Both the Office Managers at Dumfries and Stranraer have confirmed this and indicated that they were happy with the information passed on and that there are no issues concerning communication. All staff are given the opportunity to put their point across and there are regular meetings that allow issues to be discussed.

In addition to the above meetings an Area Business Conference was held in March this year and all management grades in the Area were in attendance. It involved a ‘taking stock’ review, looking at the various challenges ahead and discussing current issues that have an impact on the achievement of objectives. Also in attendance were the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Deputy Chief Executive and a Non-Executive Director.

In November and December 2005 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service conducted a staff survey. 60% of staff across the country took part. This included 16 members of staff from the Dumfries and Galloway Area. 75% of Area respondents agreed that their manager valued their work and again 75% felt that they were treated with fairness and respect. Although this is considered to be low it does compare favourably with the national figures of 68% and 56% respectfully. Overall this would appear to be a comparatively happy Area where people are committed to their work and their colleagues. This was borne out by several external partners who made comment to us about the commitment of Area staff to their work.

Staff Management:

Having the right number of staff at the right time is vital in ensuring that objectives can be achieved. Management should perform a staffing needs assessment which will allow identification of numbers required to fulfil the business obligations. Procedures should be put in place to manage staff in order that they can perform their duties in an efficient and effective manner.

As part of the business planning process the Area Business Manager in consultation with the Area Fiscal and other staff review previous and expected workloads to identify staffing requirements. The Office Managers are being encouraged to identify such needs and put a business case to the Area Management Team in this respect.

Workload staffing forecast tables are also used to aid this process. Agreed unit values per category of cases processed are totalled and divided by the number of different types of staff to show expected output per type of staff.

The 2007/08 workload forecast showed that there was a higher level of units produced by staff in the Area than in the national benchmark:

43 Dumfries & Galloway Core Staff National Benchmark Area Benchmark Units per Depute 14,574 9,130 Solemn Units per PO 14,696 8,788 Units per band B 5,989 4,240 Units per all staff 2,724 1,966

We were informed that recruitment of staff could be difficult in the Dumfries and Galloway Area. There has been an absence of a Principal Depute at the Dumfries office for some time now, however, steps have been taken to address this issue.

There are a number of big cases developing as well as a general increase in work and a successful business case has been made to Crown Office for additional funding for the Principal Depute post. Crown Office recognise that the Area has performed effectively despite the general increase in work, however, an attempt by the Area to obtain an increase in administrative posts was refused.

We were also informed that for some time now resilience funds have been used to pay for additional administrative staff. This has shown that there is a need for a full time member of staff and this should be taken into consideration again in the next staffing needs assessment.

At the present time there are a few members of staff on temporary promotion. The Area is keen to use these as development opportunities.

Flexible working hours are available to all staff and staff time is monitored. There are no abuses of this privilege and unfortunately staff do lose time as they have built up too much flexi-time, this is a recurring problem.

Staff absence is also monitored regularly and steps are taken to ensure that where there is any long term absence work is covered.

There is a system of performance appraisal, which provides staff with feedback on their work performance. Dumfries and Galloway in the past has been quick to return performance appraisal reports. However, that is not the case this year due to problems encountered using the Learning Academy to complete the forms. The Learning Academy is described as difficult and time consuming for staff. It is a new electronic Crown Office system used for staff reporting, training etc. Previously a paper based system was used.

We were advised that staff’s individual objectives in their forward job plans may not be directly linked to the business objectives. However, this has been reviewed and staff are encouraged to ensure that their objectives are relevant to the overall business objective.

44

The Area encourages both the Dumfries and Stranraer offices to help each other out where there is a need. For example, Stranraer initially received additional resources to deal with disclosure but they are now helping Dumfries.

We asked whether there are adequate resources to allow staff to perform their duties in an efficient and effective manner. We were advised that there are problems with accommodation in the Dumfries office for interviewing witnesses; however, this will be addressed in the refurbishment later this year. The Stranraer office is also looking to relocate as they only have small office space at the Sheriff Court in Stranraer.

A Precognition Officer was seconded to assist in a case of historic sexual abuse from Stranraer. There are concerns at Area level of the knock-on effect of a number of large, serious and high profile cases recently received. It is expected that this will impact on the performance of solemn work generally. Performance in the past has been influenced by the high plea rate. However, concerns must exist that the performance of the office is vulnerable and that this cannot be guaranteed.

As in most offices Dumfries and Galloway can find covering holiday periods difficult.

Results of the staff survey 2005 showed that 81% of respondents in the Area were satisfied with their relationship with their manager and immediate colleagues. 6% felt that they experienced stress constantly, 25% regularly and 7% felt that stress has a constant negative impact on their work with 13% reporting that stress regularly impacts negatively on their work.

We consider that the Area has done very well in meeting their targets given the increase in workload and the staffing constraints. Temporary arrangements have been made to cover the extra work that will be required due to the developing cases mentioned above. The Area Management Team appear to be proactive in dealing with such issues and keep an eye on the impact on the rest of the business. It is hoped that these measures will have a positive effect on staff welfare.

A diagram showing the staffing structure in the Dumfries and Galloway Area can be found at Chapter 1, Page 5.

45 Training:

It is important that staff are provided with appropriate training to help ensure that they can perform their work in an effective and efficient manner.

All staff in the Dumfries and Galloway Area have access to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service training courses and the Area promotes opportunities for staff to perform different duties.

Training has a significant impact on the Area as it is not carried out locally and the costs incurred in travel and accommodation can be substantial. There are also operational difficulties in allowing two or three members of staff time to attend such courses. The Area would benefit from more local training. (A new Prosecution College has, however, recently opened in Glasgow.)

Timing of training is crucial and Dumfries and Galloway staff were trained to use the “Learning Academy” but when this was implemented refresher training was required. The Area is expecting there to be a significant training programme to cover issues such as the Summary Justice Reform, Learning Academy and the mandatory Management and Leadership Development Programmes.

There is an Area Training Committee. Members of this committee include the Area Fiscal, District Fiscals, Office Managers and representatives from support staff. During meetings they discuss a wide variety of issues, for example, vulnerable witness training, data quality, team building etc.

The Committee are also proactive in ensuring that staff are involved in providing training on the role of the Procurator Fiscal Service to other agencies, for example the Witness Service, Rape Crisis, Schools, etc.

A new induction pack is almost finalised for the Area and will be given to new staff when they commence work.

Results of the staff survey findings showed that 50% of Area respondents were at that time satisfied with the training they received in their job and 75% felt that they had the knowledge and skills to do their job effectively. Only 38% agreed that career development prospects were good.

Training is an issue that the Area is working on and it is proactively discussed with members of staff at stages in the reporting year and effectiveness of attendance on a course is evaluated.

As with most offices, there are data integrity issues that need to be resolved. The Area advised that they will be putting significant effort into improving data quality and are encouraging staff to take refresher courses.

46 The Area monitors to ensure that relevant staff attend all Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service mandatory courses. An example given was in the recent FOS 2 training where the Area Personal Assistant monitored who attended ensuring that all appropriate staff were trained.

Financial Management and Budgetary Control:

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Budget Manual states that the Area Fiscal (or Budget Holder) is responsible for financial control of the Dumfries and Galloway Area. The Area Business Manager is the member of staff designated by the Area Fiscal to monitor expenditure and budgets on his behalf and participate in the annual budgeting exercise. Explanations for deviations from planned spending patterns should be reported to the Management Board at Crown Office.

In the Dumfries and Galloway Area the Area Business Manager in consultation with the Area Fiscal and other staff identify all spending requirements based on past expenditure, current expenditure, and consideration of changes likely to take place regarding staffing, workload and office costs. The Area Fiscal and Area Business Manager then meet with the Management Board to discuss their spending proposals and a budget is set.

Finance Division at Crown Office provide summary reports on office and case related expenditure, salary and overtime. The Area Business Manager reviews the reports received from Finance Division and figures are entered onto spreadsheets which he created for each of the offices. The details are then discussed with the Office Managers and District Fiscals at Business Review meetings held in both the Dumfries and Stranraer offices. From these trends can be identified. Reasons for under or overspends are always investigated and remedial action, if necessary, is taken by the Area Business Manager.

As stated earlier (under ‘Leadership’) the District Fiscals and Managers are actively encouraged to be more involved in monitoring expenditure. They now keep their own records of stationery costs etc and this can be referred to if there are any queries on such expenditure.

Only delegated members of staff have access to and use the Government Procurement cards and invoices are approved and authorised by delegated persons. Monitoring takes place to ensure spending only takes place within the agreed Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service limits. The process adopted in the Area to review expenditure would identify any unusual spending.

The following examples were given as savings in case related expenditure:

47 ¾ Legal staff are proactive in securing early pleas thus reducing the need to cite witnesses for court; and ¾ Citing witnesses for the District Court by ordinary post rather than recorded delivery.

Risk Management:

The objective of risk management is to identify and make provisions to reduce risks related to the business.

The Area has a risk register which is based on Strategic, Area and Office objectives. All appropriate areas of the business are covered in the register and it details under each objective the controls that should allow the key planned activities to be met. It is maintained and updated by the Area Business Manager.

Key risks identified by the Area are the time taken to recruit new staff and the ongoing increase in serious crime being reported. It is to the Area’s credit (as stated previously in Chapter 3 – Managing Performance) that targets have continued to be met under these constraints.

Change Management:

Change management entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. Change must be realistic, achievable and measurable.

The Area has undertaken several process reviews recently as part of a service wide initiative to improve services and identify efficiencies. The structure of both the Initial Case Processing and Summary Teams within the Dumfries office was reviewed and the structure amended to allow increased flexibility in order to better deal with work pressures.

Other process reviews include:

¾ Induction procedures – a new induction pack is being developed ¾ Filing ¾ Disclosure – a pilot of procedures was carried out ¾ Data quality ¾ The current refurbishment of the Dumfries office

One of the Office Managers or the Area Manager is given responsibility to lead such reviews. Action plans are established and benefits are identified for each project and progress is monitored. The Area Management Team have encouraged Office Managers to be more involved in such reviews.

48

Staff are included in the process either by having a representative on the team or by attending meetings to discuss issues and options concerning the reviews.

Stakeholders are also included in the process where there is a need. For example, Rape Crisis were included in discussions regarding the likely changes from the ‘Sexual Offences Review’.

There is a review process in place to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of any change. This also allows identification of lessons learned to take forward to future projects.

The Area plan to perform further reviews such as:

¾ Consider the current structure of meetings held with the police to help build on effective business partnership arrangements ¾ Undertake a programme of process reviews relating to data integrity ¾ Work with local criminal justice partners to identify further opportunities for efficiencies to improve service provision

Change and taking stock have been the theme of an Area Training Day.

The Office Manager in Dumfries indicated that staff were happy with the changes that have taken place so far and that they like being involved in the whole change management process.

Complaints Handling:

There are Area guidelines available to staff on complaints handling. This document details a chart of steps to take when a complaint is received and who should deal with the complaint. If a complaint is made against administrative staff then the Office Manager can receive and deal with it. If a complaint is made against a member of legal staff the District Fiscal can deal with it.

Details of any complaint are sent to the Area Personal Assistant who logs them and sends an acknowledgement. The complaint is then sent to the relevant person as described above for resolution.

There is a 20-day target for the handling of complaints. This reflects the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service target. Active attempts are made to meet the 20-day target.

The Area Fiscal deals with any complaint made direct to Crown Office personally. He is extremely sensitive to the issues and is keen to rebut any unjustified criticism.

49 8 RELATIONS WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE PARTNERS

The Area has many contacts within the local community and the Area Fiscal is particularly keen for the Office to be involved in the Community and to be seen as part of the Community.

The Office works and communicates well with the traditional criminal justice partners such as the police (particularly in Stranraer), Sheriff Clerks (particularly in Kirkcudbright), District Court Clerk and Children’s Reporters.

Information given by the police confirmed that there was a meeting structure in place between Procurator Fiscal and police. This appears to meet the needs of the local police. Prior to any police initiative such as the drugs initiative, Operation Emperor in Stranraer, there was considerable consultation in advance.

The Police Reporting Bureau formerly located at the police local Headquarters is now based in the Procurator Fiscal’s Office which the police feel aids communication. Due to community concerns there is a high level of cases reported with the accused in custody but taking into account the Lord Advocate’s Guidelines on bail.

There has clearly been communication with the police in Dumfries and Galloway about Summary Justice Reform and the expected increase in the use of undertakings. The police expect to be able to cope with the estimated 25% increase. Previous discussions with the Sheriff Clerk about processing the business should also facilitate implementation.

The police now see benefits to their organisation with the Disclosure pilot run earlier this year.

A further example of good local communication is the Police/Procurator Fiscal protocol on Police Warnings which works well from the police perspective. Relations are described overall as very good for Dumfries and excellent for Stranraer.

Relations between the District Courts and the Fiscal’s Office are also good; the Fiscals are seen to get on with the job and there is no question of the District Court being treated in a lesser fashion than the Sheriff Court.

Any issues are resolved by discussion and an example was given of the police issuing fixed penalty notices where the person had too many points on his or her licence, this being returned by the Clerk to the police who sent the case to the Fiscal who may have offered a fixed penalty. After discussion between the Clerk, police and Fiscal the procedure is now that the Clerk will notify the police of the reason for non-acceptance so that it could be specifically given to the Fiscal.

50 The contribution of the Procurator Fiscal to the training of Justices in the Area was described as exceptional and innovative.

The system for obtaining out of hours warrants works well and is well focused. These are only sought on the basis of absolute necessity.

The Children’s Reporter based in Stranraer describes relations between the two Offices as good with the Fiscals being helpful. The Area Reporter at Dumfries also describes the relationship as good with personnel from both organisations job shadowing, being invited to joint training, there being an allocated Depute to discuss referrals. The presence of a Depute on the Child Protection Committee was described as being of huge importance and an example of good communication and practice ensuring the right decision is made in respect of the young person.

Relations with local defence solicitors were also described as generally good, any problems usually being resolved amicably.

51 9 EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

A structure is in place within Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service that secures the involvement of staff at all levels in the process of promoting diversity. A Diversity Structure Chart (see Appendix 4) shows the structure used for progressing and monitoring the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Race, Gender and Disability Action Plans.

11 Area Diversity Teams were created and have members from a mix of jobs and grades within Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Some also have members from partner agencies and local communities. The Teams are encouraged to involve themselves locally with minority groups and to address local issues both in relation to core functions and also in the wider community, promoting social responsibility and inclusiveness.8

The Dumfries and Galloway Area Diversity Team, which covers the duties placed on the Area in respect of gender, race and disability, has had some slippage with the group only meeting twice in the current year. The Area Business Manager is hoping to review the team and diversity issues in general.

All staff with the exception of new members have been on the Departmental Diversity Awareness Course. Staff are kept informed of diversity issues through being involved in the Area Diversity Team, outreach activities and discussions at Area and Office meetings. Information is also disseminated from Crown Office.

Local recruitment for Band B staff is carried out at Area level and Dumfries and Galloway advertise in the national press and local job centre. Consideration will be given to other approaches such as the Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural Association.

It is hoped that the work that the Area do with the Education Authority (see below ‘Securing Public Confidence’) on careers information and crime generally and work experience will reach children from all backgrounds.

The Area is represented on the Crown Office Focus Group on Gender Equality Issues which has as a remit:

“The Focus Group on Gender Equality Issues considers Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s delivery of services and employment of staff - and identifies areas where we may (unwittingly) discriminate or where we could do better at promoting equality of opportunity in relation to gender and gender identity.”

8 Extract from Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Disability Equality Action Plan, December 2006–2009

52 The Area hopes to incorporate gender equality as a topic in an Area Training Day.

There are options open to staff such as flexible working hours. Dumfries has a lot of part time workers but the Area Business Manager would be reluctant to consider any more at this point in time as it is considered that this could adversely affect the ability of the office to fulfil its obligations.

The Area is also represented on the Crown Office Disability Advisory Group. The Area has not gone so far as involving staff and service users with disabilities but in the planned refurbishment of the office at Dumfries a ramp is being put in at the side of the building to enable access. There is a hearing loop in the Office.

There have been discussions with staff on mobility issues, toilet provision and operational flexibility. The Crown Office Health and Safety Manager, who is based at Glasgow, would carry out any work assessments for staff with disabilities.

53 10 SECURING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE

Dumfries and Galloway Office staff give freely of their time to local community groups and associations. This is long-term work which in many cases started before such actions became expected.

Members of staff are involved in local groups concerning a variety of issues including the Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural Association, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Group, Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis and Victim Support and the Witness Service.

We have received some extremely positive feedback on the work of the area from local community groups.

Women’s Aid were full of praise for one particular member of legal staff and Victim Information and Advice were described as being very approachable, communication generally with complainers being good and relations with Women’s Aid good.

Both Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis describe excellent proactive work from the Fiscal’s Office in respect of training and new initiatives.

Relations between Victim Support and the Procurator Fiscal are also described as good, Victim Information and Advice also being described as good and accessible. Staff from both organisations train their colleagues in the partner organisation.

An open door policy operates between Witness Service Dumfries and the Procurator Fiscal’s Office generally and they regularly meet to discuss cases.

The Area is also involved with the local authority Education Department in projects on deterrence from criminal activity and work experience. The Area is looking to become involved in a Citizenship and the Law Project.

The Area Business Manager was involved in co-ordinating a diversity project with the Education Department and led by the Heartstone Organisation. A Heartstone Project has the aim of challenging racism, prejudice and intolerance and is geared for young people between 8 and 18 years of age.

The Area Fiscal is proactive in contacting and meeting with local councillors and Members of the Scottish Parliament.

There has been an influx of Eastern European people in the Area. In order to raise staff’s awareness the Area, in association with the Sheriff Clerks, held a Polish Cultural Awareness day for all staff.

54 11 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions:

Although the smallest by volume of cases of the 11 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Areas Dumfries and Galloway has experienced a considerable increase in the number of cases received in recent years especially at the more serious end of the spectrum. This is significant as these cases are particularly resource intensive.

Despite this performance against targets has been impressive and in most cases ahead of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service average.

Staff are experienced and obviously committed to delivery of a high quality service and feedback from criminal justice partners was very positive. No agency was critical of the performance of the Area.

The increase in workload has also to be set against problems in replacing and recruiting staff, particularly the Principal Depute post which had been vacant for some time. Given this combination it is not surprising that when individual cases were examined there was some evidence of corner cutting. There was, however, no obvious evidence that this had led to a significant reduction in the quality of the work. This can probably be best explained on the basis that experienced staff know which corners can be safely cut.

In a few cases we examined there had not been strict adherence to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service policy and guidelines in particular in the use of a handful of warnings and the selection of the correct category for ‘No Further Proceedings’.

The Disclosure requirements imposed on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service at short notice have hit Dumfries and Galloway hard and there was evidence of Disclosure being made to the defence later than policy currently dictated.

The snapshot of cases where bail was a consideration showed adherence to the Lord Advocate’s policy and guidelines on this important matter.

In the more serious cases there was an apparent lack of guidance (especially in the absence of the Principal Depute) and instruction to those preparing the cases. Against that it has to be said the staff performing this function were largely very experienced and required little by way of instruction. However more could perhaps be done to clarify the extent of investigation required. Similarly there was some evidence of a failure to precognosce (ie interview) all appropriate witnesses and this was commented on in one High Court case we examined by the Crown Office High court Unit itself.

55 There were many examples of good practice. Most of the Departmental in-house targets were met or indeed exceeded. There was good communication with the police and the defence. Discontinuation policy (i.e. ‘No Further Proceedings’) was actively and appropriately done on the cases examined by us. Staff were proactive in obtaining reasonable pleas from the defence especially in the more serious cases thus saving considerable time and effort (45% for Dumfries and Galloway as opposed to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service average of 15%).

Good feedback was obtained on the service provided to victims and witnesses. Our own questionnaires and enquiries regarding how witnesses were treated at court done in conjunction with the Witness Service and Victim Support revealed very positive feedback.

Management and budgeting planning were good with efforts made to involve all staff in the process not just those “at the top”.

Training needs seemed to be well thought out and catered for.

The Area has in the past been in the van of promoting good relations with the local community especially in the area of race relations and many joint events/projects were noted. There had been some slippage noted in the meetings of the local diversity team but it was hoped that this would be remedied shortly.

Recommendations:

1. Staff should be reminded of the rules in relation to the issuing of warning letters.

2. Staff should also be reminded of the selection of the correct category for cases to be marked ‘No Further Proceedings’.

3. There should be efforts made to disclose to the defence in line with current policy within the current timetable.

4. More instruction and guidance should be given to those preparing cases so that at least there is a written audit of what was required.

5. In the more serious cases and where resources permit a greater effort should be made to see the essential witnesses.

56 Appendix 1 Breakdown of Statistics for D&G Area9

Input July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Jun 2006 Jul 2006 – Jun 2007 % change

Criminal reports received Total reports received Criminal reports received Total reports received Criminal reports received Total reports received

Dumfries & Galloway 10,859 11,324 11,568 12,011 7% 6%

PFS 316,500 336,427 323,365 342,341 2% 2%

Dumfries 7,365 7,721 8,032 8,361 9.1% 8.3%

Kirkcudbright 919 976 947 987 3% 1.1%

Stranraer 2,575 2,627 2,589 2,663 0.5% 1.4%

Petition Cases July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Jun 2006 Jul 2006 – Jun 2007 % change No of cases Number of cases No of cases Number of cases No of cases No of cases placed on reduced to Net Petitions placed on reduced to Net Petitions placed on reduced to Net Petitions petition summary petition summary petition summary Dumfries & Galloway 299 49 250 342 45 297 14% -8% 19%

PFS 8,795 1,422 7,373 10,152 1,688 8,464 15% 19% 15%

Dumfries 231 26 205 252 35 217

Kirkcudbright 13 3 10 22 3 19

Stranraer 55 20 35 68 7 61

9 Figures extracted 04/09/07

57 Precognitions to Crown Office etc July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Data taken Jul 2005 – Jul 2006 Data taken from Jul 2006 – % change Jun 2006 from month 12 Jun 2006 – Jun month 12 of the Jun 2007 of the period: 2007 period: Cases Cases Cases investigated Precognition Precognition to Precognitions in Precognitions in investigated Precognition to Precognitions in investigated prior to to Crown Crown Office progress progress prior to petition Crown Office progress prior to petition petition Office instruction instruction instruction Dumfries & 128 97 2 137 110 3 7% 13% 50% Galloway PFS 5,095 3,422 39 5,927 3,898 55 16% 14% 41%

Dumfries 85 74 2 97 82 3

Kirkcudbright 8 2 0 7 5 0

Stranraer 35 21 0 33 23 0

Cases Placed on Petition July 2006 to June 2007:

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN TOTALS

Dumfries & Galloway 28 30 24 33 34 33 26 23 31 21 30 29 342

PFS 861 940 792 963 885 817 833 822 820 748 825 846 10,152

Dumfries 17 21 21 19 28 28 16 20 23 14 21 24 252

Kirkcudbright 5 4 2 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 22

Stranraer 6 5 1 10 5 5 10 3 7 6 8 2 68

58

Cases Reduced to Summary July 2006 to June 2007:

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN TOTALS

Dumfries & Galloway 6 1 2 6 6 3 9 3 3 4 1 1 45

PFS 118 142 104 141 153 108 161 167 174 126 143 151 1,688

Dumfries 5 1 2 5 3 3 7 3 2 3 1 0 35

Kirkcudbright 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3

Stranraer 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 7

Precognitions: Work in Progress July 2006 to June 2007:

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN AVERAGE

Dumfries & Galloway 102 105 108 114 121 127 122 118 118 112 109 110 114

PFS 3,513 3,598 3,739 3,789 3,849 3,983 3,848 3,968 3,886 3,846 3,841 3,898 3,813

Dumfries 73 72 76 72 81 89 82 84 86 82 76 82 80

Kirkcudbright 7 10 10 14 13 11 9 4 4 3 4 5 8

Stranraer 22 23 22 28 27 27 31 30 28 27 29 23 26

59

Precognitions Over 7 Months Old July 2006 to June 2007:

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN AVERAGE

Dumfries & Galloway 1 3 5 8 7 7 9 9 7 4 5 5 6

PFS 419 336 407 450 453 521 453 521 495 509 512 510 466

Dumfries 1 2 2 3 3 4 6 5 3 3 2 4 3

Kirkcudbright 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 0 1

Stranraer 0 1 3 5 3 1 2 3 3 0 1 1 2

Death Report Information July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Jun 2006 Jul 2006 – Jun 2007 % change Deaths Deaths Deaths reported Deaths Deaths reported Deaths reported FAI’s held 10 FAI’s held reported to FAI’s held reported to PF to Crown Office reported to PF to Crown Office to Crown Office PF Dumfries & Galloway 427 23 4 421 27 0 -1% 17% -100%

PFS 13,768 819 60 13,477 815 41 -2% 0% -32%

Dumfries 321 13 1 307 19 0

Kirkcudbright 57 4 2 40 3 0

Stranraer 49 6 1 74 5 0

10 FAI = Fatal Accident Inquiry

60

Summary of Non-Court Closures July 2006 to June 2007:

Criminal No Pros Cond Total Non- As % No Further Fiscal Reports No Pro11 as % of Warning Offer Divert Reporter Transfer Associate Court (excl of Pros Fine Received Reports 12 NFP) Reports Dumfries & Galloway 11,568 1,033 9% 1,407 977 696 307 146 67 6 90 3,322 29%

PFS 323,365 44,529 14% 51,328 26,768 14,182 19,851 1,466 3,592 1,057 5,202 11,6647 36%

Dumfries 8,032 679 8% 1,063 474 540 189 119 47 4 63 2,115 26%

Kirkcudbright 947 89 9% 103 98 61 38 14 1 0 3 304 32%

Stranraer 2,589 265 10% 241 405 95 80 13 19 2 24 903 35%

No Proceedings Breakdown July 2006 to June 2007:

Further Insufficient Mitigating Delay Lack of No Other Action Civil Delay Staff Time- Not a Age of Admissible Circumst- Police or Court Jurisd- Specified Total Disproport Remedy by PF Shortage Barred crime Offence Evidence ances Other Resource iction reason -ionate Dumfries & Galloway 230 322 97 102 150 3 0 0 10 47 0 23 49 1,033

PFS 12,181 11,510 2,243 2,182 4,270 1,899 0 0 411 2,512 94 2,760 4,467 44,529

Dumfries 154 203 52 69 137 2 0 0 6 10 0 16 30 679

Kirkcudbright 26 27 12 10 10 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 89

Stranraer 50 92 33 23 3 1 0 0 4 36 0 6 17 265

11 No Pro = No Proceedings 12 Cond Offer = Conditional Offer

61

No Further Proceedings Breakdown July 2006 to June 2007:

Now Acceptable Delay in Crown Other Petition Warrant Reporting Failed Accused Accused Incapacity Witness Attitude Failed insuff Explanation reaching Counsel’s specified timebar Total Withdrawn Deficiency service in Prison dead of accused excused of victim alternative evidence Offered Conclusion Instruction reasons PF error Dumfries & 145 87 1 492 42 9 6 27 21 4 0 18 285 270 0 1,407 Galloway PFS 4,424 4,168 83 7,655 1,601 1,382 490 1,297 799 160 37 1,649 18,506 9,071 6 51,328

Dumfries 93 57 1 399 18 7 4 15 17 3 0 6 254 189 0 1,063 Kirkcud- 19 6 0 34 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 15 23 0 103 bright Stranraer 33 24 0 59 21 2 2 11 3 1 0 11 16 58 0 241

High Court Disposals July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Jun 2006 Jul 2006 – Jun 2007 % change Plea at Plea at Total Plea at Plea at Total Plea at Plea at Total Sec 76 Trials Sec 76 Trials Sec 76 Trials Prelim Diet Trial Diet Cases Prelim Diet Trial Diet Cases Prelim Diet Trial Diet Cases Dumfries & Galloway 15 10 2 4 31 17 13 0 7 37 13% 30% -100% 75% 19%

PFS 136 287 97 276 796 128 284 81 313 806 -6% -1% -16% 13% 1%

Dumfries 14 7 2 4 27 15 12 0 5 32

Kirkcudbright 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Stranraer 1 3 0 0 4 2 1 0 2 5

62

Sheriff and Jury Disposals July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Jun 2006 Jul 2006 – Jun 2007 % change Plea at 1st Plea at Total Plea at 1st Plea at Total Plea at 1st Plea at Total Sec 76 Trials Sec 76 Trials Sec 76 Trials Diet Trial Diet Cases Diet Trial Diet Cases Diet Trial Diet Cases Dumfries & Galloway 67 51 13 22 153 90 60 6 19 175 34% 18% -54% -14% 14%

PFS 943 1,377 818 748 3,886 1,106 1,825 719 770 4,420 17% 33% -12% 3% 14%

Dumfries 58 32 11 13 114 64 40 6 14 124

Kirkcudbright 4 1 1 4 10 5 4 0 0 9

Stranraer 5 18 1 5 29 21 16 0 5 42

Sheriff Court Disposals July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Jun 2006 Jul 2006 – Jun 2007 % change Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Total Plea at Total Plea at Total Pleading intermediate Trials Pleading intermediate Trials Pleading intermediate Trials Trial Diet Cases Trial Diet Cases Trial Diet Cases Diet Diet Diet Diet Diet Diet Dumfries & Galloway 2,530 662 359 153 3,704 2,956 753 372 159 4,240 17% 14% 4% 4% 14%

PFS 35,727 21,083 16,785 5,711 79,306 37,071 22,539 16,979 5,059 81,648 4% 7% 1% -11% 3%

Dumfries 1,700 394 220 95 2,409 2,217 415 231 95 2,958

Kirkcudbright 218 50 40 13 321 205 65 32 16 318

Stranraer 612 218 99 45 974 534 273 109 48 964

63

District Court Disposals July 2005 to June 2007:

Jul 2005 – Jun 2006 Jul 2006 – Jun 2007 % change Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Plea at Total Plea at Total Plea at Total Pleading intermediate Trials Pleading intermediate Trials Pleading intermediate Trials Trial Diet Cases Trial Diet Cases Trial Diet Cases Diet Diet Diet Diet Diet Diet Dumfries & Galloway 1,980 127 84 53 2,244 1,919 119 71 30 2,139 -3% -6% -15% -43% -5%

PFS 31,703 4,541 3,178 1,099 40,521 30,892 4,413 3,116 1,011 39,432 -3% -3% -2% -8% -3%

Dumfries 1,491 89 57 36 1,673 1,533 65 51 23 1,672

Kirkcudbright 221 7 7 8 243 187 12 8 2 209

Stranraer 268 31 20 9 328 199 42 12 5 258

64 Appendix 2 Target Achievement13

PFS D&G PFS D&G Strategic Target Apr 06 to Apr 06 to Apr 07 to Apr 07 to Objective Mar 07 Mar 07 Jun 07 Jun 07

High 100% 100% 100% 100% Serve Court Custody Cases: 100% by Serve Indictment th 80 day Sheriff & 100% 100% 100% 100% July

Serve 100% in 100% 100% 100% 100% 10 months High Serve 80% Court in 9 81% 100% 89% 100% Bail Cases: months Serve Indictment Serve 80% in 9 87% 96% 87% 92% months Sheriff & Serve 60% Jury in 8 64% 91% 60% 79% months

Take/Implement Process 75% within 5 84% 89% 75% 77% Decision weeks14

Investigate 80% within Routine Death 97% 96% 97% 98% 6 weeks

Investigate 80% within Investigate Death 82% 72% 81% 68% 12 weeks

Discretionary FAI 95% to meet target 30% N/A 0% N/A

Mandatory FAI 95% to meet target 30% N/A 0% N/A

Close in 10 weeks – CAPs: Area PFs 78% 65% 81% 60% 60% of cases

Close in 12 weeks – CAPs: Area PFs 87% 76% 85% 80% 90% of cases

D & G Target Met

PFS Target Met

13 Figures extracted 04/09/07 14 This target changed to within 4 weeks with effect from 1 April 2007

65 Appendix 3

Analysis of Questionnaires Completed by Witnesses

1. How were you told of the need to come to court?

The responses were:

¾ Letter from the Fiscal ¾ Told by police ¾ Phoned ¾ Other - please state

14 witnesses were told to come to Court by receipt of a letter from the Fiscal (one of these additionally was phoned). 4 were told by the police to come and one was phoned as well as receiving a letter.

2. How much notice did you get of the need to come to court?

The answers ranged from 4 days to 4 months. 15 out of the 18 witnesses received between one month (in one case “about a month”) and 4 months. One witness did not respond to the question and the remaining two received 4 and 5 days notice respectively.

3. Did you receive information…. ¾ On being a witness? ¾ On the location of the court?

66 14 out of the 18 witnesses received information on being a witness and 10 out of the 18 received information on the location of the court.

4. Did you ask to be excused attendance?

None of the witnesses asked to be excused which made the accompanying question (How was this request dealt with?) redundant.

5. Did you receive information on what was happening while you were waiting at court?

15 of the 18 witnesses received information at court. 2 said they did not and one did not answer the question.

To the supplementary question: If yes, was this every two hours? 8 of the witnesses said yes, 8 did not respond (possibly they were not there 2 hours) and 2 said no.

To a further supplementary question: How did you receive this information only 2 replied to the effect that someone came and told them.

6. Were you treated with courtesy?

18 out of 18 said that they were.

To the supplementary: Were you given a prompt response to any enquiry? 15 witnesses said that they were and 3 replied no.

7. Did you ask for a pre-trial court visit?

17 out of 18 said they did not but one said they did ask but did not get one.

8. Do you have any special needs?

67

18 out of 18 said that they had none making the next question (Were these met?) redundant.

9. Any further comment?

There were no responses to this question.

68 Appendix 4 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Diversity Structure

Diversity Area Strategy Fiscal Group (Management) Divisional Heads and Area PFs Group

Equality Staff Local Disability Action Offices & Advisory Plans Central Group Services

Crown Office Area Diversity Diversity Team Teams

ISBN 978 0 7559 1635 1 (web only publication) 69