Citing witnesses in the sheriff court

COPFS and Police Scotland should:

(a) review the targets in the ‘Protocol for witness citation targets’ to take account of the business rules on automatic citing and removal of intermediate diets in summary case management cases. Compliance with these targets should be monitored and performance data analysed; and

(b) ensure all citation performance data is measurable and is collected, analysed and reported through governance structures to monitor performance across both organisations.

COPFS and Police Scotland should develop a clear and consistent method of identifying all costs associated with the citation process and police officer court attendance.

COPFS and Police Scotland should:

(a) develop aligned, service-wide strategies for effective and efficient citation of witnesses, taking into account the needs of all categories of witness; and

(b) publish information about commitments to witnesses and what witnesses should expect in the citation process.

COPFS and Police Scotland should ensure that there is clear and effective leadership of the citation process that takes account of the respective internal structures of each organisation.

COPFS and Police Scotland should ensure that information flows effectively between the framework of liaison meetings across both organisations at national and local levels, in order to manage the citation process consistently and comprehensively.

COPFS and Police Scotland should ensure that all relevant staff have a comprehensive understanding of the citation process, including the role of each organisation, the operating context and the impact of unsuccessful citation on the criminal justice system. This should include mandatory training as part of the induction process, and ongoing awareness training.

COPFS should:

(a) ensure that guidance on all parts of the citation process in summary, and sheriff and jury cases, are connected and reflect business rules in full;

(b) introduce an effective way of communicating changes to policy and guidance in the Local Court Business Process Handbook to staff; and

(c) ensure that all relevant staff are actively following the Local Court Business Process Handbook. Regular compliance monitoring must take place.

COPFS should review and update the ‘Lord Advocate’s guidelines to chief constables on the citation of witnesses’ and this should include the consequence of the removal of intermediate diets and the use by police officers of the Legal Document Database. Both COPFS and Police Scotland should ensure that staff are aware of the guidelines and their content.

COPFS and Police Scotland should provide information on the citation process on their websites.

COPFS should develop training on the citation of witnesses for administrative staff, to ensure consistency of practice. All relevant staff should undertake this training as soon as practicable.

Police Scotland should ensure that training in all elements of the citation process is up-to-date, delivered and refreshed at appropriate times, and in the most suitable format.

Police Scotland and COPFS should consider a method whereby witnesses who are giving statements to police officers are also advised that they may be required to give evidence in court.

Police Scotland should ensure that the Standard Prosecution Report contains information regarding: witness availability and contact details (including email addresses and phone numbers); and details about which police officers seized productions.

COPFS should introduce and maintain effective and formal quality assessment for the citation process and citation decisions, ensuring that any failures identified are reported to those with managerial oversight.

COPFS should:

(a) issue guidance on where discussions between the Crown and defence, and final decisions about agreement of evidence, should be recorded in the case management system to provide a consistent and identifiable record;

(b) issue guidance for case markers and local court staff on appropriate use and consequence of the ‘agree evidence’ facility in the case management system; and

(c) implement instructions and measures for prosecutors to link evidence capable of agreement and specific witnesses, at the marking stage.

COPFS should ensure all prosecutors engaged in the conduct of sheriff and jury business are aware of the content of the Sheriff Court Solemn Procedure Criminal Courts Practice No 1 of 2024 and are adequately trained on the contents to ensure compliance. Existing sheriff and jury prosecutors should undertake this training within six months of the publication of this inspection report, and prosecutors transferring to sheriff and jury teams should undertake relevant training within a month of their transfer.

COPFS should:

(a) ensure that the processes legislated for in the 2017 sheriff and jury reforms are given effect;

(b) publish guidance for staff on the witness engagement process;

(c) ensure that there are sufficient resources within the witness engagement team to give effect to this process;

(d) monitor that staff in COPFS local offices are following the witness engagement process; and

(e) monitor that written records are being completed with witness unavailability.

To improve court scheduling:

(a) the Scottish Government, COPFS, Police Scotland and SCTS should develop an integrated digital trial scheduling solution that takes account of all witness availability;

(b) until such a digital solution in (a) is realised COPFS and Police Scotland should

(i) work with SCTS to realise the benefits of the current police witness scheduler application; and

(ii) ensure that information is continuously gathered on all witness availability and is provided to SCTS in a manner that allows effective trial scheduling at both first trial assignation and adjourned trials.

COPFS should:

(a) ensure that staff engaged in sheriff and jury case preparation identify reluctant witnesses, attempt to engage them in the justice process and then, if necessary, cite such witnesses to first diets where appropriate; and

(b) work with Police Scotland to ensure that effective processes are in place for the issue and return of executions of service for witnesses cited to attend first diets.

COPFS should:

(a) work with SCTS to agree an effective national process on the transfer of sheriff and jury cases; and

(b) produce guidance for staff on the transfer of sheriff and jury cases between sheriff courts.

COPFS should:

(a) use the correct form of witness citation in solemn proceedings – as prescribed in the Act of Adjournal (Criminal Procedure Rules 1996 Amendment) (Witness Citations in Solemn Proceedings) 2023/276;

(b) audit and ensure that local procurator fiscal offices who may issue ‘on-demand’ citations are using the correct form of witness citations; and 

(c) work with the Scottish Government and justice partners to ensure that all witness citations are considered and revised where necessary to ensure that they are trauma-informed and use accessible language.

COPFS should ensure that correspondence included with the witness citation in sheriff and jury cases makes clear how many days the witness may need to be available to attend court.

COPFS should review how citations are issued to witnesses who do not use English as a first language when they have been notified of this by Police Scotland.

COPFS should review how child witness citations issued for personal service are prepared, to ensure that police officers are aware that they are serving a citation on a child and allow compliance with the relevant Lord Advocate’s Guidelines.

COPFS should develop a process to ensure that autocite is not applied for witnesses whose evidence has concluded in summary trials that are part-heard.

COPFS should investigate why sheriff court citations are issued for personal service other than in accordance with business rules and ensure that remedial action is taken where necessary.

COPFS should:

(a) investigate why on-demand citations are issued and take steps to minimise their use;  

(b) take steps to quantify and monitor the number of on-demand citations issued; and 

(c) work with Police Scotland to ensure that information regarding on-demand citations is recorded on the Legal Document Database/Legal Document Exchange systems.

COPFS should:

(a) introduce and monitor the use of a single document in which all citation records and information are recorded; and

(b) ensure that staff consistently carry out checks on the citation position and record the citation status for each witness in COPFS case management systems.

COPFS should implement and monitor a process to ensure that when witnesses change address, citations are issued to the correct address and Police Scotland staff serving citations are notified of the new address.

COPFS should:

(a) review the use of ‘return by’ dates printed on personal citations and ensure that the purpose of the date is understood by both COPFS and Police Scotland; and

(b) review the use of the term ‘execution date’ in COPFS case management systems.

COPFS should issue guidance in sheriff court cases on how and when citation status should be reviewed.

COPFS should:

(a) ensure that guidance for the witness management team staff is published internally;

(b) implement systems that allow the witness management team to prioritise work by trial date and monitor implementation of this;

(c) create processes to ensure effective information sharing between the witness management team and local offices;

(d) ensure that the witness management team is sufficiently resourced to be able to respond efficiently and timeously to returned citations and executions of service;

(e) prevent citations being printed and issued where there is no known address;

(f) prevent citations being issued to witnesses who have died; and

(g) implement a service improvement process arising from any systemic issues identified by the witness management team.

COPFS should cite professional witnesses by email and ensure that there are consistent and effective national standby arrangements for these witnesses.

The Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services should develop a consistent national approach and administrative process to manage court witness citations issued to forensic scientists.

Police Scotland should:

(a) explore whether a policy is required for police officers who incur carer costs, which cannot then be reimbursed when they are countermanded as a witness at short notice; and

(b) consider whether there is a need to clarify its policy on maternity procedures in relation to the process and impacts of being cited to court as a police witness while on maternity leave.

COPFS should:

(a) ensure that local offices are sufficiently resourced to allow for effective and timely case preparation including citation related issues and monitor key stages of case preparation, including (i) issue of citations, (ii) preparation of cases for court, and (iii) response rates for excusals and countermands as indicators of resource issue; and

(b) consider and monitor the role of the office depute.

In order to improve the witness excusal process:

(a) COPFS and Police Scotland should review, update and implement the ‘The Joint Protocol for the Excusal of Police Witnesses from attending Court between Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Police Service of Scotland’ dated August 2013;

(b) within six months of the date of this report, COPFS should implement a consistent national process on responding to sheriff court excusals and monitor compliance;

(c) COPFS should ensure that any targets set in relation to excusals can be measured and are achievable; and

(d) the importance of processing of excusal requests and the impact of not doing so on the justice system should feature in COPFS depute induction training packages and relevant administrative courses as per recommendations 6 and 10.

COPFS should implement IT solutions to:

(a) generate automated countermand emails to civilian and professional witnesses once email addresses are routinely included in police statements; and

(b) ensure that all Police Scotland countermand emails are automated from the COPFS case management system to the appropriate Police Scotland unit.

COPFS should:

(a) review the target for processing countermands to ensure it is assessed from the date on which the decision is made that the witness is no longer required; and

(b) consider implementing automated countermanding in summary cases.

In the interim, COPFS should address and monitor backlogs in case processing to allow countermands to be issued timeously and prior to autocitation for any new trial date.

COPFS should:

(a) develop an automated process to advise Police Scotland when witnesses are countermanded; and

(b) until such a digital solution in (a) is realised, and within three months of the publication of this report, issue guidance and train staff to ensure that Police Scotland is advised when witnesses are countermanded.

COPFS should implement effective quality assurance to consider why sheriff court cases are adjourned.

COPFS should work with justice partners to ensure that, when a trial is adjourned, there are processes for ensuring that trial dates are checked with witnesses prior to being assigned by the court.

COPFS should ensure that there is guidance for administrative staff on when copy documents from the citation storage system and the Legal Document Exchange should be uploaded to the case management system and what information should be provided to prosecutors.

Police Scotland should:

(a) ensure that all information on personal service of citations is recorded on the Legal Document Database; and

(b) review the current data retention period for the Legal Document Database to ensure that the information is retained for the life of the case.

Police Scotland, SPA, COPFS and SCTS should work together to widen the use of remote evidence for appropriate police and professional witnesses, to include summary, and sheriff and jury business.

COPFS should use email or other electronic methods as the principal means of citing witnesses.

COPFS should consider whether it is necessary for Police Scotland to complete and return paper executions of service in summary proceedings.

COPFS and Police Scotland must develop and embed digital approaches to delivering citations to ensure the number of personal citations officers of Police Scotland require to serve on witnesses is kept to a minimum.

COPFS should consider issuing a trauma-informed notice of trial date letter to witnesses by digital means, in the first instance, rather than a formal citation.

COPFS should cease automatic personal citation of witnesses who have been assessed as ‘hostile’ or ‘reluctant’ in the Standard Prosecution Report.