Status of all recommendations

Police Scotland should ensure that custody staff follow Criminal Justice Service Division guidance in relation to maintaining confidentiality when patients are undergoing interventions and treatments by the healthcare team.

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.