Prosecution service ‘just about managing’ under growing pressure

Scotland’s prosecution service remains “rigorous and fair” despite rising levels of demand, a report has concluded. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) lacks the time and resources to properly handle all cases, according to the Justice Committee. The service’s funding has dropped by a fifth in real terms in less than ten years, and it expects to lose around 30 staff next year – while dealing with increasingly complex cases. However, the report praised the COPFS’ “professionalism” and “dedicated, hard-working staff”, adding that the public should have confidence in their ability. Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said: “It is gratifying that the committee has concluded that COPFS is an effective, rigorous, fair and independent prosecutor. “It states that, in general, the public in Scotland is fundamentally well-served by the COPFS in that core role. “That is, in large part, a tribute to the professionalism and commitment of the staff of the service.” Interviewees claimed the COPFS is “just about managing” under current demand, which sometimes leads to poor communication with stakeholders. The service also struggles to prioritise some anti-social behaviour and less serious violence cases, and may not be properly equipped to deal with more specialist prosecutions like fraud. The committee identified high levels of ‘churn’ – or delays and postponements – during the trial process that leads to time and money being wasted. To address these concerns, the COPFS and the Scottish Government are exploring how they might harness new technologies to reduce the amount of evidence that must be taken to court. However, the report pointed out that there is no timeline for completing this review and raised doubts the COPFS will have sufficient resources to implement any changes. In the meantime, it recommended avoiding scheduling trial dates that are unlikely to proceed, and finding a better way to inform witnesses of scheduling changes. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government welcomes that the committee notes that the public is well served by the COPFS and that it is a rigorous and fair prosecutor. “However, there is no room for complacency and substantial work is already underway, taken forward jointly by the Scottish Government and justice agencies to find more efficient ways to manage the processing of cases and to better support the needs of victims and witnesses.