Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

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The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (Oifis a' Chrùin agus Seirbhis Luchd-casaid a' Chrùin in Gaelic) provides an independent public prosecution service, investigates sudden and suspicious deaths and handles complaints against the Police in Scotland.[1] (Administrative complaints against the Police in Scotland are handled by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary [2].)

Under the Scottish legal system almost all prosecution of criminal offences is by the Crown in the person of Her Majesty's Lord Advocate or the Procurator Fiscal. It is part of the Scottish Government.

The Service has extensive responsibilities in the investigation and prosecution of crime. It decides whether or not to start criminal proceedings, even if the accused has not yet been arrested or charged by the police, and the Crown is not required to give any reason for the decision. The Service is also responsible for the investigation of deaths in Scotland; there is no separate system of Coroner or Coroners Courts in Scotland.[3] Where the police are believed to have behaved in a criminal manner the Crown Office replicates the role of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in England and Wales.

The service is headed by the Lord Advocate and all prosecutions are carried out in his or her name. The Lord Advocate is assisted by the Solicitor General for Scotland. The day to day running of the service is done by the Crown Agent & Chief Executive and the management board who are based in the HQ in Chambers Street, Edinburgh.

The Service employs both civil servants who carry out administration duties and solicitors and advocates who represent the Crown in Court.

Contents

[edit] History

The office dates back to Medieval times, with the earliest Lord Advocate being John Ross of Montgrenan who the King appointed as his commissioner at a hearing in Stirling in 1476, then as procurator for another case in Edinburgh in the following year. The role was officially acknowledged in 1494. Nowadays The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is a Department of the Scottish Government, led by the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland who are the legal advisers to the government and may participate in the proceedings of the Scottish Parliament.

A similar system now operates in England and Wales in the form of the Crown Prosecution Service, which started operating in 1986.

[edit] Prosecutors

[edit] The Lord Advocate

Main article: Lord Advocate

The Lord Advocate has responsibility for prosecuting the most serious crimes, in the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Appeal. Unless the cases are of particular importance, such as the Lockerbie trial held at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, the prosecutions are led by Advocates Depute who are known collectively as Crown Counsel and are experienced advocates normally appointed for a limited period of three years.

Their decision to prosecute is taken in the light of the Procurator Fiscal's recommendations and a report prepared by the police. The defence is presented by an Advocate briefed by the client's solicitor or by a Solicitor-Advocate specialising in Criminal Law.

[edit] Crown Agent

The Crown Agent is the principal legal advisor to the Lord Advocate on prosecution matters. They also act as Chief Executive for the Department. They act as solicitor in all legal proceedings in which the Lord Advocate appears as representing his or her own department. They issue general instructions from the Lord Advocate for the guidance of Crown counsel, procurators fiscal, sheriff clerks and other public officials, transmits instructions from Crown counsel to procurators fiscal about prosecutions, and, in consultation with the Clerk of Justiciary, arranges sittings of the High Court of Justiciary. At trials in the High Court in Edinburgh, they attend as instructing solicitor. They are assisted by other senior legal, managerial and administrative staff.

The Crown Agent also holds the office of Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer

[edit] Advocates depute

At the High Court of Justiciary prosecutions are brought by the Crown Office, who are represented in Court by Advocates Depute who are advocates or solicitor-advocates.

[edit] Procurators fiscal

Main article: Procurator Fiscal

For the majority of crimes in Scotland the Procurator Fiscal presents the case for the prosecution in the Sheriff and District Courts, and the case for the defence is presented either by the accused's own solicitor or by a public defender.

The Procurator Fiscal makes preliminary investigations into criminal cases, takes written statements from witnesses (known as precognition) and is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crime. This includes the power to direct the police in their investigation, but except for serious crimes such as murder the police normally complete their enquiries before involving the Procurator Fiscal.[4] Once someone has been charged with an offence and remanded in custody, the Crown must bring the case to trial within 110 days or the accused will be admitted to bail. Otherwise, in serious cases (solemn procedure) the trial must commence within 12 months of the date of first appearance in court.[5]

The procurator fiscal is the local prosecutor in Scotland and he/she will have under them a team of Deputes who will represent the Fiscal in Court. A large number of Scottish solicitors spend a period of their career as a Fiscal Depute.

Each Fiscal office jurisdiction will correspond to the local Sheriff Court jurisdiction and most of the Fiscal offices in Scotland are either in or near the Sheriff Court.

The Fiscal staff are responsible for a wide range of tasks which include the preparation of Court papers and dealing with queries from victims, witnesses and Police. The Procurator Fiscal is also responsible for the investigation of all sudden, suspicious and unexplained deaths in Scotland.

[edit] Prosecution of Crimes

The law in Scotland does not say that a crime must be prosecuted, and the public prosecutors have considerable discretion over what action to take. If they consider it appropriate they can issue a confidential warning which precludes future prosecution, or can make conditional offers of fixed penalty fines for minor offences which, if paid, save the case from going to court.

In some cases, the Fiscal can refer the accused to a social worker or a psychiatrist for support and treatment rather than punishment with the aim of treating the cause of the problems to prevent re-offending.

[edit] Fiscal Areas

The Procurator Fiscal Service is divided into 11 areas, with an Area Procurator Fiscal for each. The areas relate to the boundaries of the eight Scottish police forces, except for Strathclyde which has been subdivided into four areas:

Within the areas, there is a network of 48 Procurator Fiscal offices, one for each Sheriff Court district.[6]

[edit] Victim Information and Advice Service

Victim Information and Advice Service (VIA) is a dedicated victim information and advice service within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. VIA was created to provide information to victims, bereaved next of kin and keeping them informed about the progress of a case. It also has a duty to advise on and facilitate referral to other agencies for specialist support and counselling as required.[7]

VIA works closely with other statutory agencies, such as the Police and the Courts and with voluntary organisations, such as Court Witness Service, Women's Aid and Victim Support.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/About
  2. ^ Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland
  3. ^ http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/About/roles/pf-role/investigation-deaths/sudden-deaths
  4. ^ http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/About/roles/pf-role/prosecution/how-prosecution
  5. ^ http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/About/roles/pf-role/prosecution/110-day-rule
  6. ^ http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/About/Departmental-Overview/COPFS-Structure
  7. ^ http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/Victims/VIA/via-services/Overview
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[edit] External links