Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is responsible for the prosecution of crime in Scotland, the investigation of sudden or suspicious deaths, and the investigation of complaints against the police.

The headquarters of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) are at the Crown Office in Edinburgh. The Crown Office has three main groups:

• The Operations Group which prepares cases for the High Court and Court of Appeal and also contains the National Casework Division and the International Co-Operation Unit
• The Corporate Services Group which has responsibility for prosecution policy and practice, business development, finance, human resources, estates, communications and IT.
• Strategy and Delivery Division which has responsibility for leading on management of change in the organisation.

The Operations Group is headed by the Deputy Crown Agent and the Corporate Services Group is headed by the Deputy Chief Executive.

COPFS is divided into eleven areas, each of which has an Area Procurator Fiscal. These areas normally coincide with the boundaries of the eight Scottish police forces (except for Strathclyde). The eleven areas are:

• Argyll and Clyde (in Paisley)

• Ayrshire (in Kilmarnock)

• Central (in Stirling)

• Dumfries and Galloway (in Dumfries)

• Fife (in Kirkcaldy)

• Glasgow

• Grampian (in Aberdeen)

• Highlands and Islands (in Inverness)

• Lanarkshire (in Hamilton)

• Lothian and Borders (in Edinburgh)

• Tayside (in Dundee)

Within each area, apart from Glasgow, there is a network of local Procurator Fiscal offices and an Area Office where the Area Procurator Fiscal and Area Business Manager are based.

Below is a summary of Pay Bands as at 1 August 2010

Junior Staff Payscales as at 31 March 2011

Senior Staff Payscales as at 31 March 2011

Senior Staff Posts as at 31 March 2011

Senior Structure Pay Chart

Advocate Depute Remuneration 1 January - 31 December 2010