Crown Office

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Publication Scheme

Publication Scheme required under section 23 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

The person with overall responsibility for this scheme on behalf of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is:

Data Protection Co-ordinator,

Information & Records Management Team

Business & Policy Development Division

Crown Office

25 Chambers Street

Edinburgh EH1 1LA

The day-to-day running of the scheme is the responsibility of the Freedom of Information Officer, Information & records Management Team, Business & Policy Development Division, Crown Office - E-mail: FOI@copfs.gsi.gov.uk, Tel: 0131 247 2650

Part 1 Introduction

Publication Scheme

A publication scheme is essentially a 'guide' to the information a public authority routinely publishes or intends to publish routinely. It is helpful to the public's understanding of functions that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service carries out and the services it provides to outline within the scheme the types of information it holds. This will also assist members of the public in formulating requests for information in accordance with the statutory right of access. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Publication scheme is a commitment to pro-active disclosure of information.

Given the broad range of public authorities covered, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 sets down only the general principles on the content and operation of publication schemes. Section 23 provides that a scheme must include:

• details of the classes of information an authority publishes or intends to publish;

• the manner in which the information is, or is intended, to be published; and

• whether there is, or there is intended to be, any charge for the information.

In addition, in considering the content of its publication scheme, the Act requires a public authority to have regard to the public interest in the publication of reasons for decisions made by it and in allowing public access to information held by it.

An authority's publication scheme requires the approval of the Scottish Information Commissioner and such approval can be revoked at any time. If the information you require is not included in the publication scheme you can still request it from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Information in this publication scheme is available to you from 1 June 2004 and you are automatically entitled to receive the information contained within it. If there is information not contained within the scheme you can, from 1 January 2005, apply to gain access to that information. See the section on "Right of access to material not contained in the publication scheme" below.

Copyright

The material listed in this publication scheme is covered by Crown copyright unless stated otherwise. The supply of documents under Freedom of Information does not give the person or organisation who receives them an automatic right to re-use documents, for example by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public. Such re-use is subject to permission given, usually in the form of a copyright licence, by copyright holder. In the case of Crown and Scottish Parliamentary copyright material, licences would be available from the Office of Queen's Printer for Scotland. Details of arrangements for re-using Crown copyright materials listed in this scheme can be found on the OQPS website or by contacting OQPS at:

OQPS Licensing Division

St Clements House

2.16 Colegate

Norwich

NR3 1BQ

Tel: 01603 621000

Fax: 01603 723000

licensing@oqps.gov.uk

Authorisation to re-use copyright material not owned by the Crown should be sought from the copyright holders concerned. If in doubt, users should contact OQPS for help.

Comments about the publication scheme

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 public authorities such as the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are required not only to maintain a publication scheme approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner but also from time to time review the scheme.

It has not been possible to consult with the public in relation to this publication scheme for COPFS however consultations will be part of this department's ongoing commitment to greater openness and transparency. As part of this process we would be glad to receive any comments from users on their experiences in obtaining information from the scheme .

Comments or suggestions for particular classes of information to which we might in future commit to publishing under the scheme would be welcomed but you should be aware that any changes would need to be agreed by the Scottish Information Commissioner.

Please send all comments to:

Sue Sandeman

Knowledge Manager

Library

Crown Office

25 Chambers Street

Edinburgh EH1 1LA

E-mail: _COLibraryUsers@copfs.gsi.gov.uk

Complaints about the publication scheme

We aim to provide as much information as possible to the public though the publication scheme but if you are dissatisfied with the information available we would like to know about it. Your complaints, like compliments, comments and constructive criticism are a valuable source of information. They help us to improve the service we provide.

If you have a complaint about the publication scheme please contact _COLibraryUsers@copfs.gsi.gov.uk If you prefer to write please address your letter or fax to the Knowledge Manager at the above address.

Whether you write to us, e-mail or fax you will be kept informed at regular intervals if your complaint cannot be dealt with immediately. You will receive an acknowledgement within seven days and kept informed at regular intervals, if your complaint cannot be dealt with immediately.

However you communicate with us, you will need to provide the following information:

• Your name, address and telephone number and

• Full details of your complaint

We aim to respond to all complaints quickly, courteously, fairly and efficiently and will take appropriate action when required. If we are unable to resolve any complain you can complain to the Scottish Information Commissioner. From 1 January 2005, when the general right of access comes into force, there will be a formal appeal mechanism when information is withheld. Further details on this will be available on the Commissioner's website before this date.

Information not included in our Publication Scheme

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is committed to open and transparent service delivery wherever possible. In that regard our intention is to include in the publication scheme all information which is in the public interest. The intention of the scheme is to enable us to be proactive in making information we hold more readily available to the public, and to develop a culture of greater openness. However, given the nature of our work and the strategic aim of the Department as a whole, not all of the information held can or should be included in the scheme, for sound public policy reasons.

Any possibility that information provided by witnesses or victims may subsequently be disclosed other than in court could undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system. Witnesses and people under investigation should not be inhibited or deterred from co-operating in criminal investigations by the possibility that information provided may be disclosed and that their identity is revealed to the public outwith the protection of the court.

Disclosure of any aspect of a criminal investigation may prejudice or bar future criminal proceedings. Information which is, for any reason, of a sensitive nature is not likely to be made available to the public in general. Similarly information which is sensitive or confidential, for example because it relates to intelligence or security matters, or consists of legal advice given during consideration of legal proceedings, is not included in our scheme, nor is information which would be exempt under Part 2 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Information held by or on behalf of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for the purposes of a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings, or for Fatal Accident Inquiries which have not yet concluded is exempt from disclosure, subject to a public interest test under section 2 of the Act which requires us to conduct a balancing exercise to ensure that the public interest in maintaining the exemption out weighs the public interest in disclosing the requested information.

Requests for access to case papers

Generally, access will rarely be provided to papers generated or received by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the course of a criminal inquiry, as most documents contain personal or sensitive personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1998. If you require access to your own personal data held within these files, it will not be provided under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, but under the subject access provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 (see above). However, each application for information will be considered separately and a decision about provision of information will be made, on a case by case basis.

Right of access to material not contained in the publication scheme

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force on 1 January 2005 and introduced a general statutory right of access to all types of 'recorded' information of any age held by Scottish public authorities, such as the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, any person who makes a request to a public authority for information is entitled to be informed whether the authority holds that information, and receive it in a specified format. Requests for information not contained in the publication scheme can now be submitted to COPFS. This section provides some background

Information about the Act.

Section 1(1) sets out the general right of access provided by the Act:

"a person who requests information from a Scottish public authority which holds it is entitled to be given it by the authority".

The right applies to information recorded in any form (section 73 provides a definition) and can be exercised by any individual or organisation worldwide. Consequently, any written request for information directed to a Scottish public authority will be considered a Freedom of Information request.

If you are making an application for information from 1 January 2005it must be in permanent form as defined in the Act but you need only state your name and address, and describe the information requested. Further information is provided below.

You will be able to express a preference that requested information be provided in a particular format, but COPFS will only be obliged to give effect to this so far as is "reasonably practicable".

When we are in receipt of a request we will have 20 working days to respond to you, although this period will extend should we need further information from you in order to identify and locate the requested information.

We would not be required to disclose requested information in the following circumstances:

• where we did not hold the information requested;

• where the information was exempt under a provision in Part 2 of the Act;

• where we consider the request to be vexatious;

• where further information required by us (provided it was a reasonable requirement) to enable us to identify and locate the requested information had not been received;

• where the fee requested for the information had not been paid; or

• where we estimated that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the upper cost threshold prescribed in regulations.

Departmental overview

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service provides Scotland's independent public prosecution and deaths investigation service. It is a Department of the Scottish Executive and is headed by the Lord Advocate, whose position as the head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland is protected by the Scotland Act.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is headed by the Lord Advocate, who is assisted by the Solicitor General for Scotland. They are the the Scottish Law Officer and Members of the Scottish Executive.

The Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are assisted by Advocate Deputes and who are known collectively as Crown Counsel. Advocate Deputes are experienced advocates or solicitor advocates, including suitably qualified members of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and are appointed for a period of about three years.

The Chief Executive is responsible to the Lord Advocate for the management of the department. He is a senior civil servant and the 'permanent' head of the department. The Chief Executive is supported by the Crown Agent who is the head of legal staff. The Crown Agent is an experienced prosecutor appointed from the Procurator Fiscal Service.

Crown Office, Edinburgh, is the departmental headquarters of the Procurator Fiscal Service, with main divisions as follows:

• Operations, which includes staff who prepare cases for the High Court and Court of Appeal, the Criminal Confiscation Unit, Civil Recovery and the International and Financial Crime Unit;

• Business and Policy Development Division and Victims and Diversity Policy Develepment Division, which have responsibility for departmental policy, practice and parliamentary support;

• Management Services Group, which provides central services including finance, personnel, estates and IT.

The Procurator Fiscal Service is divided into 11 areas ,with an Area Procurator Fiscal for each. These areas coincide as far as possible with the boundaries of the 8 Scottish police forces, except in Strathclyde which has been divided into 4 areas:

• Argyll and Clyde (at Paisley)

• Ayrshire (at Kilmarnock)

• Central (at Stirling)

• Dumfries and Galloway (at Dumfries)

• Fife (at Kirkcaldy)

• Glasgow

• Grampian (at Aberdeen)

• Highland and Islands (at Inverness)

• Lanarkshire (at Hamilton)

• Lothian and Borders (at Edinburgh)

• Tayside (at Dundee)

Within the areas, there is a network of 48 District Offices, one for each Sheriff Court district.

You can access more information about the work of the Department on this site.

Additionally this department fully recognises the need to improve the support and assistance available to victims and witnesses. This has led to the establishment of the Crown Office Victim information and Advice Service (VIA). VIA exists to provide information to victims about cases in which they are involved and about agencies that they can contact for additional help and support.

Charges for information/publications and access to information

It is not intended to charge for material accessed via the COPFS website and in most cases we would expect people to access material under this Publication Scheme via the website. If requested it may be possible to make the information available in another format i.e. hard copy, floppy disc or CD for which we do not intend to charge. Information indicated in our scheme as being available by post will be sent to you within 20 working days of the request.

For each class of information listed in our publication scheme we indicate whether the class includes chargeable information or not. Where the class is free of charge it means that a single copy will be made available for free, however we reserve the right to charge for provision of multiple copies to cover costs associated with photocopying, retrieval and postage.

Any charges payable under the scheme will need to be paid in advance. Unless otherwise indicated, information published under the scheme may be copied for personal use without the need to make any payment to, or seek permission of, COPFS. On receipt of requests where a charge is to be imposed we will advise you of the total fee which will require to be paid before your requested information is sent to you.

In each class we indicate which of the following categories apply:

(a) free of charge on website (i.e. there is no charge by us, although the user would of course have to meet any charges by their Internet service provider, personal printing costs, etc).

For those without Internet access, a single print-out as on the website would be available by post from

Sue Sandeman

Knowledge Manager

Library

Crown Office,

25 Chambers Street,

Edinburgh,

EH1 1LA

Tel: (0131) 226 2626

E-mail: _COLibraryUsers@copfs.gso.gov.uk

Fax: (0131) 225 6625

However, requests for multiple print-outs, for bulky documents or for archived copies of documents which are no longer available on the web, may attract a charge for the cost of retrieval, photocopy, postage, etc. We would let you know this at the time of your request and the charge would be payable in advance. Where a charge is to be made it will be 20 pence per page of copy.;

(b) free of charge hard copy e.g. leaflets or booklets or "glossy" publications. A single copy is available from the above contact address but as before requests for multiple copies or print-outs, or for archived copies of documents which are no longer available on the web, may attract a charge for the cost of retrieval, photocopy, postage, etc. We would let you know this at the time of your request and the charge would be payable in advance. Where a charge is to be made it will be 20 pence per page of copy.

(c) free of charge to view at a designated office but charges will be made for photocopies. We would let you know the relevant charge at the time of your request and the charge would be payable in advance.

(d) Chargeable hard copy e.g. bound paper copies of larger guidance documents or publications.

The Knowledge Manager Sue Sandeman is responsible for the day to day running of the scheme.

Comments and feedback about the publication scheme:-

PUBLICATION SCHEME FEEDBACK/CONTACT FORM

Please use this form to contact us if you have any observation regarding this Publication Scheme or suggestion for publications that should be included.

You can also use this form to order any publication from the Publication Scheme you require in printed format.

Surname: Title:

Forename(s):

Postal Address:

Postcode:

Telephone Number:

Email Address:

Comments/Message/Information Required:

Preferred Method of Response, eg E-Mail, Printed etc

In event of difficulties by E-mailing, please post, deliver or fax to:

Sue Sandeman

Knowledge Manager

Library

Crown Office,

25 Chambers Street,

Edinburgh,

EH1 1LA

Tel: (0131) 226 2626

E-mail: _COLibraryUsers@copfs.gso.gov.uk

Fax: (0131) 225 6625