Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

29 November 2006

LORD ADVOCATE WELCOMES INDEPENDENT INSPECTORATES ANNUAL REPORT

The Lord Advocate, The Right Honorable Elish Angiolini QC, today welcomed the second annual report from the Independent Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS). The report comments on the work to date of the Inspectorate, including the two thematic reviews they carried out in the past year on the provision of services to witnesses, and case management. The report also details the office audits the Inspectorate carried out to ensure that COPFS is complying with the Lord Advocate's guidelines on the approach to the prosecution of race crime.

Responding to the Annual Report, Mrs Angiolini said:

"I welcome the publication of this second annual report from the Independent Inspectorate and acknowledge the important work undertaken to provide an accurate and independent account of the activities of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service"

"I am particularly pleased to note the high level of compliance with the Lord Advocate's guidelines on tackling race crime and the tremendous effort being made by offices to engage with minority communities in outreach programmes."

Notes to Editors:

1. IPS reports can be found online at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/ipis/intro

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