9 March 2009
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL WRITES TO JUSTICE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCING IMPROVEMENTS IN SUMMARY JUSTICE SYSTEM
The Solicitor General for Scotland, Frank Mulholland QC, today wrote to the Convenor of the Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament with figures which show that reforms introduced to the summary justice system a year ago are resulting in real signs of improvement. The figures show that:
¨ Cases are being dealt with on average one month quicker
¨ Twice as many accused are pleading guilty at the first opportunity
¨ 50,000 witnesses have been spared the stress and inconvenience of having to attend court to give evidence
The letter reads:
You will recall that the Lord Advocate and I wrote to the Justice Committee and the Justice Spokespersons for each party on a number of occasions last year in connection with the implementation of Summary Justice Reform by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. I thought it would be helpful to write again, as we approach the first anniversary of the start of the reforms and there is now a clearer picture of the impact on the prosecution of crime in Scotland and the effectiveness of the summary courts.
We have repeatedly made clear our commitment, through Summary Justice Reform, to an improved summary justice system, one that operates quickly and with the minimum of inconvenience for victims and witnesses but tackles crime effectively and addresses the concerns of local communities. It is encouraging, therefore, to note some early indications of improvement:
- Cases are being dealt with more quickly - the proportion of cases disposed of within 26 weeks of caution and charge by the police increased from 68% in December 2007 to 77% in December 2008 and the average time from caution and charge to verdict fell from 165 days in December 2007 to 132 in December 2008 - this means that cases, on average, are being dealt with a month earlier as a result of the reforms;
- More cases are being resolved without the need to cite witnesses or for the police to prepare paperwork - the number of accused pleading guilty at the first calling increased from 1,681 in December 2007 to 3,739 in December 2008, an increase of 122%;
- Almost 50,000 witnesses have been spared the need to give evidence - the number of witnesses cited by the prosecution fell from 411,000 between April and December 2007 to 362,000 in the same period in 2008 - this improvement has been achieved by the increase in accused pleading guilty early, a more efficient court system and a reduced number of cases prosecuted in court;
- More cases are being prosecuted in the Justice of the Peace and District Courts, increasing from 28,000 cases in 2007 to 32,000 in 2008. This is freeing up the Sheriff Court to deal with more serious cases which can be seen in the drop of Sheriff Court prosecutions from 75,000 to 67,000.
All of these changes are in line with the conclusions of Sheriff Principal McInnes in his report in 2004 which were strongly endorsed by the Scottish Parliament in passing the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007. I am aware that much of the focus in the last year has been on the use of new direct measures by Procurators Fiscal; in particular, the appropriateness and extent of their use and the repeated claim that accepted fiscal fines allow an offender to escape a "criminal record".
Looking firstly at the way they are being used, I have been reassured by the close monitoring by Area Procurators Fiscal, particularly in relation to direct measures used for minor offences of violence. As the Justice Committee will be aware, the use of direct measures in this way is not new. Procurators Fiscal first started using fiscal fines when they were introduced by the Westminster Parliament in the 1980s and from the beginning they were used for minor offences of violence.
It is clear, however, that Procurators Fiscal continue to take great care to ensure that the new direct measures are used appropriately. It is important to put information about direct measures used for violence in context - the vast majority of people reported for assault to injury are prosecuted in court. As I confirmed in an answer to a Parliamentary Question on 22 January, direct measures for assault to injury account for less than 2% of the new direct measures issued. Fewer than one in ten of all reported charges of assault to injury are dealt with by the new direct measures.
The majority of direct measures continue to be used for charges of breach of the peace, failing to have a TV licence, public drinking, theft by shoplifting and possession of small quantities of Class B and Class C drugs. It is also worth noting, as the previous Justice Committee was no doubt aware when considering the scope of fiscal fines in 2006, that the average fine for assault was £150 in the District Court in 2005-06 and £292 in the Sheriff Court.
Secondly, in relation to the extent to which direct measures are being used, information is now available which confirms that Procurators Fiscal have not, as has been claimed, significantly increased the numbers of direct measures issued. In fact, the number of fiscal fines and compensation offers issued in 2008 was 35,300, compared to 40,400 fiscal fines in the same period in 2007. This change is, we believe, accounted for by the greater than expected impact of police direct measures on offences such as public drinking.
Finally, I am aware of some misleading comment which suggests that the use of a fiscal fine allows the offender to avoid a "criminal record". Members of the Committee will, of course, understand that this is misleading because it takes no account of the new provisions in the 2007 Act which allow an accepted fiscal fine to be recorded and brought to the court's attention, for up to two years should the offender re-offend, at the same time as previous convictions.
I am conscious that the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland is carrying out a review of the use of direct measures which will provide an independent assessment of the way in which these new powers have been used. At this stage, however, based on the information available to me from COPFS I am confident that direct measures are being used effectively, proportionately and entirely in line with the indications given to the Scottish Parliament in 2006.
I hope that this additional information is helpful and reassuring. It is still relatively early days for the reforms and the data is still developing. I am pleased, however, with these early indications of success and look forward to greater improvements for victims and witnesses over the coming year.
There are, of course, other benefits for the prosecution service in Scotland that go beyond the statistics I have provided. In the last year, COPFS has made significant strides towards implementation of the recommendations of the Sexual Offences Review, we have established a specialist Health and Safety Division and we continue to invest heavily in the prosecution of serious and organised crime and the support of victims and witnesses. All of these initiatives would have been much more difficult without improvements to the summary criminal justice system; I am confident, in fact, that making rapid progress over such a wide area of prosecution services would have been almost impossible without Summary Justice Reform.
I am, of course, very happy to discuss any aspect of the reforms with you or any member of the Committee. In particular, I would like to offer the Justice Committee the opportunity to hear from the Law Officers and COPFS officials about the way in which COPFS is implementing Summary Justice Reform and the important benefits which are now becoming apparent. If you are happy to take up this offer, I shall ask my officials to contact the Clerk of the Committee.
I am copying this letter to the Law Society of Scotland to ensure that the information is shared as quickly as possible with solicitors who have an interest in these issues.
FRANK MULHOLLAND QC
Notes to Editors
1. The letter was today emailed to Bill Aitken, Convenor of the Justice Committee, and copied to the Law Society of Scotland. It is available on the Crown Office website (
www.copfs.gov.uk).
2. The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform)(Scotland) Act 2007 was unanimously approved by the Scottish Parliament. The main provisions came in to force on 10 March 2008. These changes were intended to ensure that cases could be dealt with more quickly and effectively, with the minimum of inconvenience for victims and witnesses, in a way which addresses the concerns of local communities.
3. The changes introduced last year include increased powers to Procurators Fiscal to issue fiscal fines of up to £300, compensation orders of up to £5,000 and (in 4 pilot areas) work orders of up to 50 hours.
3. The Solicitor General today visited the West Lothian Civic Centre in Livingston which is due to open later this year. This purpose built centre provides accommodation for the Procurator Fiscal, police and court service so that all criminal justice agencies can work more closely together.
4. Adrian Cottam (District Procurator Fiscal, Linlithgow), Morag McLaughlin (Area Procurator Fiscal, Lothian and Borders), Eric McQueen (Director of Field Services, Scottish Court Service), Assistant Chief Constable Charles Common (Lothian and Borders Constabulary and ACPOS portfolio holder for Efficiency and Effectiveness) and Alex Linkston (Chief Executive, West Lothian Council) also attended.
5. Photographs of this visit will be available from Crown Office on request. The Solicitor General was interviewed by West Lothian Courier in relation to the benefits of the Civic Centre. You can get further details from Alistair Watson (awatson@s-un.co.uk).
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