Sexual Offences Review

How the Sexual Offences Review began

In December 2021, the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, announced that a review would be carried out of how prosecutors in Scotland deal with reports of sexual offences (the Sexual Offences Review).

The Lord Advocate spoke about the Sexual Offences Review in an evidence session at the Criminal Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament on 22 December 2021. View the Lord Advocate speaking about the Sexual Offences Review.
In her announcement about the Sexual Offences Review, the Lord Advocate said:
“Scotland’s prosecutors work with justice partners as we strive to ensure that victims are treated with dignity and respect. Furthermore, COPFS is committed to working with those partners to transform the way the criminal justice system deals with these cases.”

Why the Sexual Offences Review was done

The Sexual Offences Review recognised the profound impact that sexual crimes have on victims and on society and the fact that, in recent years, sexual offences have become about 70 per cent of the casework of Scotland’s High Court prosecutors and the number of cases has further increased in 2022.

The scope of the Sexual Offences Review

The Lord Advocate approved the scope of the Sexual Offences Review and it is contained in a document called the Terms of Reference.

How the Sexual Offences Review worked

The Sexual Offences Review spoke to a wide variety people with knowledge and experience of the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences, including victims, third sector organisations, Police Scotland, prosecution lawyers, defence lawyers, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, academics and others, in Scotland, the UK and abroad.

The Review gathered information about the way sexual offences are currently dealt with, listened to people’s experiences and considered different ways to deal with reports of sexual offences.

All information is handled in accordance with the Terms of Reference (see above).

The Chair of the Sexual Offences Review

Susanne Tanner KC was commissioned by the Lord Advocate to conduct the Sexual Offences Review in December 2021.

Ms Tanner KC has a 28 year career in the legal profession in Scotland and has been a King’s Counsel since 2016. She is dual qualified as a barrister in England and Wales. She is ranked as a leading Silk in Crime and Regulatory, Public and Fatal Accident Inquiries, Independent Investigations and Administrative and Public Law. In addition, her key areas of practice include reparation and alternative dispute resolution. She is a member of Ampersand Advocates in Scotland and Crown Office Chambers in London. She held the appointment of Assistant Principal Crown Counsel from December 2021 to April 2024. She is a qualified arbitrator, certified mediator and a tribunal chair.

Prior to the Sexual Offences Review, she chaired a high-profile independent survivor-led inquiry into sexual offences within a local authority and an independent review into its whistleblowing and organisational culture. She has developed expertise in the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences, including three years as a specialist sexual offences prosecutor in the National Sexual Crimes Unit at Crown Office. She has conducted many High Court trials, commissions and hearings in relation to serious sexual offence cases and her work involves regular meetings with victims. In her civil practice, she is instructed in claims for personal injury by survivors of sexual abuse.

She holds an academic appointment at University of Edinburgh and teaches various subjects, including leading an LLM and LLB Honours course on Sexual Offending and the Law.

Find out more about Susanne Tanner KC.   

The Sexual Offences Review team

The Sexual Offences core review team

Ms Tanner KC was supported in the Sexual Offences Review by a core team of experienced prosecutors and a project administrator, all seconded from COPFS.

Angela Farrell, Procurator Fiscal, joined COPFS in 1998 and has extensive prosecution experience, including working on COPFS Review of the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Offences in Scotland 2006 and Lord Coulsfield’s Review of the Law and Practice of Disclosure of Evidence in Criminal Proceedings. She has lengthy experience of sheriff and jury and high court work involving sexual offence cases, including as the Deputy Head of the High Court Unit. She was seconded to the Review from November 2022 until April 2024, when she was appointed to the bench as a Summary Sheriff.

Dr. Emma Forbes joined COPFS in 2000 and has expertise and experience in the prosecution of sexual offence cases and gender-based violence, including a previous role leading the COPFS Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry Review Team. She has published a book and articles on victim survivors’ experiences of the criminal justice process (www.glasswallsart.com). She was seconded to the Review from November 2022 until December 2023, when she was appointed as the National Lead on Domestic Abuse and Deputy Head of Policy for COPFS, with a remit encompassing policy about victims and witnesses, including those in sexual offence cases.

Connor MacIntyre, Procurator Fiscal Depute, joined COPFS in 2020. He has experience of prosecuting sexual offence cases at Sheriff Court level and assisting Crown Counsel with legal research  in complex cases. He was seconded to the Review from his role in Local Court from September 2023 until publication of the Report on the Review in 2025. He was involved in evidence gathering, analysis of evidence, the Review Roundtable, drafting, compilation and proofing of the final Report.

Mylene Cremers, Senior Business Manager, joined COPFS in 1991 and has an extensive knowledge of processes within High Court Units.  She also has a long experience of supporting the work of the Principal Crown Counsel team and Advocates Deputes, whose work includes rape and serious sexual offences.

Additional secondee to the Review team

The core Review Team was also assisted in the work of the Review by Alexander Sutherland, Advocate, who called to the Bar in 2018 and was appointed as an Advocate Depute from October 2021 until October 2024. In that role he dealt with a wide spectrum of cases in the High Court of Justiciary, including rape and serious sexual offence cases at all stages of the prosecution. His responsibilities included case marking, meeting victims, preparing for and appearing at preliminary hearings, commissions and trials. He assisted the Review for two months in 2023 with evidence gathering, analysis of evidence, the Review Roundtable and drafting of sections of the final Report.

Additional support and assistance

Additional support and assistance was provided by:

• Paul Harvey, Assistant Principal Crown Counsel (then Advocate Depute) who contributed a research paper on victims’ rights; and
• Erin Rennie, PhD Candidate, Glasgow Caledonian University,  who contributed to the Literature Review.

The Review Team was also assisted by the following COPFS trainee solicitors:

• Sam Craib, trainee solicitor
• Mhairi-Clare Collins, trainee solicitor
• Styliana Papachristoforou, trainee solicitor
• Kathryn Wilson, trainee solicitor
• Tammy Hislop, trainee solicitor
• Aslam Ramzan, trainee solicitor
• Lindsay Shields, trainee solicitor.

The Review Team also used administrative support within COPFS, as required.

The Sexual Offences Review Report was finished on 30 April 2025 and delivered to the Lord Advocate. The Crown Agent and Chief Executive of COPFS is now taking a period of time to consider the report and its recommendations and give advice to the Lord Advocate before the next stage of publication. This page will be further updated at that time.

If you would like to get in touch with the Sexual Offences Review Team:

• You can contact the team by email at sexualoffencesreview@copfs.gov.uk
• You can call the team's dedicated number on 0300 020 3832

The team will aim to answer your calls wherever possible but if they are not available, please leave a message. As the Sexual Offences Review is now complete, the email address is not regularly monitored so the team will respond as soon as possible.

What the Sexual Offences Review team cannot do

The Sexual Offences Review Team cannot:

• discuss ongoing cases with you, if you are a victim, witness or accused person,
• deal with complaints about COPFS
• deal with victims’ right to review prosecutorial decisions 
• take a report of a crime
• provide clinical services to victims of crime
• re-investigate completed cases.

Contacting COPFS

If you are a victim or witness in an ongoing case, find out how you can contact COPFS. 

If you have been sexually assaulted or raped within the last seven days, you can contact the NHS Scotland sexual assault self-referral phone service.

Rape Crisis Scotland supports people who have been raped or sexually assaulted any time after the assault.

COPFS has published more information about victim support organisations which includes support services for victims of sexual crime. 

Victim Information and Advice 

COPFS refers victims of sexual crime to its Victim Information and Advice service for extra support. 

Making a complaint about COPFS

COPFS has published information about how to give feedback or make a complaint about COPFS.

Victims' Right to Review

If you are the victim in a case reported COPFS to review a decision not to take action in the first place or to stop or discontinue a case after a case has started in court.

You can view COPFS published information about Victims' Right to Review.