Annual complaints performance report 2025-2026

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is Scotland’s prosecution service.

We act independently and impartially in the public interest. We are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crime in Scotland, the investigation of sudden or suspicious deaths and the investigation of criminal allegations against the police.

We are committed to playing our part in making Scotland a safer place to live and engaging with communities to understand their needs and priorities.

COPFS recognises that a key element of achieving those aims is listening to those who are, or have been, affected by the work that we do. COPFS values the experiences of people who have been involved in the criminal justice process and recognises that interactions with the justice system can affect people in different ways. We are committed to listening to and learning from these experiences to help improve our services.

We want to identify good practice within COPFS and ensure best practice is adopted across the whole of the organisation.

We also want to put things right, if possible, when something goes wrong and do so at the earliest opportunity.

We aim to engage our employees to deliver excellent customer service to victims, witnesses and other people in contact with COPFS.

The COPFS Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) can be accessed from the Home page of our website www.copfs.gov.uk. We explain how to make a complaint, what can be complained about, what happens once a complaint has been made and what steps can be taken if a complainant is dissatisfied with our final decision.

Our Complaints Handling Procedure follows the model complaints handling procedure endorsed by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) which adopts a two-stage approach.

This stage is also known as “Frontline response”. Our aim is to treat complaints seriously and to resolve areas of dissatisfaction and misunderstanding as quickly as possible, preferably at local level. 

We recognise that resolving concerns quickly, where appropriate, can help reduce uncertainty and ensure people receive a timely response to the issues they have raised. Stage One complaints should be answered within 5 working days (which can exceptionally be extended to 10 working days).

COPFS staff will assist in resolving concerns at local Procurator Fiscal’s offices and, when time permits, at Court.

When a complaint cannot be resolved at Stage One, and further investigation is required, or the matter is identified as one which should be dealt with at Stage Two at the outset, it will be passed to our Response and Information Unit (RIU). 

Stage Two complaints can be submitted to RIU directly from members of the public. Where complaints are received in local Procurator Fiscal’s offices which request escalation to Stage Two or which are not appropriate for Stage One at the outset, they are forwarded to RIU.

The COPFS Response and Information Unit (RIU) is responsible for handling complaints received at and complaints escalated to Stage Two in terms of our Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) and promoting good customer service. 

When handling complaints RIU aims to:

• Provide a consistent and timeous service in respect of formal complaints
• Promote and encourage good customer service, including the use of Stage One: Frontline Response
• Improve learning, including by recording outcomes and feeding these back to senior management

COPFS aims to deliver improvements in our service to the public across all COPFS functions. The Response and Information Unit provides quarterly analytics of complaints received at and complaints escalated to Stage Two to COPFS senior management. 

This helps to ensure that complaint themes are identified and RIU’s performance is measured.

The outcome and investigation findings for all upheld and partially upheld complaints handled at Stage Two of our CHP are shared directly with senior management with responsibility for the team whose work the complaint relates to. This ensures that training needs are identified and learning points are acted on appropriately, and action is taken to improve service and mitigate identified risks.

Indicator One: total number of complaints recorded

This indicator sets out the total number of complaints recorded by COPFS from 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026. This figure includes all complaints recorded at Stage One* and Stage Two of our Complaints Handling Procedure. 

272 complaints were recorded at Stage One (this includes 97 complaints escalated from Stage One to Stage Two, as they were first received at Stage One)*

84 complaints were received directly at Stage Two.

Total number* of complaints in 2025/2026: 356

(* While all COPFS staff are encouraged to record complaints dealt with in this way, this work forms part of day-to-day business in a busy Procurator Fiscal’s office. As such, the full extent of frontline response may not be formally recorded.)

As a benchmark, we consider the figure of complaints received by COPFS per 1,000 reports to COPFS by reporting agencies.

During 2025/2026 COPFS received a combined total of 176,267 criminal and death reports (See Case processing statistics 2021 to 2026 | COPFS). During the same period, we recorded 356 complaints*, which is 2.02 complaints per 1000 reports.

Indicator Two: The total number and the percentage of complaints at each stage that were closed in full within the timescales of 5 working days and 20 working days respectively

Stage One complaints should be closed within 5 working days. This can exceptionally be extended to 10 working days.  

Stage Two complaints should be closed within 20 working days. Where a Stage Two complaint is more complex and necessarily takes longer to investigate, and it is therefore not possible to close it within 20 working days, COPFS communicates this to the complainant.  COPFS provides an update every 20 working days until a substantive response is issued. COPFS aims to respond to 70% of Stage Two complaints within 20 working days.

A complaint may be first considered and responded to at Stage One and later escalated for consideration at Stage Two where the complainant remains dissatisfied, or may be considered at Stage Two from the outset where it is identified that the complaint is more complex and is not suitable for response at Stage One.

Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, from a total of 84 received at Stage Two, we closed 46 complaints within 20 active* working days. This equates to 54.7% of the total Stage Two complaints received in 2025/2026. 

Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, from a total of 97 complaints escalated from Stage One to Stage Two, we closed 59 complaints within 20 active working days. This equates to 60.8% of the total complaints escalated to Stage Two in 2025/2026.

We aim to respond to and close Stage One complaints within 5 working days. In 2025/2026 recording practices in respect of Stage One complaints did not allow for reliable calculation of numbers and percentages of Stage One complaints answered within target.

(*This figure does not include time during which complaints were put on hold to await essential information from the complainant, or where the response date was re-calculated because the complainant submitted additional heads of complaint during the investigation.)

Indicator 3: The average time in working days for a full response to complaints received and closed at Stage Two, and following escalation to Stage Two

Stage Two - We aim to respond to and close 70% of complaints received at Stage Two within 20 working days. The average time for a full response for complaints received at Stage Two was 36 working days.

Stage Two after escalation - We aim to respond to and close 70% of complaints escalated to Stage Two within 20 working days. The average time for a full response after escalation to Stage Two was 34 working days.

We aim to respond to and close Stage One complaints within 5 working days. In 2025/2026 recording practices in respect of Stage One complaints did not allow for reliable calculation of average journey times for Stage One complaints.

Indicator 4: The outcome of complaints received and closed at Stage Two, and following escalation to Stage Two

This indicator measures the number and percentage of closed complaints which were upheld, partially upheld, not upheld or resolved for complaints received at Stage Two and complaints escalated to Stage Two of COPFS’s Complaints Handling Procedure.

The resolved outcome was introduced with the new Complaints Handling Procedure in April 2021 and is used when positive action can be taken to resolve the issue for the customer.

Complaints received at Stage Two 

8 complaints were upheld at Stage Two which is 9.5% of the total complaints received at Stage Two.

21 complaints were partially upheld at Stage Two which is 25% of the total complaints received at Stage Two.

48 complaints were not upheld at Stage Two which is 57% of the total complaints received at Stage Two.

7 complaints were resolved at Stage Two which is 8% of the total complaints received at Stage Two.

Complaints escalated to Stage Two

8 complaints were upheld at Stage Two after escalation which is 8% of the total complaints escalated to Stage Two.

31 complaints were partially upheld at Stage Two after escalation which is 32% of the total complaints escalated to Stage Two.

54 complaints were not upheld at Stage Two after escalation which is 55% of the complaints escalated to Stage Two.

3 complaints were resolved at Stage Two after escalation which is 3% of the complaints escalated to Stage Two.

1 complaint was withdrawn before resolution.

In 2025/2026 recording practices in respect of Stage One complaints did not allow for reliable analysis of outcomes in respect of Stage One complaints.

The most common complaints handled at Stage Two during this period related to:

• Handling of case (71)
• Failure to communicate (27)
• Decision not to prosecute (27)
• Handling of a case in court (16)
• Staff discourtesy (12)

The highest number of upheld or partially upheld complaints handled at Stage Two during this period related to:

• Handling of case (24)
• Failure to communicate (22)

Details of complaints processed at or complaints escalated to Stage Two which are fully or partially upheld are brought to the attention of local management.  This allows any required action to be taken promptly and helps ensure learning is identified and shared to support service improvement. It also allows consideration of training and development needs.

Feedback and complaints

Anyone can provide a comment or make a complaint about our service or work. 

How do I give feedback?

You can contact our Enquiry Point with a query or comment. View full contact information and opening hours for the Enquiry Point.

How can I raise a concern or make a complaint about my experience with COPFS?

Download our comments and complaints form and fill in all relevant sections. The notes in the form will guide you.

Where do I send my complaint?

You can hand your completed form in at any COPFS office, email us at Complaints@copfs.gov.uk.

or by post to:

The Response and Information Unit
Crown Office
25 Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1LA

You can also telephone 0300 020 3000. If you decide to contact us this way, you may still wish to use our form template to help you prepare your information before you call.