High Court: Abuse in Institutions - Victim communication guide

This guide is for people who were abused as children while living in residential care, including Foster Care, and whose case is being considered for the High Court.

We know this can be a difficult and confusing time. Our aim is to keep you informed, answer your questions, and support you at every stage.

We’ll always try to use plain English. If you come across any words you don’t understand, please ask us or check our website for explanations.

Support is available throughout the process. Please speak to your VIA contact and we can support you to access organisations that specialise in supporting people who have been affected by abuse in care settings.

We’re here to listen and help.

When the police investigate a report of abuse of a child in residential care, they may send a report to COPFS. Once we receive it, we look at the evidence and decide what to do next.

Sometimes, we need more information and will ask the police to carry out further investigations. If this happens, we’ll contact you within 28 days to let you know. If we can’t reach you, we’ll send a letter so you can get in touch when it suits you.

When we speak to you, we’ll tell you who is dealing with your case, explain what happens next, and answer any questions you have.

We’ll ask if you have any needs we should know about, so we can support you in the best way possible. We’ll also tell you about organisations that can help and ask how you’d like us to contact you and how often.

You may be invited to meet the person preparing the case. This could be in person, by phone, or online.

At these meetings, we’ll give you access to your police statement, ask questions if we need more information, and let you know if we need to see any sensitive records, like medical records. We’ll always explain why and ask for your views.

If we decide that we are unable to take proceedings, or if we refer the case to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), or for social work diversion, we’ll let you know. We will also explain your right to ask for a review of the decision if this is an option. You’ll be offered a meeting to discuss the decision if you want one.

If we decide to start court proceedings, the accused will appear at the Sheriff Court first.

We’ll contact you within 24 hours of this appearance to let you know what happened, including whether the accused is in custody or released on bail, and what that means. 

We’ll be in touch with you again within the next 28 days.

When we speak to you, we’ll tell you who’s handling your case, explain the process, and answer your questions.

We’ll ask about any needs you have, tell you about support organisations, and ask how you’d like us to contact you and how often. 

After the first court appearance, we’ll do a full investigation.

We’ll keep in touch at the times we agreed, and if anything important changes.

You will be invited to a meeting with the case preparer. We’ll try to meet your preferences for how and when these happen and we may need to meet with you more than once.

At these meetings, we’ll update you on what’s happening, answer your questions, and give you access to your statement. We may need to ask you questions too. 

We’ll explain if we need to ask police to take another statement from you or if we need access to sensitive records and ask for your views.

We’ll also explain what you can and can’t be asked about in court,

If you have concerns about coming to court, we’ll discuss those with you and we’ll talk to you about special measures that can help, such as giving evidence from another location, behind a screen or with a supporter.

We can also arrange for you to visit the court in advance if you’d like.

If a decision is made to take no further proceedings or to refer the case elsewhere then we’ll let you know and explain your right to request a review if this is an option. You’ll be offered a meeting to discuss the decision if you want one.

If the case goes to the Sheriff Court, we’ll let you know as soon as possible. Our Sheriff Court team will then keep in touch with you about your case.

If the case goes to the High Court, we’ll let you know when the indictment is served and when the next court date is.

You can give a Victim Impact Statement to explain how the crime has affected you. We’ll send you information about this and ask if you wish to complete it.

Preliminary hearing

The preliminary hearing checks if the case is ready for trial. You don’t need to attend.

We’ll let you know the outcome, including if there’s a guilty plea, a not guilty plea, or if the hearing is continued.

We’ll update you about any special measures you requested, and help you arrange a court visit if you want one.

Evidence by Commissioner

If your evidence is being pre-recorded, we’ll contact you within the two weeks before the hearing to confirm details and help with arrangements for you to get there.

We’ll make sure you meet the prosecutor and have access to your statement and offer a visit to the location of the hearing.

On the day someone from COPFS will meet with you before you give evidence.

The trial

If you gave ‘Evidence by Commissioner’, you shouldn’t need to attend the trial.

We’ll ask if you want updates during the trial or just at the end.

If you’re giving evidence

If you’re giving evidence at the trial, we’ll contact you within the two weeks before the trial to explain what to expect and help with arrangements for you to get there.

You’ll meet the prosecutor before and on the day of court.

After you give evidence, we’ll ask if you want updates during the rest of the trial or only at the end.

If you want to see the courtroom before the trial, we can arrange this.

If you asked for special measures, we’ll make sure they’re in place. If you need to change them at short notice, let your VIA contact know and we’ll do our best to arrange that for you.

After the trial

After the trial, we’ll let you know the verdict—whether the accused is found guilty or not guilty.

If the accused is found guilty, we’ll let you know the sentence, or when it will be given, and ask if you want to attend.

We’ll remind you about the Victim Impact Statement if you haven’t already given one, and explain how to get support with completing it.

We’ll also ask about your views on a non-harassment order, if we haven’t already got that information.

Examination of facts

An Examination of facts happens when an accused person is unfit to take part in a criminal trial because they have a physical or mental medical condition.

If there is an examination of facts instead of a trial, we’ll explain this process to you and what to expect.

If you’re giving evidence at the examination of facts, we’ll contact you within the two weeks before the hearing to explain what to expect and help with arrangements for you to get there.

You’ll meet the prosecutor before and on the day of court.

After you give evidence, we’ll ask if you want updates during the rest of the examination of facts or only at the end.

If you want to see the courtroom before you give evidence, we can arrange this.

If you asked for special measures, we’ll make sure they’re in place. If you need to change them at short notice, let your VIA contact know and we’ll do our best to arrange that for you.

If you want to attend court for sentencing, a VIA Officer will meet you, answer questions, and help you know what to expect.

If you’re not there, we’ll let you know the sentence as soon as we can.

Victim Notification Scheme

If the person found guilty goes to prison, you may be able to join the Victim Notification Scheme to get updates about their release.

We’ll explain if you’re eligible and give you the information you need if you want to register.

If the person found guilty appeals, we’ll let you know what’s happening and what the appeal is about, if it’s appropriate.

We’ll ask if you want to attend the appeal hearing and help with arrangements.

We’ll let you know the outcome as soon as we can.

If you have feedback or want to make a complaint, you can contact us by phone, email, or post.