The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has today published the Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses Annual Report 2015-2016 produced in partnership with Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Prison Service and the Parole Board for Scotland.
Standards of service for victims and witnesses were established in April 2015 and the Annual Report has been prepared to show how the organisations have performed against these standards over the past year and any changes they intend to make and why.
The SCTS is committed along with its justice partners to improving the experience of victims and witnesses within the criminal justice system in Scotland and strives to provide the necessary facilities and accommodation to meet the needs of victims and witnesses who are required to give evidence or to attend at a court building.
One area in which the 2014 Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act has had a marked impact is in availability of special measures to support giving evidence in court which has resulted in a large increase in applications and notices for special measures. January 2016 saw an almost threefold increase in the number of applications received for special measures in criminal cases over the same month last year.
The SCTS has also carried out training to enhance awareness of the pressures and stresses victims face during their engagement with the justice system, and to better equip front line staff to recognise when additional support might be needed.
In the coming year, as well as taking forward initiatives emerging from the standards of service, the SCTS is also exploring the ways in which evidence is currently presented to court and how we might improve the experience of those involved in that process through the Evidence and Procedure Review and through the provision of dedicated justice centres. Plans for the first such facility in Inverness were formally announced in March 2016.
Standards of Service Annual Report 2015-2016
Standards of Service 2016-2017