This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Inspectorate of Prosecution
29/11/2006
The independent Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS) published its second annual report today, commenting on work to date including two reviews carried out in the past year on the provision of services to witnesses and case management.
Chief Inspector Joe O'Donnell said:
"The second annual report of the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland outlines its work to date. Much has been achieved to develop the role of the Inspectorate over the past year and we have carried out 24 audits of Procurator Fiscal offices and published two joint thematic reports containing our recommendations as made to the Lord Advocate.
"I look forward to progressing further the IPS over the next year by focusing on specific areas of performance and continuing to work in a dynamic way to encourage sharing of best practice and recommending improvements in service delivery."
Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini said:
"I welcome the publication of this second annual report from the Independent Inspectorate and acknowledge the important work undertaken to provide an accurate and independent account of the activities of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service"
"I am particularly pleased to note the high level of compliance with the Lord Advocate's guidelines on tackling race crime and the tremendous effort being made by offices to engage with minority communities in outreach programmes."
Future work for the IPS over the next year will include the publication of a review into liaison between the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and next of kin in deaths cases and further inspection activity in conjunction, wherever possible, with Criminal Justice partners.
The IPS was established in 2003.
Its principal functions of the IPS are
- to inspect or arrange for the inspection of the operation of COPFS
- to report to the Lord Advocate on any matter connected with the operation of COPFS which the Lord Advocate refers to it
The IPS reports directly to the Lord Advocate with its recommendations.