6 Deaths
It is the duty of the Procurator Fiscal to investigate all sudden, suspicious, unexplained, unexpected and accidental deaths as well as any death occurring in circumstances, which may give rise to public concern. It is a duty that Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service acknowledges must be carried out with the greatest care and attention. Comprehensive guidance is available for staff dealing with deaths.
Certain deaths require further investigation such as deaths arising from industrial disease or poisoning, any death indicating suicide, any death under medical or dental care, any death by drowning, any death resulting from a road traffic collision and a number of others.
Further to this certain deaths should be reported to Crown Office for Crown Counsel's instructions.
The Procurator Fiscal also has responsibility for carrying out Fatal Accident Inquiries under the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 which provides for the holding of mandatory and discretionary Fatal Accident Inquires in the Sheriff Court. Fatal Accident Inquiries are mandatory where a person has died in custody or prison or in the course of employment. A discretionary inquiry is at the request of the Lord Advocate in cases giving rise to serious public concern and where it appears to the Lord Advocate to be in the public interest that an inquiry should be held into the circumstances.
On examination of Crown Office statistics it was noted that during period April 2007 to March 2008 the Area received 655 death reports. This was a decrease of 5% on the previous year compared with a national percentage change of -1%. The figures below show death reports received in the Highlands and Islands Area broken down into Office:
Office | Apr 2006 - Mar 2007 | Apr 2007 - Mar 2008 |
|---|
Deaths Reported | Deaths Reported |
|---|
Dingwall | 72 | 79 |
|---|
Dornoch | 25 | 24 |
|---|
Fort William | 74 | 59 |
|---|
Inverness | 302 | 267 |
|---|
Kirkwall | 33 | 52 |
|---|
Lerwick | 40 | 35 |
|---|
Lochmaddy | 23 | 14 |
|---|
Portree | 1 | 0 |
|---|
Stornoway | 34 | 49 |
|---|
Tain | 44 | 34 |
|---|
Wick | 45 | 42 |
|---|
Total | 693 | 655 |
|---|
There are two Crown Office targets for deaths:
- To investigate 80% of routine deaths within 6 weeks
- To investigate 80% of deaths within 12 weeks
Crown Office figures show that during periods April 2006 to March 2007 and April 2007 to March 2008 the Highlands and Islands Area achieved the first target and narrowly missed the second target during both periods:
Business Area | Target | Apr 2006 - Mar 2007 | Apr 2007 - Mar 2008 |
|---|
Routine Death | Investigate 80% within 6 weeks | 94% | 91% |
|---|
Investigate Death | Investigate 80% within 12 weeks | 78% | 78% |
|---|
Achievement towards targets can be found in tables in Appendices 2 and 3.
The following table shows the number of Fatal Accident Inquiries held in Highlands and Islands during the same periods as above:
Office | Apr 2006 - Mar 2007 | Apr 2007 - Mar 2008 |
|---|
FAI's Held | FAI's Held |
|---|
Dingwall | 1 | 0 |
|---|
Dornoch | 1 | 0 |
|---|
Fort William | 0 | 0 |
|---|
Inverness | 2 | 2 |
|---|
Kirkwall | 0 | 0 |
|---|
Lerwick | 0 | 0 |
|---|
Lochmaddy | 0 | 0 |
|---|
Portree | 0 | 0 |
|---|
Stornoway | 0 | 0 |
|---|
Tain | 0 | 0 |
|---|
Wick | 1 | 1 |
|---|
Total | 5 | 3 |
|---|
In year 2007/08 management in the Area considered the possibility of an Area Processing Unit which would include dealing with all deaths for the Area. However, they decided against this due to the geographical constraints and also that it was felt that cases would be dealt with more effectively by experienced local District Fiscals who already had close liaison with police and doctors etc.
We were advised that deaths can be difficult particularly unusual cases or those requiring specialist reports (eg recreational diving) and this will have an effect on achievement of targets. During 2008/09 the Area plans to undertake process reviews in relation to deaths in Fort William, Dingwall and Western Isles in an attempt to increase performance in routine deaths up to 90% (see Appendix 4 for achievement of targets).
They also plan to continue liaison work with Northern Constabulary in relation to road traffic deaths as these are particularly frequent in this Area. The Depute in Lerwick advised that he was involved in a multi-agency DVD about road safety awareness which was brought to fruition as a result of many road traffic deaths.
The Area indicated that there can be an impact on the Area budget, for example, if there is a need for expert witnesses or if there are many witnesses travelling far distances (see also Chapter 7 - Financial Management).
Some District Fiscals advise that they meet with local hospitals and GPs to provide training and advice on how cases should be reported to the Fiscal.
Dealing with deaths can be a difficult and emotional aspect of the business. One member of staff interviewed felt particularly fearful of making a mistake when dealing with a death. It is therefore important that staff receive adequate training in relation to this in order that they do not become too anxious and this impact on how they deal with deaths.
We published a Thematic Report on deaths in July 2007 where the issues are dealt with in greater detail.