Our purpose, vision and values

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS) is led by HM Chief Inspector of Prosecution who is appointed by the Lord Advocate to inspect the operation of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). COPFS is the sole prosecuting authority in Scotland and is also responsible for investigating sudden, unexplained or suspicious deaths and criminal allegations against the police.

Our statutory purpose is to inspect the operation of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Our vision is to promote excellence and confidence in Scotland’s prosecution service through independent, evidence-based scrutiny.

Our values underpin our approach to scrutiny. We always seek to demonstrate our values in the way that we work.

Independence – We act independently in all we do, providing impartial and objective scrutiny of the service provided by COPFS.

Credibility – We deliver high quality, evidence-based scrutiny and report publicly on our findings. Our approach is rigorous but fair and proportionate.

User-focus – The views and experiences of those individuals and organisations who are affected by the work of COPFS are central to our scrutiny activity. This includes victims, witnesses and next of kin as well as those who advocate on their behalf. We are also mindful of the experience of accused persons and those who represent them.

Respect – Respect for human rights is at the heart of what we do, and we support equal access to justice. We engage constructively with those we inspect, and we value the contribution they make.

Partnership – We work in partnership with others. We support continuous improvement in COPFS, and we work with our scrutiny partners to support improvement across the criminal justice system.