Skip to content
HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland
  • Home
  • About us
    • About us
    • Our purpose
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    • Inspection programme
    • Strategic plan
    • Our history
  • News
  • Publications
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Get in touch
    • Work with us
    • Freedom of Information
    • Complaints
    • FAQs
    • Sign up for alerts
    • Get involved
  1. Home
  2. Publications
  3. Annual Report 2013-14
  4. Chapter 3 – Current and Future Work Programme

Annual Report 2013-14

Related Downloads

  • Annual Report 2013-14
    PDF file, size 2.6 MB
Corporate documents, Annual reports

31st July 2014

Annual Report 2013-14

Additional

  • Foreword
  • Chapter 1 – Overview
  • Chapter 2 – Our Inspections
  • Chapter 3 – Current and Future Work Programme
  • Annex A

  • Foreword
  • Chapter 1 – Overview
  • Chapter 2 – Our Inspections
  • Chapter 3 – Current and Future Work Programme
  • Annex A

Chapter 3 – Current and Future Work Programme

It is important that the work of the Inspectorate is relevant to the issues impacting on our communities and within the justice system. In selecting topics for inspection, the Inspectorate adopts an objective risk-based assessment which is informed through consultation with our stakeholders. We also take account of the overarching strategic priority of COPFS to achieve operational effectiveness in all cases.

There are a number of different types of inspection work that can be undertaken by IPS.

Thematic Reviews

We will continue to use thematic reviews to scrutinise areas of work that benefit from a holistic approach. These can be focussed on specific types of case work or business approaches. We will highlight good practice and make recommendations designed to drive improvement and enhance quality.

Follow-up Reviews

A robust follow-up process is a critical part of an effective inspection regime and during 2014, the IPS has embarked on a detailed analysis of whether there are any outstanding recommendations from previous IPS reports that require further examination and review. Through this process, IPS is undertaking a follow-up review of the Community Engagement report published in June 2011. In addition, we have introduced a continuous rolling programme following the publication of all reports to monitor the progress made by COPFS in implementing our recommendations and will undertake formal follow-up inspections where necessary and appropriate.

Collaborative Reviews

IPS is a member of the UK-wide Heads of Inspectorates Forum which affords an opportunity to compare methodology and learn from the experiences of other mainstream UK inspectors and regulatory agencies. In addition, the legal staff are members of the International Association of Prosecutors which provides an opportunity to network with prosecutors from around the world.

Given the close association between the police and COPFS, IPS regularly meets with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland to consider areas where joint inspection of cross-cutting issues would be of benefit. In addition, IPS liaises with Audit Scotland and the other inspection bodies within the criminal justice system in Scotland to ensure there is no duplication of work but rather that reviews undertaken by IPS complement work undertaken by other inspectorates.

Current Programme

  • Thematic report on the management of statutory time limits in solemn proceedings
  • Follow-up report on Community Engagement
  • Thematic report on the Response and Information Unit (deals with complaints)
  • Thematic report on Disclosure
  • Follow-up report on Health and Safety Division
  • Follow-up report on the Knowledge Bank
  • An audit of the procedures governing organ retention

The programme is kept under continual review and altered as necessary to respond to any new challenges or developments which provide identifiable risks for COPFS and the wider criminal justice system.

Previous
Chapter 2 – Our Inspections
Next
Annex A
Site Map
Cookie Policy
Privacy Notice
Accessibility
Contact us
Freedom of Information
Complaints
© 2025 HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland

We use the necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. These will be set only if you accept.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookie Policy.