Joint thematic report on the provision of services to witnesses

1. We recommend that an item on the Witness Service forms part of the introductory training of all Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff and also part of the Deputes' Core Course.

2. We recommend that all Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Area Fiscals and the Witness Service agree to put in place arrangements for the giving of information to the Witness Service for cases other than Victim Information and Advice cases.

In particular the giving of witness lists to the Witness Service in summary cases should be routine.

3. We recommend where Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff wish to have personal contact with a victim/witness at a stage where Victim Information and Advice or the Witness Service would normally be involved that an exchange of information takes place between the parties.

We consider that how this is achieved is best left to local arrangement.

4. We recommend wherever possible prior to the start of the court that there is an exchange of information between the Fiscal Depute and the Witness Service staff to enable both parties to be as fully briefed as possible.

5. We recommend that the Court Officer/Macer acts as a conduit for the exchange of information between the prosecutor in court and the Witness Service or the witnesses themselves and this should be done on an hourly basis.

6. We recommend that the time would be ripe for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Scottish Court Service to re-visit the joint statement and update it in line with these developments.