Victims Taskforce papers: November 2024

Victim-Survivor Advisory Board issues tracker (paper 6)

Section 1: communication

Issue no: 1a

Date of initial input: 15 March 2023

Issue: Individuals often do not know what rights they have and what they are entitled to, and are unaware of the Standards of Service

Proposed change: Victims should be given a leaflet setting out their rights, what to do if those rights aren’t met, who to contact for more information. Further promotion of the new Care Card is required, as many victims/survivors of crime are unaware of this. The recommendation from Lady Dorrian’s review of the charter of rights for sexual offence complainers should be implemented

Current position/proposed action:

Police Scotland

• The Victim Care Card introduced by Police Scotland contains signposting to all of the information needed by a Victim and Witness and links to the relevant Police Scotland internet pages.
• Police Scotland Victims and Witnesses internet page has been reviewed. Discussing are ongoing with The First Word who will assist in updating the page to make it more accessible and user friendly. This will be included in phase 2 of the ‘People at heart’ project. 

COPFS

• COPFS external webpage is similarly being reviewed.
• The VIA Toolkit will include guidance to VIA staff on early signposting to victim support organisations.

New care Card – Police Scotland

• An updated version of Victim Care Card  - ‘Your Care Card’ (more accessible to victims) has been approved . The updated version is based on feedback from public consultation and work is ongoing to roll it out.
• An engagement project in collaboration with Victim Support Scotland is ongoing raising awareness amongst officers about the importance of offering the Care Card to victims and the work of support agencies.
• To support this further, approval has also been given for automatic generation of an electronic version intended to improve compliance and accessibility. The timescales for this process is still to be confirmed.
• The new ‘Your Care Card’ has now been translated into 20 languages.
• Work is ongoing to allow for electronic provision through the hand held devices prior to the rollout which will focus on internal communications to raise awareness amongst frontline officers to better inform victims/survivors.
• Work completed to allow for the electronic provision of Your Care Card. Work now ongoing to communicate this widely internally to improve distribution.
• The Police Scotland victims and witnesses intranet page has been updated to include clearer information about victim’s rights, Standards of Service and support referrals. It is expected that this will increase officer awareness and knowledge which will better support victims and witnesses.
• Work continues with The First Word to review and update the Victims and Witnesses internet page on the Police Scotland website. The QR code and link on Your Care Card  will take the victim/witness to this page and we need this to be accessible and informative.

SG

• Working with victim organisations’ reference groups, SG held initial sessions with victims/survivors in August and September. The output of these sessions will be used to help shape the creation of the Charter.

Action lead: Police Scotland, SG, COPFS

Last updated: 6 November 2024

Update provided by: Police Scotland, COPFS, SG, VSAB (Victim-Survivor Advisory Board)

 

Issue no: 1b

Date of initial input: 15 March 2023

Issue: Individuals unaware of how to give feedback/make complaints.

Proposed change: Clear processes in place for victims/survivors/ witnesses/family members to have opportunities to tell the justice system how they experienced it. Child-friendly processes for child victims. Joint working and accountability between agencies about their complaints review processes so that there is not the situation that victims/survivors who make complaints to one justice agency are told to go to another justice agency and vice versa.

Current position/proposed action:

SG

• justice agencies are currently working with Scottish Government to design new ‘live’ feedback loops.
• this recognises the need to understand the experience of victims and survivors going through the criminal justice process

COPFS

• the VIA Modernisation Programme is looking at improving communication with victims, witnesses and bereaved relatives
• COPFS has an agreement with Rape Crisis Scotland to get anonymous feedback in sexual offences cases and learn from the feedback to improve services
• COPFS is scoping the creation of feedback loops with other partner agencies which is based on recommendation made by HMIPS report on the prosecution of summary domestic abuse cases. This will feed into the work of the VIA modernisation programme to inform wider national roll out

Police Scotland

• Police Scotland conduct a monthly external ‘User Experience Survey for Local Policing’ intended to capture people’s experiences from point of contact and throughout officer engagement.
• The service also has an engagement hub which hosts engagement activities, surveys and consultations on a variety of themes. It also facilitates a feedback mechanism for domestic abuse, rape and sexual crime which invites victim/ survivors to provide anonymous feedback on the service they received.
• Police Scotland receive monthly anonymous feedback from local Rape Crisis Centres collated by Rape Crisis Scotland in respect of sexual offences and utilises feedback to learn from to improve services.

Action lead: SG, COPFS, Police Scotland

Last updated: 27 May 2024

Update provided by: SG, Police Scotland, COPFS

 

Issue no: 1c

Date of initial input: 9 March 2023

Issue: Issues raised around communication channels and feelings of safety for victims/ survivors who are awaiting trial, where the accused has received bail and where the victim/survivor feels there is a continued threat from the accused.

Proposed change

• Clarity for individuals about how their rights to protection, information and participation will be protected in situations where the accused has on bail until a trial. The safety of victims needs to be prioritised, so they can feel safe if the accused is given bail.

Current position/proposed action:

COPFS

• COPFS makes full use of opportunities, including in solemn sexual offence cases through our Victim Strategies, to communicate with victims and witnesses, to ensure that they remain engaged in the prosecution process and are able to ask questions about safety concerns.
• Where concerns are raised COPFS may provide information, refer the victim or witness to support services or support the victim or witness to report their concerns to the police for investigation.
• Where an individual is reported for breaching conditions of bail Police Scotland would undertake the necessary investigations and report any breaches to COPFS.

Police Scotland

• Any report of to Police Scotland regarding an individual breaching their bail conditions will be fully investigated and where appropriate reported to COPFS.

Action lead: COPFS, Police Scotland

Last updated: 13 November 2023

Update provided by: COPFS

 

Issue no: 1d

Date of initial input: 9 March 2023

Issue: Victims/survivors receive often distressing communications out of the blue from agencies, and some individuals report receiving confusing communications without explanation of the information and expected actions within the communications.

Proposed change:

• Trauma informed training and communications - ensure all communications are clear and trauma informed, and that individuals can access support to navigate the system.
• Implement a system of warning about content of written communications that could be upsetting, for example a separate internal envelope with the contents.

Current position/proposed action:

People at Heart Approach

• The First Word has created People at heart approach to communication and has been working with criminal justice agencies to improve written communications.
• The First Word based on consultations are delivering introductory webinars to agencies which will be followed by launch of training sessions.
• The First word is currently developing a ‘public facing’ version of the People at Heart Style Guide.
• Workstream 3 (of the Victims Taskforce), which is focussed on improving communication for victims and witnesses, has been established to support and monitor the implementation of this work

VNS Review

• The VNS review made recommendations about improving communications.
• The Scottish Government published its response to the review on 9 October.
• The Scottish Government agrees with the majority of the reviews recommendations, and will work with victim support organisations and justice partners to reform the VNS.
• COPFS
• The VIA Modernisation Programme is also looking at improving communication with victims, witnesses and bereaved relatives

Police Scotland

• Police Scotland are working with The First Word to raise awareness about the ‘People at Heart’ approach. We are planning a launch webinar which will be sponsored by the Executive Team, to raise awareness, launch the Style Guide and to offer further training on how to improve our communications

Action lead: Victims Taskforce: Trauma Informed Workforce & Comms w/streams

Last updated: 6 November 2024

Update provided by: SG, COPFS

 

Section 2: delays

Issue no: 2a

Date of initial input: 9 March 2023

Issue: Continued trial adjournments, often multiple times, continue to cause distress and practical disruption for witnesses

Proposed change:

• reduction in numbers of adjournments/ length of wait for individuals
• clear communication and explanation as to why adjournments are taking place when they must occur.
• reps raised that there should be standards for how quickly trials will go to court

Current position/proposed action:

• reduction in intermediate diets held
• reduced case journey times
• a pilot has taken place in Dundee, Hamilton, Paisley, Glasgow and Perth. An evaluation report of the pilot was published by SCTS in September 2024 and  showed:
  • an estimated 530 summary trials did not require to be fixed in pilot courts, as a result of early resolution due to this initiative
  • an estimated 18,000 witnesses were not cited or recited due to this initiative. Of this, approximately 11,000 were police witnesses
• the volume of outstanding scheduled trials reduced by 31% in the pilot courts

It is estimated that if this initiative had been in place at a national level during the pilot period, 3270 trials would not have been fixed and a further 89,000 witnesses would not have been cited or recited

• this initiative will now be rolled out nationally and work is underway to agree a plan with Justice partners. The commitment is to rollout with Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) so that the evidence needed is always available for the trial or hearing to proceed

TCP 3 – System Health Check.

• work is undergoing to re-establish this project within a redefined scope of TCP 3 which is focused on the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice system
• the aim of the project is to give Justice Partners the data needed to monitor the health of the system and make targeted interventions where the data shows delays and churn
• once established these metrics will allow the system to monitor the impact of any changes made to the system on an ongoing basis

COPFS

• The VIA Modernisation Programme is looking at how COPFS can improve communication with victims, and witnesses

Action lead: TCP 3: Criminal Justice System Efficiency

Last updated: 18 October 2024

Update provided by: SG, SCTS

 

Section 3: trauma informed justice

Issue no: 3a

Date of initial input: 9 March 2023

Issue: Need for all personnel in the court system and wider justice system to have trauma informed training and to adopt trauma informed practice including the judiciary and defence agents. Specialist training for the judiciary also highlighted as necessary around areas such as domestic abuse, sexual crime and stalking

Proposed change:

• Trauma informed and VAWG competent training for all justice personnel.
• Consideration should be given to how victim-survivors might input into training.
• Accountability plan—how will we know improvement is happening?  What behaviours need changing and to what?  Who is responsible for monitoring and responding if improvement is not evident?

Current position/proposed action:

• Scottish Trauma Informed Leaders Training (STILT)
• Justice Analytical Services (JAS) have worked with NES to design a monitoring and evaluation strategy for the implementation of Trauma Informed Framework. The monitoring form is in the final stages of drafting and will be ready for use by the end of November.
• As a result of data gaps identified during the development of the monitoring and evaluation strategy, JAS colleagues are exploring options for how we might work collectively and collaboratively with our justice agencies to measure victim experience moving forward.

Victims, Witnesses & Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill

• The Bill is currently at Stage 2 of the parliamentary process.
• Part 2 of the Bill adds trauma-informed practice as a principle to the standards of service in the Victims & Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014.
• Part 5 of the Bill establishes a specialist sexual offences court for Scotland. The provision in the Bill which establish the Sexual Offences Court require that those working in the SOC including court clerks, Judges and defence practitioners must complete a course of training on trauma-informed practice in sexual offence cases.

Police Scotland

• Police Scotland are utilising the NES Turas training modules and will utilise the modules due to be released in November 2024 to upskill officers to Trauma Skilled status.
• Police Scotland have established a Strategic Oversight Board to manage the development and roll out of Trauma Training from Skilled to Enhanced level throughout the workforce.
• Police Scotland are working with NES and the other partners regarding the implementation of Trauma-Informed Practice within the justice system and in anticipation of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (S) Bill becoming law.  A Strategic Oversight Board will oversee this work.

Action lead: Victims Taskforce W/stream 2: Trauma Informed Workforce

Last updated: 15 November 2023

Update provided by: SG

 

Issue no: 3b

Date of initial input: 9 March 2023

Issue: People going through civil court processes have raised issues around the support available there compared to the criminal courts

Proposed change:

• Support for victim-survivors in civil cases including special measures and emotional support options
• Better co-ordination and sharing of evidence/information between the civil and criminal courts

Current position/proposed action: Support for victims/better civil-criminal coordination:

• Children (Scotland) Act 2020 contains provision to establish advocacy service for children going through contact/ residence cases. This has not yet been implemented, given the pressures on resources.
• The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 also contains provisions to enhance special measures in some family cases. Part 3 of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which is currently at Stage 2 in the Parliament, will, if enacted, extend these provisions to cover civil cases generally.
• Following SG funded SCCJR research on Domestic Abuse & Child Contact: The Interface Between Criminal & Civil Proceedings, a workshop took place on 8 May 2024 with Justice agencies to consider improvements. A further workshop with voluntary sector bodies, on 3 October 2024
• Following these workshops, the Scottish Government is considering next steps and what change ideas could be taken forward

Access to legal services:

• SG supports the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, which offers free legal information, advice and representation to women experiencing gender-based violence
• the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, if passed by Parliament would remove restrictions preventing charities, law centres & citizen’s advice bodies from directly employing solicitors to provide certain legal services, such as representation at court, to some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens
• a pilot project funded through the Scottish Legal Aid Board has been put in place until the end of March 2026, to support Scottish Women’s Aid for the provision of legal advice to those affected by domestic abuse in Edinburgh. Post 2026, and subject to future budget provision there is the opportunity to roll the project across other areas in Scotland, if the current pilot is successful
• the ‘Future of the Legal Profession’ working group will, among other things, look at capacity within the legal profession
• additional SG funding and increased remuneration for legal aid providers - with the most recent increase in April 2023 resulting in an £11 million package of legal aid reforms and uplift worth 10.25% overall

Action lead: SG

Last updated: 16 October 2024

Update provided by: SG

 

Issue no: 3c

Date of initial input: 20 March 2024

Issue: Inaccuracies in police statements – complainers being asked to approve accuracy immediately after giving statement when they are not in an emotional position to do so

Proposed change: Exploration of improvement around systems to check the accuracy of Police statements with the individuals who have given their statement.

Current position/proposed action

The ongoing work is looking at the following aspects:

• part 1: Complete roll out of Visual Recorded Interviews (VRI) for rape and sexual crime cases that should significantly reduce errors within the statement
• part 2: Consultation with survivors of abuse to ascertain an appropriate time to check for accuracy within the police statement to avoid re-traumatisation
• guidance provided to officers who are obtaining manuscript statements to establish with victims their individual preference for checking accuracy and direction provided to confirm and clarify the content of a statement throughout as it is being noted rather than waiting fully until the end

Action lead: Police Scotland

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Update provided by:

 

Issue no: 3d

Date of initial input: 20 March 2024

Issue: Lack of support to complete Victim Impact Statements

Victim/witnesses not given option of reading statements out in court

Proposed change: More support to be put in place around Victim Impact Statements and exploration of the option for them to be read out in court.

Current position/proposed action:

• the expansion of Victim Statement scheme project is included in Transformational Change Programme 1.
• consultation on expanding the scheme was done in 2019 which was followed regulations passed in 2021 enabling the Scottish Ministers to pilot changes to the Scheme.
• SG are engaging with COPFS to get the Project back on track and look at the pilot options and dependencies with the Launch of Witness Gateway Project.

Action lead: SG

Last updated: 6 November 2024

Update provided by: SG

 

Issue no: 3e

Date of initial input: 20 March 2024

Issue: Victims being asked by the police to approach other possible complainers

Proposed change: This is not a trauma informed approach and should cease.

Current position/proposed action:

• Proactive Investigations National Guidance document has been complete and is currently out for local consultation.
• The issue would appear to be an isolated incident as opposed to regular practice and has been raised as a formal complaint against police. 
• When a victim makes mention of another possible victim or witness officers may ask if they have contact details for them or if they are already in contact with them to make them aware their details have been provided to police however this would only be in circumstances the victim was comfortable with.

Action lead: Police Scotland

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Update provided by: Police Scotland

 

Section 4: data

Issue no: 4a

Date of initial input: 15 March 2023

Issue: Need more qualitative data about lived experiences of the justice system

Proposed change:

• improved data and research
• improve intersectional data supply. If current IT systems can’t accommodate, design snapshot data collection strategies until systems can be improved

Current position/proposed action:

• as part of the development of the monitoring strategy for the implementation of the Trauma Informed Justice Knowledge and Skills Framework (Workstream-2 Trauma Informed Workforce), it has become apparent that the participating justice agencies will find it particularly challenging to measure outcomes related to victim and witness experience. (see also: 3a).
• having identified these data gaps, JAS colleagues are in the early stages of exploring options for how we might work collectively and collaboratively with our justice agencies to measure victim experience moving forward.

Action lead: SG/CJA analytical services

Last updated: 10/11/23     

Update provided by: SG

 

Issue no: 4c

Date of initial input: 15/03/23

Issue: Accessing transcripts of trials is something that some people desire but it is prohibitively expensive for people to request.

Proposed change: Transcripts should be made available free of charge in defined circumstances e.g. for complainers of sexual offences

Current position/proposed action:

• the Scottish Government commenced a funded pilot for free access to transcripts for complainers in rape and sexual offence cases heard in the High Court of Justiciary on 1 March 2024
• the pilot scheme will run for 12 months and will be evaluated
• guidance and application form can be accessed on the SCTS website
• as at 29 October, 77 applications have been received, 6 of which were not eligible for the pilot and 1 was withdrawn
• of the 70 eligible applications:
  • 62 - have full digital recordings
  • 6 - do not have complete audio recording due to failure to record during trial
  • 1 - cannot be transcribed due to the quality of the audio
  • 1 - has been subject to a data loss of 3 days of the 4-day trial during the backup process

Action lead: SG/SCTS

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Update provided by: SG/SCTS

 

Section 5: miscellaneous

Issue no: 5a

Date of initial input: 26 July 2023

Issue: Issues with court expenses particularly childcare and inability to claim expenses for attending sentencing hearings

Proposed change:

Expenses provision should be reviewed

• (Further info from VSAB: There are currently no expenses available for victims/survivors to attend sentencing hearings. VSOs have had to cover the costs of victims/survivors travelling to sentencing hearings, including from as far afield as Shetland, the cost of which is considerable but is important for victims/ survivors to be able to attend.)

Current position/proposed action:

• SG to explore this issue further (in light of additional info from VSAB) and keep VSAB/Taskforce updated via Issues Tracker

Action lead: SG

Last updated: 5 June 2024

Update provided by: SG

 

Issue no: 5b

Date of initial input: 19/02/24

Issue: Issues raised with safety within court settings and also in travel to and from court

Proposed change: Active management in court settings to prevent interaction between complainers and accused, as well as complainers and other witnesses or family members where relevant.

(Additional information from VSAB: Travel to and from court is particularly an issue for complainers from rural areas where there may be only one train getting in in time for court starting.)

Current position/proposed action:

Safety within court setting:

• increasing awareness and use of existing SCTS remote sites. Expansion of alternative remote site links to court via e.g. Bairns Hoose and VSS long term; and of evidence by commissioner facilities, all to support choice and minimise vulnerable witnesses coming to court
• where possible separate entrances are provided for vulnerable witnesses, however, with our diverse estate, a number only have one entrance, and facilities vary across locations. Courts without a separate witness entrance will endeavour to make alternative arrangements, in so far as possible upon request by VIA. Early requests and coordination with our justice partners is crucial to support this
• in terms of attendance at court, there are also practical difficulties as court staff will be unaware of who the complainers/witnesses are until they check in. Similarly, staff won’t always be aware who accused persons are when they enter the building. Avoiding interaction without prior notification enabling arrangements to be put in place, where possible, is challenging.

Issues with travel to and from court:

• COPFS to explore this issue further, in the context of discussing arrangements with complainers for attending court.

Police Scotland

• Improvement works being carried out on infrastructure to complete roll out of Visual Recorded Interviews (VRI) for rape and sexual crime cases where product can be utilised as part of the victims evidence reducing time required in court

Action lead: Police/ SCTS (safety within court setting), COPFS (issues with travel to and from court)

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Update provided by: SCTS, COPFS

 

Issue no: 5c

Date of initial input: 19 February 2024

Issue: Victims/survivors and their families do not often know the meaning of sentences given

Proposed change: Development of the content and delivery of Sentencing statements, and the information and support made available post-sentencing

Current position/proposed action:

• the VIA modernisation programme is reviewing all COPFS victim communication to ensure needs are met
• a pilot in Grampian, Highlands and Islands is providing depute follow-up with victims of domestic abuse post-trial to answer any questions they may have about the trial
• sentencing is a matter for the court and this needs holistic response – SG to liaise with the Sentencing Council on information/guidance available

Action lead: SG, COPFS

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Update provided by: COPFS, SG

 

Not active issues – currently not under consideration

Issue no: 2b

Date of initial input:

Issue: Floating trial diets are causing considerable distress and disruption

Proposed change: Floating trial diets should not be used in sexual offence cases

Current position/proposed action:

• no intention to move away from floating trials, which minimise trial journey times, by maximising utilisation of trial courts
• 76% of High Court trials are categorised as sexual offence cases
• 98% of all High Court trials that start do so within the float period
• a move to a fixed trial system would add an estimated minimum of 24 weeks to the current 43-week High Court journey times
• continued expansion of evidence by commission is essential to reduce journey times. Currently this can reduce the evidence giving journey times by 28-32 weeks
• certain provisions in the Victims, Witnesses & Justice Reform (Scotland) relate to court scheduling, which will continue to be assessed as the bill progresses

Action lead: SCTS

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Update provided by: SCTS

 

Issue no: 3b

Date of initial input: 9 March 2023

Issue: People going through civil court processes have raised issues around the support available there compared to the criminal courts

Proposed change: Remove means testing for legal aid for protective orders

Current position/proposed action:

Legal aid means-testing for protective orders

• no intention of removing the legal aid means test in relation to civil protection orders - would have significant resource considerations, at time of budgetary constraints
• as well as stand-alone applications for civil protection orders, removing the means test could impact on multi-crave family actions where the granting of a civil protection order is just one of the craves. Would have further resource implications
• if free legal aid provided for person seeking a civil protection order, might also need to give free legal to any person arguing the order should not be granted, to ensure equality of arms
• a Discussion Paper (consultation) by the (independent) Scottish Law Commission on the law on civil protection orders is expected in summer 2024, as part of their project on the law in relation to civil remedies against domestic abuse

Action lead:SG

Last updated: 17 May 2024

Update provided by: SG

 

Issue no: 4b

Date of initial input: 15 March 2023

Issue: Need for better quantitative data about convictions, attrition etc for sexual offence and domestic abuse cases

Proposed change:

Re-consideration of the data in the two statistical bulletins - Recorded Crime and Criminal Proceedings, to enable us to have information about the number of reported rapes leading to a prosecution and then a conviction, with specific figures for single complainer rape cases. Information to be given on gender, age and ethnicity where possible.

Current position/proposed action:

• it is not possible to track cases through the Justice systems in the way outlined.
• there are several reasons for this, incl. differences in how data is recorded to reflect the operational needs of different parts of the system
• this means the Recorded Crime publication is based on recorded crimes and offences whereas Criminal Proceedings is based on number of individuals who are proceeded against. Both datasets are used and maintained by Police Scotland
• a short-life working group which includes academics and key stakeholders has been established by JAS to better understand what the user need is for conviction rate data to help improve our understanding of how cases involving rape and attempted rape are dealt with in the criminal justice system
• JAS will complete a thorough examination of the data we have (and don’t have) on rape and rape convictions, either answering key questions of interest or highlighting data limitations, creating a conclusive summary of our rape and attempted rape conviction data and making recommendations for further work that could be undertaken to address unmet needs
• the second meeting of the group was on Thursday 23 May

Action lead: SG/CJA analytical services

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Update provided by: SG

 

Issue no: 4d

Date of initial input: 26 July 2023

Issue: Clarity needed from agencies around data rights for individuals around the evidence that is held to do with them in their case, what agencies it is held by, how long it is held, and the access rights that individuals have.

Proposed change:

• victims should be given information about what data is held by whom and what rights they have to access this
• further update from VSAB – this relates to the Police also

Current position/proposed action:

• COPFS provides details on our website in relation to the retention of personal data by COPFS and the process for individuals to accesses this information and this link could be shared on support agency websites: Request personal data | COPFS

• Police Scotland provides details on its website in relation to access to information. You can find out what personal information PS hold by making a ‘subject access request’. Access to Information - Police Scotland

Action lead: COPFS, Police Scotland

Last updated: 29 May 2024

Update provided by: Police Scotland