Scotland’s ‘inefficient’ citation process disrupting justice

Inspectors from HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS) and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) carried out a joint review into how effectively and efficiently prosecution witnesses are cited to give evidence in the Sheriff Court.

They found while witnesses in other parts of the UK are commonly notified of trial dates by email, in Scotland most civilian witnesses still receive citations by second class post. The report calls for better use of digital technology across the ‘inefficient and largely outdated’ citation process and recommends the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) should use email or another electronic method as the principal means of citing all witnesses.

HM chief inspector of prosecution in Scotland, Deborah O’Brien Demick, said: “The fact that in 2026 the citation system for witnesses requires paper and postage is antiquated and not environmentally sustainable.

“Many organisations in Scotland – from the NHS to hairdressers – now communicate with their customers digitally and indeed electronic communication is used routinely by most people in their daily lives.

“For witnesses to receive citations by post is not in keeping with an effective, modern criminal justice system with service delivery and customer care in mind.”

Currently officers from Police Scotland are the only witnesses COPFS cite by email. A large number of citations are also hand delivered to prosecution witnesses by police officers.

Police Scotland estimate that in the 12-month period from October 2023 to October 2024, it had approximately 154,000 witness citations to serve.

HM chief inspector of constabulary in Scotland, Craig Naylor, said: “Demand on Police Scotland because of the need to serve personal citations is high and is challenging due to the significant competing priorities that officers face.

“Police Scotland aren’t able to provide exact figures on how much officers’ time is taken up delivering citations, but they told us it equates to the full-time workload of a high number of officers.

“Digitalisation of the citations process – expanding the number of citations sent by email – would have an added benefit of increasing the amount of time police officers can spend carrying out other duties, including patrolling local communities across Scotland.”

Inspectors from IPS and HMICS looked at the end-to-end citation process from both a prosecution and policing perspective.

During 2024/25, 48,360 summary and 5,919 solemn cases called for trial in sheriff courts across Scotland, with 398,714 witness citations issued.

However, evidence was led in only 13 per cent of summary and 21 per cent of solemn cases, meaning many witnesses will have been cited to give evidence and attend the sheriff court for trials that ultimately did not proceed.

The joint inspection found a “lack of oversight, leadership, governance, strategy and monitoring” of the citation process across both Police Scotland and the Crown Office.

It said systemic failings included Police Scotland rarely obtaining witness availability when taking witness statements, which led to unsuitable court dates being set.

When witnesses did provide availability, this was rarely considered when trial dates were being decided.

There was also a failure by COPFS to deal with witness excusal requests effectively which the report said was ‘extremely impactful on all witnesses’ including police officers who may be cited to give evidence in court when on rest days, nightshift or annual leave.

Inspectors were told of cases where citations were sent to witnesses who had died – despite COPFS having previously been informed of the deaths.

They also found evidence of witnesses receiving as many as six citations to appear at court on different dates to do with the same case.

Mrs Demick said: “The inefficient citation process is leading to trials being adjourned and contributing to the churn of cases in the justice system.

“It is also having a substantial impact on the lives of witnesses.”

The report said COPFS could not give a figure for the staffing, postal or other costs it spent as part of the citation process.

The IPS and HMICS joint report made 50 recommendations for improvement including that the Scottish Government, COPFS, Police Scotland and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) develop an integrated, digital trial scheduling solution that takes account of all witness availability.

It said until such a digital solution is in operation COPFS and Police Scotland should ensure that information is continuously gathered on all witness availability and provided to SCTS in a manner that allows effective trial scheduling.

The report recommended mandatory training for both police officers and COPFS staff that gives a comprehensive understanding of the citation process and impact of unsuccessful citation on the criminal justice system.