Case management initiative extended to shoplifting

Sheriff Principal Anwar

Summary Case Management, which will have been rolled out to all sheriff courts in Scotland by early next year, will now require the police to submit key evidence in theft by shoplifting cases to the Crown, at the time of reporting. That key evidence will be disclosed early to the defence with a view to achieving a swifter resolution.

A pilot in Dundee led to improvements in the management and resolution of shoplifting cases, through early provision of video footage.

Key features include:

• Police Scotland to provide video footage capturing the offence in whole or in part at the time of reporting, where available.
• Crown Office to consider this material during case marking and ensure disclosure to the defence prior to the case first calling in court.
• Early engagement between COPFS and defence, aiming for resolution at the first calling.
• If resolution cannot be achieved, early disclosure of the footage will enable case management from the first appearance and reduce the requests made to Police Scotland from Crown Office.

The initiative is expected to lead to an increased proportion of cases resolved at first calling which in turn will mean fewer witnesses being cited unnecessarily, which can adversely affect small retailers.

Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar said: “This initiative builds on the successful Summary Case Management programme. The initiative encourages early disclosure of evidence and prompt engagement between the Crown and the defence to allow solicitors and accused persons to assess and discuss the evidence from the outset of proceedings.

“We know from experience that early disclosure of evidence often leads to an early resolution to the case, freeing up court time and significantly reducing the number of citations for the public and emergency services. It encourages early pleas of guilty, where appropriate or a more focussed and better case managed trial where a plea of not guilty is tendered.”

Assistant chief constable Tim Mairs, strategic acquisitive crime lead for Police Scotland, said: “Shoplifting makes up 40 per cent of all recorded acquisitive crime in Scotland and has a significant impact on retailers, shop staff and wider communities, who then experience the knock-on impact of increased prices to cover lost inventory. It is not a victimless crime.

“We are committed to addressing the ongoing rise in retail crime and following a £3m funding allocation from the Scottish government for the year 2025/26, we launched our Retail Crime Taskforce, which has been working tirelessly to support local policing divisions bring retail crime offenders to justice, while at the same time providing retail sector partners with a range of crime prevention and security enhancement support to reduce the likelihood of their premises being targeted.”

Crown Office legal director for local court, Lindsey Miller, said: “Being able to see CCTV evidence of a shoplifting taking place as soon as the matter is reported by police allows us as prosecutors to make better and quicker decisions.

“We have already seen examples of these recent initiatives resulting in quicker case outcomes, securing justice without the need for lengthy court proceedings and reducing inconvenience to retailers.

“This extension will continue to support our efforts under Summary Case Management to increase resolution rates at the earliest possible stage.”