Copfs

The Crown Office is to re-examine the death of a student who took his own life after a grading error at the University of Glasgow. Ethan Brown, 24, died in December 2024 on the day he was due to graduate.

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of 25-year-old Aidan King, who died on 17 December 2020 within HMP Low Moss.  A preliminary hearing will be held on 13 November 2025 at Glasgow Sheriff Court. 

A Kirkcaldy man has been sentenced for sexually assaulting a woman who had given him shelter in her home.  Unemployed Adrian Kolczak, 35, had been thrown out by his girlfriend in the early hours of the morning and was shivering in his car when she noticed him. 

The Crown Office has published new guidance for businesses that discover economic crime such as fraud, money-laundering and bribery within their organisations.  The guidance has been issued following the recent creation of new criminal offences which extend the scope of corporate criminal liabi

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has announced the appointment of Dame Alison Saunders as the chair of its strategic board. Dame Alison brings extensive experience in criminal justice leadership to the role. She served as director of public prosecutions for England and Wales from 2013

An uninsured driver who was over the legal alcohol limit has been ordered to be detained for 32 months in a Young Offenders institution after causing a high-speed crash which resulted in an aspiring footballer having to undergo a double leg amputation.  Arran Paterson, 19, was driving an Audi A

A worker employed by a charity who stole thousands of pounds from vulnerable and disabled care home residents has been sentenced.  Margaret Burnett, 69, stole the money from five residents at a Leonard Cheshire home in Edinburgh between January 2014 and August 2016. 

A man found guilty of raping a pregnant woman and a child during a campaign of abuse which began five decades ago has been jailed.  Brian Thomson was convicted of three charges on 20 August 2025 following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. The Crown led evidence which showed Thomson,

Seven men who murdered a father in Greenock by shooting him on the doorstep of his home have been jailed for life.   Neil Canney, or Wilson, was left seriously injured following the early morning attack on Nairn Road on 28 February 2023.  

A primary school worker who abused her position to embezzle thousands of pounds from school funds earmarked to help pupils from impoverished backgrounds has been jailed for 16 months. Administrative officer Jane Duncan, 54, of Dundee, stole around £28,000 from Mill O’Mains Primary betwee

A former children's home worker sexually abused two young boys five decades ago, a court has ruled.   John Porteous was found to have targeted the victims between 1966 and 1972 while employed as a houseparent at Quarriers Village in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire. 

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has expressed her "conviction" that tackling domestic abuse will make Scotland a safer place for women and girls after new figures shows a 0.4 per cent increase in the number of charges reported to the Crown Office. In 2024-25, 30,227 charges related to domestic abuse w

A man has been jailed indefinitely after sexually abusing two adolescent boys and a vulnerable man. James Grieve Donaldson, also known by the surname Murray, was found guilty of four charges following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has re-launched its policy for businesses wishing to ‘self-report’ economic crime, significantly expanding the range of offences eligible to be self-reported. The self-report initiative was originally introduced in 2011 to mark the c

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice with the Sheriff Court to begin the court process for the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of Lee McKinsley and Barry Watson.  Both men died while in legal custody at HMP Barlinnie during December 2020.