The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Stirling fiscal's office

28/11/2003

The Lord Advocate, Colin Boyd QC, was inStirlingtoday for the official opening of the recently relocated Stirling Procurator Fiscal Office and to launch a new service that provides support for victims of crime.

The modern accommodation atCastleBusinessParkis more spacious than the previous premises at theSheriff Courtand has allowed theStirlingoffice to move to an open-plan environment and introduce new team based working practices. This move comes as part of a nationwide programme of modernisation throughout the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Also opened today was the Victim Information and Advice office, which provides a dedicated service offering information and advice to victims of crime, bereaved next-of-kin and vulnerable witnesses. VIA offices are being rolled out throughoutScotlandin an initiative has been described as the most significant practical development in assisting victims of crime for over 20 years.

Colin Boyd said:

"I am delighted to be inStirlingtoday to open these purpose-designed facilities. These changes are good news forStirlingand the Central area. The new working practices that have been introduced here will allow the dedicated and experienced staff here to make even more progress as they strive to provide a responsive and efficient service to the local community.

"Along with the introduction of VIA, this is a significant step towards delivering a prosecution service that is responsive to the public's needs and communicates openly and effectively."

The Lord Advocate also visited the Alloa office to meet staff to hear their views on modernisation.

The Lord Advocate will also visit staff at the Falkirk Procurator Fiscal Office next month.

Procurators Fiscal inStirlingwill refer appropriate victims of serious crimes, bereaved relatives and vulnerable witnesses to the local VIA team for cases from Monday.

VIA has three principal functions:

1. provide information to victims, bereaved next of kin and some witnesses about the criminal justice process in general.
2. keep victims and bereaved next of kin informed about the progress of the case that affects them in particular.
3. advise on and facilitate referral to other agencies for specialist support and counselling as required.

The main categories are:

• Victims in all serious cases, where the nature of the charge(s) is indicative of solemn proceedings. If, however, a case is only to proceed on indictment because of the status of the accused, as opposed to any feature of the victim, that victim will not be eligible. Thus the car owner in a case of theft will not be entitled to the service if the case is on petition by reason of the accused's record and/or the volume of the charges only, unless s/he comes within the terms of category 8 below.
• The next of kin in cases involving deaths which are reported for consideration of criminal proceedings and death cases where a Fatal Accident Inquiry is to be held.
• The next of kin in all cases where there were likely to be or it becomes clear after initial investigation that there will be significant further inquiries, or where, in all the circumstances, it is considered that the assistance of VIA would be appropriate.
• Victims in cases of domestic abuse (partners and ex-partners).
• Victims in cases with a racial aggravation and cases where it is known to the Procurator Fiscal that the victim perceives the offences to be racially motivated.
• Cases involving children.

·Victims in cases involving sexual offences.

·Cases involving vulnerable witnesses, i.e. witnesses who have learning difficulties,have physical disabilities,suffer from mental health problems, are asylum seekers or witness with language difficulties, are terrified of accused and/or of reprisals, are victims in cases where sexual orientation/gender identity may give rise to vulnerability, e.g. homophobic crime (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, victims of domestic abuse involving abuse by children or by parents against adult children.

Ageis not recognised by VIA as automatically suggesting vulnerability. Older people will only be regarded as vulnerable if they come under one of the categories listed above. The 'other' criterion leaves it open to the discretion of the person dealing with the case to decide that a particular witness is vulnerable, even if they do not fall within the terms of any of the specific categories.

Offices are currently operational in Aberdeen (known as the Grampian office, covering Peterhead, Stonehaven, Elgin and Banff); Airdrie; Dumfries; Dundee; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Hamilton; Inverness; Kilmarnock; Kirkcaldy; Paisley.