22 February 2005
European Victims Day:
Elish Angiolini, QC, Solicitor General for Scotland, today published the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service's
Statement on the Treatment of Victims and Witnesses, to mark European Victims Day (22 February).
The statement, published on the department's website, sets out the standards which victims and witnesses can expect when dealing with the prosecution service. It will also be available in Fiscal offices.
Elish Angiolini said:
"We have been making significant progress in our treatment of victims for some time now, reaching another milestone at the end of last year when we completed the nationwide roll out of our Victim Information and Advice Service. In publishing this statement today we are making a public commitment that all victims and witnesses coming into contact with the prosecution service can expect to be treated with courtesy and respect, and to receive relevant and timely information about their case. We want to continually improve our treatment of victims and witnesses, and it is important for people to have a public statement with which they can compare their own experiences of the system.
"Much of the content of the Victims statement is based on Chapter 22 of the Book of Regulations, which is every prosecutor's handbook. The content of this section of our guidance to Fiscals was recently reviewed and re-written, with the assistance of organisations such as Women's Aid and Victim Support Scotland, ensuring victim issues were at the heart of our work. We are indebted to external groups like these who have given us their time and expertise, to help us ensure that victims receive the treatment they would expect from a 21st century prosecution service."
Ends.
Notes to Editors:
1. A copy of the full
statement is available on the website, or from Communications on the telephone number below.
Contact:
Communications
0131 247 2669