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1 INTRODUCTION
The Grampian Area covers a large geographical area in the North East of Scotland and is part of the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highlands and Islands. It has three local Authorities (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray) and a single Police Force (Grampian Police). It accounts for about 7% 1 of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service caseload.
There are four Procurator Fiscal's Offices in the Area situated at:
- Aberdeen (covering Stonehaven)
- Banff
- Elgin
- Peterhead
The Area Management Team is based in the Aberdeen office.
The Area covers Sheriff Courts at Aberdeen, Stonehaven, Peterhead, Elgin and Banff and District Courts at Aberdeen, Banff, Inverurie, Peterhead, Stonehaven and Elgin.
The Grampian Area has identified four key objectives in its business plan. These are based on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal corporate objectives:
- To secure the confidence of our diverse communities by improving the delivery of justice through the timely, efficient and effective prosecution of crime
- To give priority to the prosecution of serious crime, including drugs trafficking and persistent offenders
- To provide services which meet the information needs of victims, witnesses and next of kin, in co-operation with other agencies
- To ensure that all deaths reported to the Procurator Fiscal are investigated appropriately and speedily
Because of its location the Area also deals with cases relating to the oil and gas industry, fishing and agriculture. They contribute to emergency planning arrangements for offshore oil and gas installations, major onshore petrochemical facilities and both onshore and offshore pipelines. They also contribute to similar plans covering the environment, transport, military and Royal Family.
The staffing structure for the Grampian Area is as follows:
GRAMPIAN AREA STRUCTURE 2
Workload:
Crown Office statistics 3 show that during year October 2006 to September 2007 the Grampian Area received 23,894 reports. This was an increase of 5% on the previous year compared with no increase in the national average for the same period. The figure can be broken down to office as follows:
Office | Oct 2005 - Sep 2006 | Oct 2006 - Sep 2007 | %age change |
|---|
Total Reports Received | Total Reports Received |
|---|
Aberdeen | 14,119 | 14,855 | 5.2% |
|---|
Banff | 851 | 901 | 5.9% |
|---|
Elgin | 3,291 | 3,478 | 5.7% |
|---|
Peterhead | 2,643 | 2,713 | 2.6% |
|---|
Stonehaven | 1,807 | 1,947 | 7.7% |
|---|
TOTAL | 22,711 | 23,894 | 5% |
|---|
For the same period as above there was an increase of 14% of cases placed on petition (the most serious cases) in the Grampian Area compared with a national average of 7% and an increase of 9% of net petitions (cases remaining on petition after further information received and considered) compared with a national average of 5%. The Area Business Plan indicated a 30% increase in petition work during 2006/2007; however, these figures would have been gathered at a specific point in time and may have reflected the change in business during the particular period reviewed.
It was noted during our review of statistics that over a period of four years (October 2003 to September 2007) the Grampian Area experienced an increase of 15% total reports received compared with a national average 2%. In relation to the more serious cases for the same four year period there was an increase of 51% of cases placed on petition and 44% net petitions. This compares with a national average of 17% and 20% respectfully. The Area advised that this is partly due to the increase in police activity in tackling drug trafficking and other major investigations taking place relating to fraud and murder.
Breaking the petition figures down by office it was noted that during the aforementioned period there was a significantly higher increase in cases placed on petition compared with the national average for all offices except Banff, for example, in Elgin there was an increase of 66% cases placed on petition compared with the national average of 17%.
The Area has encountered these increases in workload against a background of staffing difficulties which has had a significant impact on the Area (see Chapter 7 - Staff Management).
Figures showing percentage change in business under all categories of work between periods October 2005 to September 2007 are shown in the tables at Appendix 1.
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