OFFICE INSPECTION - DUMFRIES
26 & 27 JULY 2005
Background
We are committed to regular audits of District and Area Offices to ensure compliance with race relations, policies and strategies.
This is our report of the Procurator Fiscal's Office at Dumfries. The Dumfries office is part of the Dumfries and Galloway Area.
Methodology
Our approach to the office inspections involved consideration of the following areas:
- Adherence to policy guidelines in relation to prosecution of racist crime
- Use of interpreters and translation issues
- Employment issues
- Consultation with communities
- Deaths involving racial and/or cultural awareness issues.
The following measures were taken to inform the inspection process.
Sampling of Race Charges
COPFS has a single corporate database (herein referred to as the National Database) that connects all Procurator Fiscal Offices and Crown Office units, and facilitates the transfer of legal casework. An extract of data from the National Database was obtained from Management Information Division in Crown Office, containing details of all charges with a racial element reported to Fiscal Offices over the course of financial years 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05. It is worth noting that the database is an operational one, not statistical, and hence is 'live', being constantly updated as cases progress. As such the extract was a 'snapshot' as at June 2005.
A sample of Section 50 racial charges and charges with Section 96 racial aggravations recorded against them was drawn from the data for 2004-05 and the related case papers were requested from the office and examined by the team. The charges in the sample drawn were charges that appeared, as recorded on the database, to have been dealt with in accordance with the guidelines - this part of the sampling exercise was designed simply to be an independent check on compliance with policy.
The charges were drawn using a stratified random sampling method. For details on the sampling methodology employed, please contact Kirsty MacLean (e-mail Kirsty.maclean@scotland.gsi.gov.uk) or telephone 0141 229 6203).
Additionally all case papers containing any charges which appeared, as recorded on the database, to have been dealt with in contravention to the guidelines, were specifically requested for examination. Since these charges were of particular interest to us, we requested the relevant case papers in relation to any such charges from both 2003-04 and 2004-05.
The contraventions of policy that can be identified from examination of the data extract from the database are charges in respect of which a fiscal fine had been issued, or a warning letter. (Note however that revised guidance from Crown Office was issued to staff on 23 June 2004, which thereafter made it possible to issue a warning letter in exceptional circumstances, with the agreement of the Area Fiscal).
Case papers were also automatically requested which contained any charges that were recorded on the database as being unmarked, or any charges where no proceedings had been taken due to a delay by any agency.
Similarly, charges reported to the Fiscal Office in 2004-05 that were recorded as being marked for no proceedings were specifically requested for examination, because the way in which the coding system employed by the National Database operates does not allow for recording of reason for a marking of 'no proceedings' at charge level.
Case papers were also requested to be made available on the day of inspection, regarding any deaths which were reported and investigated over a 12 month period where:
- special consideration was required, as defined in Annexe 3 in Chapter 12 of the Book of Regulations (racial and cultural awareness)
- the ethnicity of the deceased was in some way related to the cause of death (eg the murder of someone from a minority ethnic background).
A questionnaire covering a number of issues related to the areas for consideration (as outlined above) was sent to the office in advance of the inspection and returns were analysed to allow exploration of any issues raised in the returns, on the day of the inspection.
The composition of staff in post (numbers, grades and ethnicity) in the office was considered prior to the inspection visit. Similarly considered was the proportion of staff that had attended the Diversity Awareness Programme.
2001 Census data was obtained from the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) showing Sheriff Court Districts (which equate to Fiscal Office area) by ethnic group, to allow us to consider the staff ethnicity information in the context of local population ethnic mix.
Race Crime
Crown Office policy on the prosecution of racist crime is a robust one and the execution of the policy is closely monitored by the Department. A member of legal staff decides what course of action to take in each case, this is then checked by the District Fiscal for compliance with the Departmental policy and a copy of the case is then sent to the Area Fiscal. Responsibility for the monitoring of compliance in such cases lies with the Area Fiscal. Three-monthly reports from the Areas are considered at the Legal and Policy Forum.
Table 1 - Racial Charges and Racial Aggravations reported to Dumfries Fiscal Office, 2003-04 and 2004-05
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
Section 50A(1) (a) charges | 4 | 3 |
Section 50A(1) (b) charges | 20 | 18 |
Section 96 aggravations | 14 | 14 |
The data extracted from the National Database revealed that in respect of the Dumfries Office, in financial year (FY) 2003-04:
4 Section 50A(1) (a) charges were reported
20 Section 50A(1) (b) charges were reported
14 charges with Section 96 aggravations recorded against them were reported
And in FY 2004-05:
3 Section 50A(1) (a) charges were reported
18 Section 50A(1) (b) charges were reported
14 charges with Section 96 aggravations recorded against them were reported
A total of 6 charges (6 case papers) were automatically requested for inspection. These consisted of:
2 charges marked to receive a warning letter, 1 reported in FY 2003-04 and 1 reported in FY 2004-05
1 charge recorded as being marked for 'no proceedings' (the coding system employed by the National Database does not allow for recording of reason for a marking of 'no proceedings' at charge level), reported in FY 2004-05
2 charges with a section 96 aggravation recorded against them, marked to receive warning letters, reported in FY 2004-05
A sample of 13 with Section 50A (1) charges and 9 charges with Section 96 aggravations recorded against them was drawn, in addition to the 6 charges which were automatically selected. Resulting from the sampling exercise therefore, a total of 23 case papers (28 charges) were subsequently requested for inspection.
Note that the number of case papers requested is not the same as number of charges drawn for sampling because a case can (and frequently does) contain more than one charge. Since the sampling was conducted at charge level, in some instances, more than one charge from a single case was selected into the sample. This meant that the number of case papers requested was lower than the number of individual charges selected.
In respect of the 6 charges that were automatically selected (as detailed above) we found that:
Of the 2 charges marked to receive warning letters:
The charge reported in FY 2003-04 was marked as such given that the accused had a mental illness
The charge reported in FY 2004-05 was received by the fiscal office (and therefore marked after) after 24th June 2004. The marking was found to be appropriate.
Of the charge recorded as being marked for 'no proceedings':
Of the 2 charges with a section 96 aggravation recorded against them, marked to receive warning letters, reported in FY 2004-05:
Of the charge with a section 96 aggravation recorded against it, marked for a fiscal fine, reported in FY 2004-05:
In respect of the remaining 22 charges (17 cases), we found that the office complied with Departmental policy on marking and conduct of court proceedings in all cases.
With regard to 11 relevant cases, all had been referred to Victim Information and Advice Division (VIA) appropriately.
Monitoring of race crime
Concerned that he could not be sure that all cases were monitored in accordance with Departmental policy, the Area Fiscal decided on a change of system to ensure that this was done. The Area has a race relations consultation group at which the Police give details of all the race cases reported to the Fiscal and the Area Fiscal is now using this as a monitoring check. Cross-checking with the local VIA office is also taking place. This should ensure that all the monitoring forms for all cases are collated and form the basis of the return to the Legal and Policy Forum at Crown Office. Central monitoring by Crown Office of the Area monitoring takes place by way of reports sent to the Legal and Policy Forum which considers this item quarterly.
The Area has adopted a system of amendment to the monitoring forms to ensure consistency.
Feedback is provided to the Police in writing to the Divisional Commanders and arrangements have been made for a copy of the monitoring forms to be sent to the Police Diversity Officer.
In respect of problems with the quality of Police reports contact would be made with the Police Reports Bureau Officer and this officer would then arrange for a general instruction to go out.
In addition to all of this there are monthly meetings with Divisional Commanders regarding processing issues and feedback would be provided at this forum also in the event of problems being detected.
Interpreters
None of the 23 cases we evaluated required any sort of interpretation or translation needs of victims and witnesses.
Although this audit was concerned only with the Dumfries office it was brought to our attention that the neighbouring office of Stranraer had a large number of foreign accused and in recent months had recorded over 21 different nationalities reported by the Police. The presence of the ferry port at Stranraer was the major source of this input. We will examine this in greater detail when visiting the Stranraer office.
Deaths
There were no deaths reported in Dumfries within the period concerned (1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005) where racial and cultural considerations were a feature. Arrangements have been made with local undertakers that the on-call fiscal can be contacted to deal with any out of hours Muslim or Jewish deaths.
Employment
Latest data [1] shows that just over 99 per cent of the population in the Dumfries Sheriff Court District area is from a white background. Other ethnic groups, of which Chinese is the largest at 0.2 per cent, make up almost one per cent.
As at 1 May 2005, Dumfries had a staff of 25, consisting of:
Legal staff
Administrative staff
2 Band D Managers
2 Personal Assistants
13 Band B staff
Casual staff
There are no members of staff who are from a minority ethnic background (as self-reported to Human Resources Division in COPFS via survey) in the Dumfries office. Given the low representation of minority ethnic persons living in the area, we concluded that it was not untoward that none of the staff were from a minority ethnic background.
The Area Business Manager has arranged with the local multicultural association that vacancies will be advertised in the association's newsletter when publication commences.
As at 1 June 2005, 87 per cent of staff in the Dumfries office had attended the Departmental Diversity Awareness Programme; of the remaining members of staff, two have re-scheduled, two are on maternity leave and one is a diversity trainer therefore having attended the course is non-applicable.
One member of staff has undertaken the University of Paisley course on Professional Practice in Race Equality for which he should be commended as this is an evening course with a substantial effort required in time and course work. Another member of staff has trained as a diversity trainer for the Department (as stated above) and one more has been a representative on the West of Scotland Racial Equality Council (WSREC) for six years and also was a member of the Department's Diversity Team for two months. In our opinion the Dumfries office will benefit from the knowledge and experience that these three persons can provide in relation to the race issues.
Consultation
The Dumfries office appears to have good links into the community. As previously mentioned the Area is part of the race relations consultation group on which various bodies are represented including the Police and the Sheriff Clerk. The Police report at this forum the number and nature of race cases which have arisen in the preceding period.
The Area has either organised or taken part in a number of events targeted at various communities. The Area and District Fiscals along with the Divisional Commander recently attended an open session at the local mosque. The session was held against the background of the recent terrorist attacks in London. A joint statement was delivered which not only condemned the acts of terrorism but also reassured the local community that the police and COPFS would treat any racially motivated crimes appropriately. There were apparently no major issues fed back at this meeting.
The local Council has been taking the lead in local multicultural activities. The Area Fiscal informed us that he was considering using the local Tibetan centre as a training facility. A number of ethnic minorities are represented on the race relations consultation group including Chinese and Turkish representatives. A multicultural association was formed recently and the Area joined as the first corporate member.
A general doors open day is planned in co-operation with the Sheriff Clerk as part of a nationwide open doors day. Invitations will go to ethnic groups but not specifically as such.
Conclusions
The Dumfries office has a very high level of compliance with Departmental policy relating to case marking and court proceedings regarding race crime. The use of warning letters and no proceedings markings were all found to be appropriate given the circumstances of each case. All cases that should have been referred to VIA were done so in accordance with Departmental guidelines thus allowing victims and witnesses to obtain additional support and information.
In relation to consultation/outreach initiatives the Area is well served by a number of dedicated members of staff with a long history of interest in these fields.
Despite the ethnic minority population being very low in this area efforts are still made to consult.
[1] General Register Office for Scotland 2001 Census of Population