Workers with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) say the system is buckling under the weight of an enormous backlog of trials still to be heard.
The number of outstanding cases currently stands at 23,361.
Staff say:
■ mistakes are being made in the administration of justice;
■ there are severe risks of miscarriages of justice;
■ cases are being dropped which don’t need to be dropped;
■ serious criminal cases like rape are taking three years to get to trial;
■ bail is no longer being opposed if the risk of reoffending is deemed “victimless”;
■ some witnesses wait so long to give evidence they disengage from the criminal process;
■ and victims are being routinely failed and subjected to unnecessary distress.
Staff are exhausted, poorly trained, working unpaid overtime sometimes until midnight, and there are rising levels of sickness including mental health problems among workers.
Responsibility for security in some courts is being shifted from police to civilian staff, leading to fears of violence that could put lives at risk or see prisoners escaping.
PCS, the civil service union, which represents hundreds of court staff, says it is willing and prepared to launch industrial action, including both work to rule and strikes, which will “cripple” an already creaking justice system.
Due to concerns that staff could be intimidated for communicating with the press, the PCS Scottish secretary Ruby Gibson and industrial officer Joy Dunn spoke on their behalf to The Herald on Sunday.
The consultancy firm Unity Consulting conducted a report for PCS into staff morale and wellbeing in Scotland’s courts and found nearly 85% of COPFS staff and 75% of SCTS staff felt that workload was impacting “the effectiveness and successful delivery of justice”.
Some 76% of COPFS staff and 57% of SCTS staff say they have “witnessed or experienced mistakes happening due to pressures on staff”. Nearly 67% of COPFS and 60% of SCTS staff have experienced mental health problems due to their work.
Ruby Alden Gibson, National Officer for Scotland at PCS. Picture Robert Perry
Fury
Management is known to be furious about the contents of the report. The problems causing the justice system to buckle are widespread and systemic, PCS says.
Even the way prisoners are transferred to court has an impact on justice operating smoothly. Repeated delays in bringing prisoners from jail to court by the private contractor GEOAmey, which is paid for its services by government, have caused trials to run late or be postponed, creating a knock-on effect of extra work for staff, slowing the wheels of justice.
Parts of the IT system – described as “useless and dilapidated” – date to the 1990s. Workers say it can take five minutes to load one criminal file. Around 90% of COPFS staff and 63% of SCTS staff say the IT system is “not fit for purpose”.
The PCS made clear that its members are indispensable to the administration of justice in Scotland. Without them, sheriffs, judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers simply cannot operate.
PCS Scottish secretary Gibson said: “Our members care passionately and deeply about justice being served, protecting victims of crime, and ensuring fair trials for defendants, but the dysfunctions of the system mean they’re unable to do their jobs and are being made sick by their unmanageable workloads.”
Covid caused the backlog of cases in Scotland to peak at 43,606 in January 2022. Staff have managed to bring that number down dramatically, but the backlog still stands at more than 23,000.
A good example of how overloaded the system has become can be gleaned from a snapshot of Glasgow Sheriff Court. On one sample day in June 2018, there were 38 summary trials. On one sample day in June 2022, the number stood at 89. Similarly, on a sample day in June 2018, there were eight indictment trials rising to 25 four years later, and 184 other hearings rising to 217.
“The pressure to complete work has led to higher levels of sickness-related absence due to stress and exhaustion,” Gibson explained.
Staff have made clear that pressures mean “mistakes are being made, errors are happening, and that where at all possible work that can be put aside is being put aside”.
Training is a significant issue when it comes to risks to the administration of justice. Staff aren’t properly trained, Gibson and Dunn said. New Crown Office staff are often simply “buddied up” with more experienced workers rather than given bespoke training. “This is a critical issue,” Dunn added.
Exhausted staff are quitting their jobs in higher numbers than before, meaning experience is being lost. Workers “just two weeks into the job are expected to train new staff – that’s the reality of the turnover and retention issues. You can’t expect people who have been in the job two weeks to know that job enough to train others”.
“This isn’t how justice should be delivered,” she said. “People are constantly taking shortcuts and skipping steps in case processing. New people are being trained that this is the way to do the job – and they then go on to train others. It all just lowers the quality of the work.”
Glasgow Sheriff Court. Photograph by Colin Mearns
Emergency
GIBSon and Dunn say that staff are often “working for free”. There’s so much work that staff continue with their tasks at home without getting paid overtime or being able to take time back in lieu. “It just means they end up going off sick eventually, or quitting the job.” One-fifth of Crown Office staff have been in the job less than two years, the PCS said.
“Our members have worked at full tilt to reduce the backlog,” said Dunn, “and are proud of the work they’ve done. But the emergency situation caused by the pandemic should be over. Staff cannot go on like this. There’s no respite. People are experiencing burnout and management needs to ease up.”
The backlog means there are lengthy delays in serious criminal cases coming to full trial. Staff say that for rape “two years would be short”, and “three years” is the more usual wait.
Prior to the pandemic, the PCS says, there was a time bar that crimes proceed to trial within 12 months. The time bar was then extended to 18 months. This was only meant to last until 2022 but repeated extensions mean the 18-month time bar remains in place until at least November 2025.
Staff say this clearly has an impact on: victims in their wait for justice; witnesses who may “disengage from the process” during the lengthy delay; and defendants who face long waits to discover their fate.
Staff say that means victims of crime are constantly being told of delays by caseworkers, causing upset. This can lead to victims “ultimately losing faith in the system and becoming unwilling to give evidence”.
If defendants are on remand, however, the wait for trial will be shorter.
Gibson added: “We’re shocked that for years our members have worked under conditions that have led to them falling sick and being under so much pressure that they’re leaving their jobs – and that’s having an impact on the delivery of justice. Our members are frustrated and distressed by what’s happening, and know that the conditions they’re working in is contributing to upset for victims.”
Dunn added: “Our members come into contact with victims every day and have to explain delays to them. That’s a really difficult thing to have to do.”
Staff say there are unquestionably risks of “mistakes being made” in the administration of justice due to overwork and unmanageable caseloads. “If mistakes are made it can have serious consequences.”
Examples were given, such as wrong names being written on warrants resulting in an innocent person being arrested, or data protection breaches if letters are sent to the wrong address.
“Miscarriages of justice could also take place,” it was said. Additionally, wrong information about someone’s criminal history could be added to databases, causing devastating consequences for someone’s life when it comes to employment.
Glasgow Sheriff Court
Fear
STAFF are suffering from high levels of stress over fears of making mistakes and being sacked. “They care about the delivery of justice and victims, they even care about the accused, but they’re not being supported to do their jobs properly.”
Steps being missed by overworked staff “can lead to cases ultimately being dropped”. Examples given included staff accidentally failing to disclose all relevant information to the defence, failing to cite witnesses, or sending legal correspondence to the wrong address. “This can lead to people not being convicted – there are so many steps that must be carried out precisely for cases to get to trial.”
Gibson said: “The Scottish public should be furious about this. Responsibility lies at the door of the Scottish Government as well as the COPFS and SCTS. We’ve been raising these issues for years – even pre-pandemic. Victims of serious crime are waiting years for justice. Accused people are sitting in custody for crimes they might not be guilty of – justice isn’t being served.”
Dunn added that huge caseloads, the creaking IT system, and lack of training meant “mistakes will be made. This has a real impact on our members mental health. They’re constantly worrying about the decisions they have to make. The entire justice system pipeline is clogged and needs fixed”.
The PCS says that overcrowded prisons at one end of the justice system and reduced police numbers at the other has, along with Scotland’s “broken courts”, created “a perfect storm”.
Cases have been dropped unnecessarily, staff say, due to the dysfunctional court system.
While cases have always fallen due to new evidence emerging or witnesses withdrawing, cases are now falling “for reasons that are avoidable, like proper resourcing”.
Staff say that in summary courts, where low-level cases are heard by sheriffs, the “volume of cases means that preparation for trials only really happens the night before”.
At this stage, it could be discovered that “everything needed for the case to proceed wasn’t submitted as thought” and so the case is dropped. The type of case in question might be “stalking”.
“Sometimes overworked staff don’t get to things on time, miss steps out, or haven’t been trained in the necessary steps in the first place. Sometimes nobody has told them what you have to do to prepare a trial if they’re new to a team.”
Overworked police can also make mistakes which aren’t picked up until it’s too late. Additionally, there have been dramatic falls in the numbers of available defence lawyers in Scotland due to changes to legal aid which is slowing the system down. The legal aid system is “chaos”, staff feel.
“There’s a lot of panic on the day that cases come to trial. There’s a risk that people who are guilty of crimes aren’t being dealt with, and are effectively getting away free.”
The IT system is one of the biggest failings facing staff, who say “it was developed decades ago, and is basically obsolete”. Processing time “is extraordinary long”, with just loading a case file taking five minutes. This can lead to simple tasks being skipped, presenting a risk to justice being administered well.
Lawyers protest against cuts
Victims
THE IT system doesn’t allow staff to search the database, so a case with hundreds of statements and documents attached needs to be laboriously scrolled through, meaning material might be missed. Staff sometimes resort to written notes as the IT system is so poor, but these can later be overlooked. Sometimes victims are contacted twice as staff are unaware another colleague has spoken to them, causing “needless upset”.
Details can be lost of witness or victim needs – such as disabilities – which will cause problems for them getting to court and giving evidence. Gibson and Dunn say that if staff “had a functioning IT system they could focus on delivering justice and helping victims of crime”.
The system crashes “daily”, staff say, and when it’s down they cannot access vital information such as details of criminal charges, or witness contact information. Sometimes problems with IT mean victims aren’t updated on the progress of cases.
Staff say that training is “effectively non-existent”, adding: “ The vast majority of Crown Office staff maybe get buddied by someone sitting next to them for a while, but other than that it’s ‘just get on with it’.”
Although staffing overall has increased, the number of entry-level administrators – who keep the courts functioning – has fallen, the PCS says. “More senior grades cannot do their jobs effectively if they don’t have administrative support. It’s a top-heavy organisation typified by no joined-up thinking.”
The creation of new departments, such as units for wildlife crime and Covid deaths, has lead to additional pressures on overstretched staff. The increasing complexity of cases – particularly around cybercrime – also creates time and workload pressures. Additional delays are caused by the time needed to wait for DNA and other scientific reports to reach caseworkers.
“It’s taking longer and longer to process cases.” Better leadership is needed, according to the PCS.
The increase in sick leave is stark. “Even though there might be a full compliment of staff, the number of people off sick at any one time means effective understaffing,” Gibson said.
Despite staff increases, there’s still too much work. Staff are bringing assignments home and working unpaid. “It’s a big concern,” Gibson added. Overtime is strictly controlled, so the main system used to compensate workers is flexitime. However, staff struggle to take the hours owed to them due to the ongoing workload they must deal with daily.
The PCS says that between 2023/24, the amount of flexitime lost came to £700,000. “That, however, is still an underestimate,” Dunn added, as some staff were working while not ‘clocked on’. “They’re doing that because they’re dedicated to the public and don’t want cases to suffer.”
Working at home without clocking on and accruing flexitime is “common”.
“People can only work flat out like this for so long. They hope there’s going to be an end in sight, but when they realise there’s not, they look elsewhere for jobs.”
Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Abuse
Dysfunction is also leading to unnecessary adjournments. “It’s common sense,” said Dunn. “When courts are overcrowded, when there are too many cases in a court to physically call, then the bulk are going to be adjourned.” Adjournments also waste large amounts of police time as officers who could be on the streets fighting crime are called to attend trials which are then postponed.
Adjournments can have very troubling consequences. Police have told of cases of child victims of sex crime being brought to court to give evidence against their abuser only for the trial to be repeatedly adjourned. This evidently causes distress to the victim. Staff say they “wish such incidents were uncommon, but they aren’t”.
Additionally, staff say “the dropping of cases is becoming increasingly common”. Clearly, this all incurs huge cost to the taxpayer. Witnesses, for example, called to cases which don’t proceed, are paid for loss of earnings and travel expenses.
Prison overcrowding, which has led to early release, also impacts the delivery of justice. Staff have been instructed not to oppose bail if reoffending will be victimless in order to keep prison numbers down. “The wider justice system isn’t functioning,” the PCS said.
The union wants the COPFS and SCTS to pressure government for additional funding and staff. Although budgets have increased, primarily in order to reduce the backlog, there’s still not enough cash to pay for the system needed to ensure justice is administered well.
The PCS says that until now the true extent of the problems besetting Scottish courts hasn’t been known by the public. However, now the issues are in the open, the government must act. “It cannot be avoided any more,” Gibson said. “A strategy is required.”
Dunn said the Scottish Government’s default setting was “to wait until there’s a crisis and then react to it. Well, there’s a crisis now”.
The PCS predicts the Scottish Government will pass responsibility to COPFS and SCTS, telling them to manage budgets better, and the COPFS and SCTS will blame lack of government funding. Dunn said: “They’ll pass it back and forth but ultimately someone must take responsibility and the buck stops with government.”
Dunn also predicted the SNP would “as usual” blame Westminster for tight budgets, despite wasting huge amounts of money on “the ferries”.
Gibson says “siloed thinking” is a major problem among government ministers and officials responsible for courts. This has led to all arms of the justice system – police, prisons and courts – being pitted against each other for resources.
Decision-making feels “done on the back of an envelope”. The government and senior management respond in a “knee-jerk way” to media pressure. This simply results in “the service deteriorating, more mistakes being made, and more negative news stories. Everything is a sticking-plaster solution. The service needs to be made robust and fit for the long-term”.
Resources are stretched so thin that staff fear the system would collapse if events such as the rioting which took place in England this summer happened in Scotland. “The courts just couldn’t cope with the extra demand. There’s no elasticity in the system at all. We need systematic and systemic change.”
Strike
If change doesn’t happen fast, then the PCS says members will “end up involved in a dispute. This can’t go on”. Dunn said that could mean “strike action”.
Gibson added: “Industrial action doesn’t have to include strikes. It could be work to rule, or an overtime ban, which would be really bad for these services and could, in fact, be even more damaging than striking.”
Striking would cause chaos for one day, but working to rule and overtime bans, said Gibson, “would cripple” the courts “and have a huge impact on the delivery of justice. We don’t want to do anything that would further exacerbate the problems in the delivery of justice but we can’t allow our members to continue like this”.
Gibson added that if the court service continues to be run as it is then “the justice system will collapse. Staff will continue to leave, training will deteriorate, escalating numbers of cases won’t proceed to trial, or trials will collapse as the work isn’t being done. We’re still at the point where matters can be fixed and things can be brought back from the brink, but time is ticking”.
She said: “There’s a risk of a very bad event happening – like somebody being released who’s a risk. That’s a very real possibility.”
The PCS explained that the police are drawing down officers from court security duties due to their own staffing pressures. “Court staff are now expected to take on the responsibilities of the police. There’s a risk of something bad happening if there’s a violent offender in court – they could escape, they could hurt somebody, or their families or friends could do something bad.”
Some courtrooms, the PCS said, don’t have police on duty any more. One-third of the police presence in Edinburgh Sheriff Court has been removed as part of a pilot project that may be rolled out. Police now perform “roaming duties in corridors” while civilian staff keep an eye on security.
“Members are being asked to set off an alarm that sits on their desk if they think something is going to kick off. This is now a duty that they didn’t perform before. We can’t blame the police. They’re understaffed too and want more officers in the community.”
The experiment in removal of police only affects sheriff courts where lower-level crimes are dealt with, although the PCS says Aberdeen High Court has inadequate police security. “Only Glasgow and Edinburgh High Courts have the security that’s needed. There’s variation in security across the country.”
The PCS said this obviously presented a threat to the public. “There are rival gangs sometimes in the same court. We’ve not signed off on this, we don’t agree with it. Courts are dangerous places, that’s why there’s been such reliance on police for security.”
Removing police will also present problems should someone need to be arrested in court. “If there’s no police present then the court could agree an arrest and the person just walks out.”
The PCS said that like the police, court staff were being asked “to deliver more with less”. The fear is that with government spending reducing, “more cuts will come”.
Gibson said: “A functioning justice system is a key part of the fabric of society. Trust and confidence in the law must be robust, and it’s not. We have a justice system that’s severely compromising the delivery of justice.
“The courts are in crisis and that must affect wider society. Courts cannot operate in constant emergency mode, constantly at breaking point. A good justice system is a fundamental pillar of society, and that pillar is crumbling. It should shock the public that the people who administer justice go to work and get sick because of the pressures of work.
“That’s unacceptable on a human level for the staff and for victims of crime who need justice delivered well. It’s a devastating state of affairs. Court staff are dedicated and hardworking. They do their best under the most difficult of circumstances. Indeed, the justice system operates to a great extent thanks to their goodwill and unpaid work.
“Staff work these long hours and get sick as they care about victims, about getting justice done and getting dangerous people off the streets. They’re being let down. All their efforts seem invisible. How long can this go on? It’s an unsustainable way to hold a justice system together. The justice system is broken. It’s in absolute crisis.”
Replies
THE Herald on Sunday put the full nature of PCS and court staff concerns and allegations to the Scottish Government, COPFS, and SCTS, offering substantive right of reply.
John Logue, Crown Agent and COPFS chief executive, said: “The prosecution of crime and investigation of deaths is challenging work and we are proud of our staff and constantly aim to support them in their public service.”
A SCTS spokesperson said: “SCTS is committed to continuing our partnership with PCS to achieve the best outcomes for those we serve and dedicated to adapting to the evolving needs of the justice system, with staff wellbeing being of paramount importance.
“SCTS has received financial support from the Scottish Government over recent years to provide additional courts. This has allowed us to reduce the criminal court backlog despite a sustained and significant increase in solemn cases [the most serious criminal cases]. This, along with the hard work of our staff and justice partners, has helped to reduce the backlog by over 20,000 cases from its peak of 43,606 in January 2022, reducing the length of time victims, witnesses and accused have to wait for trials.
“Safety and security remains a top priority and we are working with Police Scotland to ensure that continues to be maintained across the court estate. A pilot reducing officer numbers at Edinburgh Sheriff Court is currently being evaluated, with the findings likely to inform Police Scotland’s models at other courts.
“However, each court is different and individual risk assessments will be required to ensure the safety of our staff and the public.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Significant progress has been made in reducing the summary case backlogs. The total number of outstanding scheduled trials has fallen by over 20,000 since January 2022, a reduction of over 46%. That trend is continuing and we remain committed to supporting justice partners to address the backlog.
“We have invested £93 million to support victims in the past five years and we are taking a number of actions to ensure that victims are placed at the heart of the justice system. We have awarded £48 million between 2022 and 2025 to victims’ organisations under the Victim Centred Approach Fund as part of our commitment to putting victims at the heart of the justice system. The Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill proposes a significant package of reform to ensure victims are treated with compassion and their voices are heard. This includes creating an independent Commissioner for Scotland to champion the rights of victims and witnesses.”
