Copfs

Parents who buy puppies as Christmas presents from unauthorised breeders could be getting duped into helping to fund organised crime in Scotland. That was the stark warning today from the Crown Office as law agencies look to choke off a source of revenue for gang networks all over the country.

The Sexual Offences Review has published its webpage and terms of reference to give information to the public and professionals about its work on reviewing how the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) deals with reports of sexual offences. The review was commissioned by Lord Advocate

A chipboard manufacturer has been fined £2,150,000 for health and safety failings which led to the tragic death of an employee. Norbord Europe Limited was found guilty of two charges under health and safety legislation on 1 November at Perth Sheriff Court.

Four people have been jailed for human trafficking and serious organised crime offences in Glasgow. Two men and two women were found guilty of charges relating to the operation of brothels and the transportation of foreign nationals they exploited as prostitutes.

A man who helped smuggle £450,000 worth of cocaine from England to Scotland has been jailed for three years and nine months. Football scout Jordan McKinlay, 30, was handed the sentence by Lord Scott at the High Court in Glasgow after having earlier pleaded guilty to supplying drugs.

Three men who turned disused industrial units into a cannabis farm valued at around £500,000 have been jailed for a combined total of 24 years and six months. Ross Blackshaw, Christopher Robb and Keith Gartshore ran the “sophisticated scheme” from converted buildings in Dalmarnock,

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill is to take place more than seven years after their deaths in a road traffic incident on the M9 on 5 July 2015. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has lodged a First Notice with the Sheriff Court to comme

A former SNP councillor who carried out sex attacks on three women has been ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work. Café owner Lewis Ritchie, 38, was given the sentence following a two-day summary trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has made advances in how it manages sexual history and character evidence in trials, but there remains scope for further improvement, according to a report published today. It recommends that staff within COPFS have mandatory training supported

A rapist has been jailed indefinitely for attacks on a pregnant woman and a stranger he met on the street. David Hamilton, 31, from Glasgow, was given an Order for Lifelong Restriction when he appeared for sentence.

A 32-year-old Fife farmer has been fined £2,000 after deliberately damaging a badger sett. Peter Brown was sentenced at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after being found guilty of two breaches of the Protection of Badgers Act in Leslie, Glenrothes.

A serial domestic abuser has been jailed for more than seven years after being found guilty of assaulting four of his ex-partners. Sales advisor Rian Hood, 31, from Kilmarnock, raped one woman, sexually assaulted two others and subjected all his victims to violent attacks.

An 80-year-old man who murdered a woman and their young son more than 45 years ago has been sentenced to life imprisonment at the High Court in Inverness. William MacDowell was given a minimum term of 30 years for the murder of Renee and Andrew MacRae in November 1976.

The Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has thanked David Harvie who has stepped down from his role as crown agent of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) as he becomes a sheriff. Mr Harvie joined COPFS in 1996 and worked his way up, serving as director of serious casework and procurator

A woman who brought a racial discrimination case against the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has settled out of court with the Scottish ministers. The case was settled after the Equality and Human Rights Commission funded the eight-day final hearing through its legal support schem