Copfs

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has lodged first notices with the sheriff court to begin the court process for a conjoined fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of David Donnelly and Robert Thomson. David Donnelly, aged 83, died at Hairmyres Hospital on 14 January 2019. Rober

Three secondary schools will next month go head-to-head in the final of a public speaking contest. Pupils from Shawlands Academy, Glasgow, Trinity High School, Renfrew, and Dalziel High School in Motherwell will battle it out in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s national schools

A man who tried to murder a young boy and another man by setting a fire outside their door in a high-rise block of flats has been jailed. Craig McQuillian was caught on camera entering the Fidra Court building in Edinburgh at around 11.30pm on November 12, 2023.

A paedophile who raped a young girl and sexually assaulted another during a seven-year campaign of abuse has been jailed for seven years. Malcolm Lamont was found guilty of six charges following a trial at the High Court in Livingston on March 25.

A man from Aberdeen has been jailed for seven years after raping a young woman almost a decade ago. Alisdair Euan Randalls was convicted at the High Court in Aberdeen on April 11.

Three members of a serious organised crime gang who trafficked a significant amount of Class A drugs into the Central Belt have been jailed for a total of 13 years and three months. Paul Martin, 43, who was extradited from Spain to stand trial, Peter Dickson, 34, and Grant Jaap, 30, all pled guilty

A controlling domestic abuser who raped three women – including two on the same night – has been given an order for lifelong restriction. Aaron Carson Swan was found guilty of six charges including the serious sexual assault of two victims as they slept at a property in the Scottish Bord

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has welcomed Liam Ewing KC, Lorraine Glancy KC, John Keenan KC and Paul Harvey to the principal Crown counsel team. The team is responsible for leading advocate deputes in the prosecution of serious crime. The four lawyers are joining as assistant principal Crown counse

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the death of Lachlan Robertson. Mr Robertson, 61, the owner and skipper of the fishing boat Reul A Chuain, a twin-rigged prawn trawler out of Mallaig, died on 24 June 2021 after falling ove

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has accepted a report into how domestic abuse is prosecuted, which has emphasised that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service must speed up the work it is doing to improve the service it gives to victims. The report assessed the work of COPFS in the management a

A man whose dog had to be put down after he abandoned it and left it inside a crate for several days has been imprisoned for six months and banned from owning or looking after animals for 10 years. Daryl Torrance, 34, of Mauchline, was sentenced at Ayr Sheriff Court after admitting a charge of anima

A charity has called for the adoption of coroners' courts in Scotland, claiming the Crown Office is failing to do its job. Faces and Voices of Recovery (Favor UK) wants Scotland to adopt the inquests system used elsewhere in the UK, in which a coroner examines the circumstances around sudden deaths.

An initiative to digitally transform how victims and witnesses in criminal cases can access information and guidance relevant to them online has been launched by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). COPFS has recently began piloting a Witness Gateway, an online secure solution. Th

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of Archie Donald. Three-year-old Archie died at the Royal Hospital for Children at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus, Glasgow on 20 November 2019.

Five members of a notorious serious organised crime gang who ran a massive drugs trafficking empire in Inverclyde have been jailed for a total of 31 years and eight months. Lee Docherty, 37, Ian Millar, 39, Brendan Gillan, 32, his father Daniel Gillan, 60, and Christopher McKellar, 44, pled guilty t