Scottish sexual offences review makes almost 200 recommendations for change

Almost 200 recommendations for change have been made as part of a major review of how prosecutors in Scotland deal with sexual offences.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, Scotland’s most senior prosecutor, commissioned the research, adding that it would be crucial in “building a system which recognises, respects and responds to the needs of victims”.

With sexual offences accounting for 70% of business in Scotland’s high courts, the review was led by Susanne Tanner KC, who has extensive experience of both prosecuting and defending rape and serious sexual offence cases.

And the leading lawyer said the 197 recommendations contained in her report were “as wide-ranging as the review itself”.

These included a call for a “single, focussed sexual offences function” to be established within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

This would deal only with sexual offences and would come under the “strong specialist leadership” of a dedicated deputy crown agent.

Ms Tanner also recommended a national Crown counsel lead for sexual offences be appointed, saying this should be done in place of the former National Sexual Crimes Unit, which she recommend be disbanded.

Such changes, she said, would help to “limit siloed ways of working that have developed under the current structures”.

She added that a “key theme which has emerged in this review has been the Crown’s approach to victims of sexual crime and whether it protects their rights and meets their needs and interests”.

Ms Tanner also stressed the “need to listen to people and to actually hear what they are saying”, adding it was clear that “victims of sexual crime and the third sector organisations supporting them have been saying the same things, in different forums, for what seems like an endless period of time”.

Ms Tanner herself spoke to 13 sex crime victims as part of the view, saying she had “listened carefully to their views and suggestions for change”.

Adding that contributions from victims had been a “cornerstone of the review”, she recommended that the COPFS should established a Lived Experience Board, and should also develop a feedback process for children and young people who have either been victims of sexual offences or have witnessed such crimes.

Such changes, Ms Tanner said, would “allow for effective listening to continue and to inform positive change tailored to those who are victims of sexual crime”.

Adding that she was “grateful to have been given the opportunity” to lead the review, she said she hoped its recommendations would “lead to real, transformative change in the way in which COPFS deals with sexual offences now and in the future”.

The Lord Advocate said that Ms Tanner’s review had “made a significant contribution to this crucial area of work”.

Ms Bain added: “The recommendations of this review will not only assist COPFS in its ongoing process of change, they will also inform wider justice reform, building a system which recognises, respects and responds to the needs of victims.”

The review was published in the wake of figures which, last week, showed a 12% rise in the number of people convicted of a main charge of a sexual crime, with this rising to 1,583 in 2023-24.

Rape and attempted rape convictions rose by 19% to 221, while convictions for sexual assault increased by 15% to 421 – the highest total since 1989.

Katrina Parkes, legal director at the COPFS, said the review’s findings “align closely with our strategic ambitions and feature in the transformative work which is already underway in our handling of sexual offences”.

Ms Parkes said: “Our work in this area is becoming more complex, with more and longer investigations into serious sexual offending, with greater evidential demands.

“As Scotland’s prosecution service, we are learning as society changes. That means listening to the experiences of victims, third sector organisations, criminal justice partners and colleagues.

“We are progressing through a programme of training for colleagues to better respond to the needs of victims and witnesses.

“We are enhancing the valuable information provided by our teams, to support victims with compassion throughout the prosecution process.

“Throughout this, we are focused on embedding reforms in a sustainable, achievable way, recognising the pressures across the whole of the justice system, and the need to deliver lasting improvements within that.”