Sunday, July 08, 2012

Figures reveal ‘Institutionally Inept’ Crown Office abandoned 12,035 prosecutions without a court hearing, Police blunders blamed for 2,000 failures

Lord Advocate Frank MulhollandLord Advocate Frank Mulholland’s superb PF team abandoned 12,035 prosecutions, some because it wasn't in the public interest to prosecute CATCHING CROOKS in Scotland has never been more difficult, according to figures disclosed showing Scotland’s ‘Institutionally inept’ Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) with it’s ONE HUNDRED MILLION POUND A YEAR BUDGET has abandoned over TWELVE THOUSAND PROSDECUTIONS in the past year, a massive rise of FORTY PERCENT on the previous year. Among the cases dropped include charges of assault, theft, fraud, drug dealing and the usual collection of cases against persons in more senior positions & professional walks of life who the Crown Office have an unstated policy of refusing to prosecute (such as judges, civil servants, legal professionals etc – Ed)

Scotland’s Police forces also played a major part in the enormous amount of abandoned cases, with failures by Police to file reports on time being blamed on the demise of nearly TWO THOUSAND PROSECUTIONS. although it should be noted there are some of the 2000 cases in which Police Officers contend COPFS were to blame for the delays and not themselves.

The Daily Record reports :

Police blunders result in almost 2000 cases being abandoned in last year

Jul 8 2012 Exclusive by Matt Coyle

POLICE blunders have forced prosecutors to drop nearly 2000 cases in Scotland in the last year.

A total of 1939 cases were abandoned before reaching court because police failed to file reports on time.

The figure is up 40 per cent on the previous 12 months. Cases involved included 169 of assault, 170 of theft, 38 of fraud, 10 of drug-dealing and one involving child pornography.

Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald said: “It is little wonder so many alleged offenders are able to walk away, with cuts to support staff in the police, cuts to the budget of the Crown Office and talk of closing local courts.

“A 40 per cent increase in cases abandoned because of police delays reflects the impact of almost 1000 staff job losses in the last two years. These cuts have to stop.”

In all, 12,035 cases were abandoned without a court hearing in the last 12 months, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.

Prosecutors dropped 7635 cases after deciding further action was “disproportionate” and “not in the public interest”. They included 10 cases of alleged rape, 51 of police assault, 38 of fraud and 327 of theft.

The Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland said police did their work in time in the vast majority of cases. They said the failures were “highly regrettable”.

Police say delays may happen when they have to analyse drugs or forensic evidence or trace witnesses.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Both organisations are rotten to the core anyway so no surprise here.

One destroys evidence of crimes against Catholics for fear of questions at the Parliament while the other is about as sectarian as you can ever get yet both are now blaming each other for all these dropped cases.What a joke!

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute....

So this equates to the Crown Office negligently failing to prosecute 462 crimes in Scotland each and every day, yet am I not right in saying that they recently paid themselves huge bonuses of thousands of pounds because they thought their inflated salaries were not enough?

This is serious criminal behaviour?

I want to know how MacAskill our Justice Minister is still in a job?

Is this his idea of acting in the interests of Scotland's People?

I think not?

The Crown Office need shut down if they are this negligent and get people in that are fit to do the job?

Has nobody in Scotland got any balls left or what?

Anonymous said...

A pretty poor return for £100 million and year - and don't be fooled into thinking it would be any better if more money was thrown at the CPU.

I wonder how many brown paper envelopes passed hands to ensure papers were 'late'?