Current status: Answered by Elish Angiolini on 19 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Crown cases have fallen due to the failure of witnesses to appear in court in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court in the (a) West of Scotland and (b) Central Scotland parliamentary region.
The information requestedis not available as it is not held on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service(COPFS) database.
A number of measureshave already been or are being introduced in 2008 as part of the Summary JusticeReform programme to ensure that summary trials are not disrupted because of witnessesfailing to appear.
Firstly, in relationto obstructive witnesses, the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 will introduce new provisions to allow warrantsto be granted for obstructive witnesses, to release witnesses on bail until theygive evidence and to create a new offence of failing to appear as a witness whenon bail.
Secondly, in relationto witnesses who might feel intimidated, the 2007 act also provides a new standardbail condition that an accused on bail does not behave in a manner which causes,or is likely to cause, alarm or distress to witnesses. In considering whether ornot to oppose bail, the Procurator Fiscal will take into account and present tothe court any relevant information which suggests a risk of intimidation.
Any criminal behaviourinvolving intimidation of witnesses will be taken very seriously by COPFS.
Finally, to improvethe way in which witnesses are cited, COPFS launched the postal service of witnesscitations in October 2004. Postal citation is more convenient for a witness thanhaving a police officer attend at their door to deliver a witness citation by hand.