Justice secretary Angela Constance visited the court this week and heard from sheriff principal Aisha Anwar how the Summary Case Management (SCM) pilot had made a positive impact in reducing the number of victims and witnesses in summary cases having to attend court.

Following the success of the pilot at Dundee, Hamilton and Paisley Sheriff Courts, the SCM pilot seeks to reduce the number of unnecessary hearings at summary level. It will achieve this by facilitating early disclosure of evidence, early engagement between the Crown and defence and early judicial case management. It aims to reduce the number of cases set down for trial unnecessarily and to reduce the volume of late pleas of guilty and late decisions to discontinue proceedings.

An interim report published in November 2023 revealed that as a result of the pilot:

• At least 250 summary trials did not require to be assigned in the pilot courts, directly as a result of early resolution due to SCM;
• There was a 25% reduction in the first citation of civilian witnesses in domestic abuse cases in the aggregated pilot courts; and
• A 34% reduction in the first citation of police witnesses in domestic abuse cases in the aggregated pilot courts.

In 2022/23, 2,979 complaints in domestic abuse cases called for an intermediate diet at Glasgow Sheriff Court but just 510 trials were called where evidence was led.

Sheriff Principal Anwar, who has been leading the development of the SCM pilot, said: “The pilot aims to improve the efficiency of our summary criminal courts to the benefit of complainers, witnesses, the accused and wider society by reducing the number of cases that are set down for trial unnecessarily. Under the pilot, with early disclosure of evidence, judicial oversight and meaningful discussions between the Crown and the defence, cases should resolve earlier.

“I was keen to build on the early success of the pilot by introducing it to the busiest court in Scotland. That has been possible as a result of excellent cross justice collaboration between the police, the Crown, the defence, SCTS, the judiciary and the Scottish Legal Aid Board and I thank all those involved for their participation.”

Ms Constance said: “This way of working has radically changed how courts manage summary criminal cases. It has been a great success in the three sheriff courts where it was piloted and has spared victims and witnesses appearing in court to give evidence. I am pleased to see the number of cases that have been resolved without the need for going to trial – freeing up court and police officers time. Expanding this to the Glasgow domestic abuse courts will mean many more victims and witnesses will benefit from early engagement with prosecutors with a view to cases resolving at a much earlier stage, sparing the need for them to attend court.”

Jennifer Harrower, deputy crown agent local court, COPFS said: “The expansion of the pilot to Glasgow is a welcome initiative. COPFS have worked alongside our criminal justice partners on the on-going evaluation of the pilot, which to date has seen matters resolved more efficiently to the benefit of victims and witnesses.

“We will continue to collaborate with partners to look at how we are able to meet the concerns of victims through the earliest possible resolution of cases.”