For more information on reporting to the police, see our page on how reporting sexual violence to the police works.

Our page on how reporting sexual violence to the police works explains the stages in the police investigation process.

Your case is now with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (PF). This is Scotland’s criminal prosecution service. The police will have passed their investigation on to them, to be reviewed and worked on further. The PF will identify what further work needs to be done on the case before a decision can be made about whether it will proceed to trial.

As you have not committed a crime, you will not have a lawyer at any stage in the criminal justice process. You are considered to be a witness in the case. This can take people by surprise and may feel a bit difficult. You can talk to an advocacy worker about this.

While the PF looks at your case, they’ll be considering whether any trial would be a solemn procedure or summary procedure.

When a trial takes place in a High Court or in a Sheriff Court with a jury, this is called solemn procedure. When a Sheriff Court trial is held without a jury, this is called summary procedure.

Rape trials, and other 'serious' sexual offences are heard at the High Court in front of a jury. Some sexual offences are heard at the Sheriff Court. We recognise that all sexual offences are in fact serious, but this is how they are referred to when explaining which types of cases will be heard in each level of court.

If the PF decides that your case will be a summary procedure, it will move much faster than a solemn procedure. Soon after arrest, the perpetrator will have a court appearance where trial dates are set. If your case is a summary procedure, you can skip to our preliminary hearing section. In a solemn procedure, the case will move to the petition stage.

Timescale

There is no time limit for the pre-petition stage of the investigation, and it is likely to take several months. It can sometimes happen very quickly so some cases may not be at this stage for very long, but longer than 6 months is common.

You can ask an advocacy worker if you have any questions throughout this stage. If you prefer to find out information yourself, you will have a point of contact at Victim Information and Advice (VIA) you can ask. VIA is part of the PF.

If you don’t have a contact number for VIA, their general enquiry line is 0300 020 3000 or you can email them at enquirypoint@copfs.gov.uk. The police SOLO is no longer your point of contact once the investigation has been handed over to the PF.

The perpetrator receives a document called a petition, which outlines the criminal charge/s against them. However, there is no guarantee at this stage that the case will proceed to trial.

PF sets out the provisional charges against the accused (the perpetrator). The perpetrator has been arrested and charged, but it is not guaranteed that the case will go to trial.

The perpetrator will appear in court and a decision will be made about whether or not to grant bail. Bail is granted in most cases, and there are conditions attached to this. You will not attend court at this time.

During the petition stage, the prosecution are evaluating whether there is enough evidence to go to trial:

• You may be asked to attend your local police station to do a virtual identity parade (VIPER) to formally identify the perpetrator. This is done by viewing images on a computer screen. The perpetrator will not be there in person.
• You may be asked to meet with the PF to answer further questions to help them prepare the case. This is called precognition. The defence lawyer may request this too. You can arrange to have an advocacy worker with you for a VIPER and/or precognition.
• Although the case is not yet guaranteed to go to court, a VIA officer may speak to you about special measures at this stage. These are ways to help reduce the impact on you of giving evidence if the case does go to trial. Special measures include giving evidence behind a screen or via remote video link.
• In some cases, the defence may apply to the court for information about your medical or character history. This is called a Section 275 application. You do not have to agree to your medical information being accessed, or you can place limits on the time period that is accessed. There are strict guidelines about when such applications are allowed. You may want to speak to an advocacy worker for more information.
• During the petition stage, the prosecution are evaluating whether there is enough evidence to go to trial. The PF completes its investigation and Crown Counsel (a team of senior lawyers) makes the final decision about whether the case will go to trial.

If the PF decides not to prosecute

This doesn’t mean the PF don't believe you. It means there wasn’t enough evidence to prove all elements of the crime from a legal point of view.

You can ask for this decision to be reviewed. This is called a Right to Review. Be aware that the decision is very unlikely to be overturned. An advocacy worker can help you with a Right to Review, and it has to be done within 28 days of receiving the decision.

If the PF decides to prosecute

An indictment will be served and a preliminary date will be set.

An indictment is a document served on (given to) the perpetrator that sets out the finalised charges that they will stand trial for.

Once an indictment is served, it is certain that the case will go to trial, unless the perpetrator pleads guilty. Guilty pleas are uncommon.

A date is set for the perpetrator’s preliminary hearing. You won’t attend court for this.

The preliminary hearing is known as an intermediate diet in summary procedure trials.

Rape trials and other 'serious' sexual offences are heard at the High Court in front of a jury. Some sexual offences are heard at the Sheriff Court; some trials here have a jury and some don't.

We recognise that all sexual offences are in fact serious, but this is how they are referred to when explaining which types of cases will be heard in each level of court.

When a trial has a jury (whether High Court or Sheriff Court) this is called solemn procedure. When a Sheriff Court trial is held without a jury, this is called summary procedure.

Preliminary hearing (for High Court trials, and Sheriff Court trials with a jury)

The perpetrator pleads guilty or not guilty. The judge/sheriff checks whether both prosecution and defence are ready for trial.

If both sides are ready for trial, the judge/ sheriff sets a trial date. This is usually about 4-6 months after the preliminary hearing, although this timescale may change as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If both sides aren’t ready for trial, another preliminary hearing date will be set. The judge will decide when this should be.

Intermediate diet (for Sheriff Court trials without a jury)

The perpetrator pleads guilty or not guilty. If the plea is not guilty, the sheriff of the court checks whether both prosecution and defence are ready for a trial.

If both sides are ready for trial, a trial date is set. This is usually 2-4 weeks after the preliminary hearing, although this timescale may change as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If both sides aren’t ready for trial, another intermediate diet date will be set. The sheriff will decide when this should be.

An advocacy worker can come with you on the day, please give us as much notice as possible to arrange this. You can use a side entrance if you prefer when you arrive in court.

All courts are public buildings, but your advocacy worker can request an individual waiting room for you. You can also request this yourself if you prefer, by speaking to VIA before the trial.

Trial dates aren’t set in stone. Dates sometimes change, but you should be prepared to attend court on the dates that you’re given.

Solemn procedure

High court

There will be a judge and a jury of 15 people. Crimes tried at the high court include rape, attempted rape, and other penetrative sexual assaults (sexual assault by penetration). The case could be heard in either Glasgow, Edinburgh or Livingstone. If the perpetrator is found guilty, there is no maximum prison sentence, but in practice, sentences are usually for a few years.

If your case is heard in the high court, it may be scheduled as a floating trial. You'll be given a date on your citation, and this is the earliest possible date that the trial will start within a one week time period.

Sheriff court

There will be a sheriff instead of a judge, and a jury of 15 people. Crimes tried in this court include sexual assaults (non penetrative). The case is likely to be heard in the court local to where the crime/s took place. If the perpetrator is found guilty, the maximum prison sentence is 5 years. In practice, a shorter sentence or community service may be given.

Summary procedure (Sheriff court)

There will be a sheriff instead of a judge, and there is no jury. Crimes tried under summary procedure include some sexual assaults and sexual harassment. The case is likely to be heard in the court local to where the crime/s took place. If the perpetrator is found guilty, the maximum sentence is 12 months. In practice, a shorter sentence, community service, or payment of a fine or compensation may be ordered.

At the trial

You'll be asked to arrive around 9 to 9:30 am and taken to a waiting room. It will be at least a couple of hours after this before the trial starts. This is because it takes time to swear in the jury (unless it's a summary procedure where there is no jury) and make sure that everyone is ready. Somebody from VIA will meet you as you enter the court and will be a point of contact throughout your time in the court building.

If you decided to be accompanied by an advocacy worker, then they will also be with you. Before the trial the advocate depute (prosecution lawyer) will come to meet you in the waiting room to introduce themself and have a chat about what will happen when you give your evidence.

Giving evidence

A court official will come to the waiting room when it’s time for you to give your evidence, and take you either to the court room or to a video link room, depending on what special measures you have. Your advocacy worker will come with you if this has been arranged.

First, the advocate depute will ask you questions about the incident/s. Then the defence lawyer will ask you questions. After this, the advocate depute may ask you a few short follow-up questions. Giving evidence usually takes a few hours and you may not be finished in 1 day.

You may find answering questions in court triggering. This is normal, and your advocacy worker can help you prepare for this in advance. You can also ask for a break whenever you need it while you’re giving your evidence.

When your evidence is complete, you will be told by VIA staff that you’re free to leave the court. You don’t need to attend the rest of the trial.

Guilty

If found guilty:

• The perpetrator will be convicted of the crime/s
• They will be sentenced (punished)

The perpetrator has the right to appeal this verdict

Not guilty

If found not guilty:

• The perpetrator will not be convicted of any crime/s
• They will not be sentenced (punished)

This verdict is an acquittal. You do not have the right to appeal this verdict.

Not proven

If found not proven:

• The perpetrator will not be convicted of any crime/s
• They will not be sentenced (punished)

This verdict is an acquittal. You do not have the right to appeal this verdict.

Solemn

In solemn cases (High Court trials and Sheriff & Jury trials) the jury decides the verdict. There must be a majority of the 15 jurors in agreement (8 or more).

Summary

In summary cases there is no jury, and the sheriff decides the verdict.

You don’t need to be present for the verdict, but you can be there if you wish. If you aren’t there, VIA will contact you shortly after the verdict is delivered to let you know.

Sentencing happens around 2 - 4 weeks after a guilty verdict. The judge or sheriff decides the sentence. There are maximum sentences depending on the type of trial that took place - High Court trial/Sheriff & Jury trial (solemn procedure), or Sheriff without a jury (summary procedure). This is explained in the previous section about the trial.

The court process is now complete. You may want to talk to your advocacy worker, to debrief at the end of the process.

You can give feedback on the court process if you want. Your advocacy worker can help you with this.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)

If you haven’t yet applied for financial compensation, you may wish to do so. You can apply once you have reported to the police. There are some time restrictions to applying for compensation. You can speak to an advocacy worker about this, however we are unable to complete the application with you.

See our page on claiming compensation.

Victim Notification Scheme

If the perpetrator has been sentenced to 18 months or more in prison, then you can register for the Victim Notification Scheme. This means you’ll be kept informed about forthcoming parole hearings and release dates. You can also opt to tell the parole board if you have any concerns about parole in future. VIA will let you know how to register with the scheme.

If the perpetrator is sentenced to less than 18 months in prison, you can write to the Scottish Prison Service to ask them to let you know when the perpetrator is released.