By Bruce Robbins

A DUNDEE sheriff said yesterday senior members of the city’s legal profession and his fellow sheriffs were concerned at what appeared to be a different approach to prosecutions by the procurator fiscal service in Tayside.

Sheriff Richard Davidson, who has made a habit of speaking from the bench when seeking to draw attention to contentious issues, said in open court that it would be good if the Lord Advocate or Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill could explain why Tayside was out of step with the rest of the country.

Sheriff Davidson’s remarks followed concern about the way the fiscal service is prosecuting criminal cases in Dundee.

Solicitors have commented upon a “dramatic” drop in cases passing through the city’s courts with more and more apparently being dealt with by way of a “fiscal fine”—a financial penalty that, if accepted, is not recorded as a criminal conviction.

The past Dean of the Faculty of Solicitors, George Donnelly, has said the approach seemed to be based on cost-cutting more than anything else. In his opinion, courts in most other parts of Scotland have not experienced anything like the drop in business recorded in Dundee.

The fiscals office in Dundee has so far refused to say how many fiscal fines it has issued this year in comparison with previous years, how many of those were for crimes of violence or how decisions are reached with regard to fiscal fines or court prosecutions.

That, in turn, has raised issues about the fiscal service’s public accountability. The fiscal service said information about the summary justice reforms would be published in around three months.

Explaining its policy on fiscal fines would, said depute fiscal Ian Wallace, give offenders too much information that might be used to their advantage.

Yesterday, while dealing with a court case at Dundee Sheriff Court, Sheriff Davidson said, “I would be interested to hear from the Lord Advocate or the justice secretary why the criteria for prosecutions in Dundee are different from the rest of Scotland.”

He went on to say that he has been aware that the situation in Dundee has been causing concern to senior members of the legal bar and sheriffs for “some time.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said tougher fiscal fines and new compensation orders have been available since March under reforms which parliament unanimously endorsed last year.

He added, “Police, prosecutors and court staff have been working hard to implement the reforms, which are beginning to tackle the significant problems faced under the old system—where lengthy delays and repeated adjournments obstructed efficient, effective justice, caused added distress to victims and witnesses and left police languishing in court waiting rooms rather than in our communities.

“It is neither appropriate, nor possible for government to comment on individual decisions of fiscals who make these independently, based on all of the facts and evidence available in relation to the particular complaint.

“Clearly, the reforms have only recently been introduced and we understand their application locally is being closely monitored and reviewed by area procurators fiscal.

“We welcomed the assurances from Scotland’s law officers that immediate action would be taken if inappropriate decisions or errors were made.”

The Crown Office said it was not prepared to respond directly to Sheriff Davidson’s comments but a spokeswoman said regional statistics for the summary justice reforms would be published in the autumn.