Joint review of diversion from prosecution

In this joint review, we sought to assess the operation and impact of diversion from prosecution in Scotland. Working in partnership we provided an overview of diversion practice from a policing, prosecution and justice social work perspective, highlighted what was working well and explored any barriers to the more effective use of diversion.

The review was carried out by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS), the Care Inspectorate, and HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) (the scrutiny partners).

We considered:

  • the extent to which the police, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and justice social work, alongside other community justice partners, shared a vision for diversion from prosecution and collaborated on a strategy for delivery, while respecting the important principle of independent prosecutorial decision-making
  • the effectiveness of systems and processes that supported diversion from prosecution and the progress made in implementing the national guidelines on diversion
  • the extent to which the impact of diversion was understood and the intended outcomes were being achieved

We considered the individual and collective roles that the justice partners play at the various stages in the diversion process:

  • the Standard Prosecution Report (SPR)
  • the decision to divert
  • the referral to justice social work
  • the suitability assessment and the response by COPFS
  • the diversion intervention
  • the completion report and the response by COPFS
  • communication with the accused
  • communication with the complainer.

In support of our review, we gathered evidence from a range of sources including:

  • a review of relevant strategies, policies, guidance, procedures and other documentation relating to diversion from prosecution
  • analysis of data on diversion
  • a survey of all community justice partnerships in Scotland regarding the operation of diversion from prosecution in their local area
  • extensive interviews with those involved or with an interest in the diversion process
  • a review of cases in which an initial decision to divert the accused from prosecution had been taken by COPFS, as well as some cases in which diversion did not appear to have been considered.

We published a report of our findings in February 2023. The review report provides more detail on our methods and full details of our findings and recommendations.


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Community justice social work: throughcare review

During 2021 the Care Inspectorate as part of the national criminal justice Recover, Renew, Transform (RRT) programme undertook a specific piece of work on behalf of the Recovery of Community Justice and Prevention of Offending sub-group. The focus related to breach of licence and recall to prison with a primary focus on community justice social work practice. This was to further understand recall and related processes to reduce the number of people being recalled to custody, where appropriate.

The review sought to:

  • identify potential barriers to reintegration; and
  • seek assurance that community justice social work contributions to breach and recall processes were operating as they should.

Due to the restrictions in place as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, all activities were carried out remotely. Activities included:

  • position statement outlining strengths, challenges and areas for improvement was submitted by each area and reviewed by the justice team
  • staff survey for all staff supporting delivery of throughcare support
  • review of a representative sample of relevant records of people who had been subject to each type of statutory throughcare licence
    • focus groups with social work staff
    • survey and interviews with people from across Scotland who had been recalled to custody following breach of their licence conditions
    • structured feedback to the justice social work services involved in the review
    • publication of a national report highlighting strengths, challenges and areas for improvement.

We published a report of our findings in September 2021. The report contains more detail on the methods we used.


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Community justice social work: inspections of community payback orders

Between September 2018 and November 2020, we completed five inspections of justice social work services with a particular focus on community payback orders in these areas:

The inspection guide for these inspections summarises the activities involved.


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Community justice partnerships: supported and validated self-evaluation

Between 2018 and 2020, we worked in partnership with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) to support the implementation of the national community justice model through a validated self-evaluation approach. We carried out assurance activities across the following five community justice partnerships, one of which incorporated three local authority areas:

In summary our activities included:

  • support and guidance from a strategic inspector for partnership areas to undertake self-evaluation
  • submission of a self-evaluation by the partnership
  • analysis of the submitted documents by the Care Inspectorate/HMICS team
  • follow-up activities with the partnership to explore any areas of uncertainty (these included visits, interviews and focus groups)
  • verbal feedback on the findings to each partnership based on the analysis of all the evidence gathered
  • publication of the validation letter.

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The focus of our joint inspection

The focus of our joint inspection - children and young people subject to compulsory orders and living at home with their parents or carers

Over the past four years, the Care Inspectorate and scrutiny partners have undertaken 15 joint inspections of services for children and young people at risk of harm. We will shortly be publishing an overview report. Aside from joint inspections, we also undertook a series of thematic reviews on specific topics including secure care; cross border placements; services for disabled children and young people and services for care experienced young people.

The last time that we carried out joint inspections of services for children who are looked after was between 2018 and 2020, in our joint inspections of services for children in need of care and protection. In our overview report we noted that: 

  • Children and young people subject to compulsory supervision orders and living at home with parents experienced the least improvement in their wellbeing, when compared to children looked after away from home in kinship, foster or residential care.
  • Partnerships struggled to find the evidence to demonstrate tangible improvements in the wellbeing of looked after children and young people and in understanding performance trends concerning different looked after groups.
  • There had been some progress in narrowing the educational attainment gap between looked after children and their peers, however, it remained too great.
  • Not all care experienced children and young people had the same opportunities to share their views and meaningfully influence service delivery.
  • The collaborative leadership of child protection was much more robust and embedded than that for corporate parenting. 

There are also a range of other evidence sources that indicate there is a need for further exploration of the impact of services for children and young people subject to compulsory supervision orders and living at home with parents or carers. In particular, Scottish Government’s publication, Educational Outcomes for looked after children 2022/23, evidences lower school attendance rates, higher school exclusion rates, lower positive destination rates and poorer attainment rates for children looked after at home, when compared to the wider group of looked after children.   

By considering the experiences of children who are subject to compulsory supervision orders and living at home with their parents or carers, we aim to better understand what is helping to improve outcomes for children and young people and what is getting in the way.

Our three key lines of enquiry are:

  • Children and young people are well supported to live with their families. This support helps to keep them safe, overcome difficulties and makes a positive difference in their lives.
  • The services children and young people receive are well planned and delivered in a way which is compassionate and by staff who put children and young people at the heart of decision-making. People in the workforce ensure that children, young people and parents or carers are meaningfully listened to, heard and included.
  • Leaders and managers work well together to create and maintain a joined-up system of care which delivers the right services to each child at the right time. This provides children and young people, their parents or carers and the workforce with help, support and accountability. 

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