FAIs into deaths of young people in custody to be prioritised

Fatal accident inquiries (FAIs) into the deaths of young people in custody will be prioritised after a prosecutions watchdog criticised "disappointing" progress on cutting delays.

William Lindsay died at Polmont.

The Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland investigated FAI delays in a 2016 report, after which the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) made changes, including introducing a year-long target between the date of death and requesting dates for an inquiry from the court service.

In a follow-up report published on Wednesday, the inspectorate criticised only 37% of mandatory FAIs meeting this target.

FAIs are mandatory for deaths in custody or at work and can be held in other situations to learn lessons and help prevent future deaths but have faced criticism over the time taken to reach court, which can be several years.

On average, mandatory FAIs took 19 and a half months from date of death to notifying the court service for inquiry dates, and 23 months to the FAI.

The report found while the number of outstanding FAIs past the target is dropping, there are still 20 more than three years old.

Michelle McLeod, HM Chief Inspector said: "Given it is almost three years since the thematic FAI report was published, the lack of progress in many areas is disappointing.

"While there has been some improvement in the timelines for conducting FAIs, the time taken to conclude mandatory FAIs remains a concern, as does their age profile with 20 inquiries more than three years old.

"Failing to deal with FAIs expeditiously not only impacts on nearest relatives, it causes distress and concern for potential witnesses who may have to give evidence at the FAI and, in some cases, undermines public confidence in the inquiry."

She added: "We identified a number of factors causing delays including investigations characterised by lengthy periods of inactivity.

"Undoubtedly resourcing has been an issue for the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU) and we acknowledge that it is not yet at full complement following additional resource that was secured in 2018 and that it takes time to induct and train new staff.

"The ongoing modernisation project should also improve the effectiveness of their processes and procedures."

The inspectorate has made three new recommendations, including that FAIs into deaths of young people in legal custody should be prioritised.

It was asked to consider the merits of prioritising these inquiries following the deaths of two people at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in 2018, William Lindsay, 16, and Katie Allan, 21.

The report found eight people aged under 21 died in custody across Scotland in the past eight years, and in four cases a mandatory FAI has still to be carried out.

In seven of the cases, the young person had or appears to have taken their own life, while the remaining death "involved apparent drug intoxication".

The report states: "It is essential that SFIU ensures such deaths are investigated both thoroughly and expeditiously to reduce the likelihood of similar deaths recurring"

The two remaining recommendations are to have a clear audit trail and to record the wishes of the family regarding contact.

A COPFS spokesman said: "The COPFS is committed to the prompt investigation of deaths and accepts the recommendations contained within the inspectorate's review.

"COPFS has recently increased the resource available to the SFIU, with a view to reducing the time required to complete complex death investigations and improving the provision of information to families and next of kin.

"In addition, COPFS has revised the way the progress of all death investigations is monitored to ensure that they are completed as efficiently as possible.

"These measures represent a commitment to achieving a significant improvement in the service delivered by the procurator fiscal in this important area of work."