Outreach

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

“Equality for All” Newsletter

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Contents

Welcome 2Equality Ambassadors 3-7Promoting Equality through Art 7-10Speaking out against Inequality 10-12Hate Crime 12-14Your future in Law 14-15

Outreach

Wiping out racism 16 Religion and belief 17 COPFS remains top 100 UK employer 18 Pride Scotia Welcomes COPFS 19 Domestic abuse & Customer Care 20 Editorial & Translations 21

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WelcomeWelcome to the 2nd edition of Outreach, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service ‘Equality for All’ newsletter.

Our aim is to inform communities across Scotland of the work undertaken by COPFS to promote equality in our role as Scotland’s prosecution service.

Public interest is at the heart of all we do as independent prosecutors. We endeavour to take into account the diverse needs of victims, witnesses, communities and the rights of those accused of crime and we support the Strategy for Justice in Scotland and, in particular, the priorities of: Tackling hate crime and sectarianism and Supporting victims and witnesses. www.copfs.gov.uk

We are very grateful to all those who provided feedback on our first edition. We hope this second edition is reflective of the helpful and constructive feedback which you provided. We hope that you will find

the newsletter interesting and informative and that it will provide you with an insight into the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service as we work in partnership with others to eradicate bigotry and prejudice from Scotland.

We would be very pleased to receive feedback from you about any of the topics we cover in this edition and this will inform how we take forward our future editions which we aim to publish on a biannual basis.

Contact: EqualityFeedback@copfs.gsi.gov.uk

Newsletter highlights

• We introduce our Equality Champion and our new Equality Ambassadors and report on the publishing of our Equality Outcomes.

• The power of art and debate in combating inequality is demonstrated by pupils across Scotland

• Hate Crime Statistics

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A word from our Equality Champion

Ruth McQuaid Procurator Fiscal Inital Case Processing,East of Scotland and Equality & Victims Champion

As a hearing impaired full time prosecutor and a working mum of four young children, I am not immune to the discrimination which can result consciously or unconsciously throughout life.

As a prosecutor, I work in the world of justice so it is extremely important for me

and my colleagues in COPFS to ensure our staff and the people who use our services are treated fairly and that they do not suffer discrimination in our dealings with them.

When I was appointed as the COPFS Equality Champion in March 2011, I immediately faced the challenge of ensuring our organisation met its statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010. For COPFS, the issue of Equality has to mean so much more than just meeting a statutory requirement, as we make important prosecution decisions on a daily basis and these have a significant

impact on the lives of not only individual victims and accused persons but also on the wider communities in which we live. To make those decisions fairly, we need to be informed and understanding of the needs of all those who live within our communities across Scotland and that is why it has been important for me to take the time to visit fiscals in their local communities and to meet with local and national organisations representing people with protected characteristics so that I can better understand the particular challenges they face. One such fiscal is Sue Foard in Orkney and you can read about the Hate Crime Open Day at Orkney Sheriff Court on page 12.

L to R: Ruth McQuaid and Sue Foard, Procurator Fiscal, Kirkwall

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During the last 6 months, I have welcomed our modern apprentices who joined us recently following an innovative recruitment exercise designed not only to reach out to a wider age span than the initial government specification but also to reach out to communities who do not engage with normal job centre recruitment routes.

I also had the opportunity to speak to school children from Edinburgh engaged in the “Your Future in Law “ programme which we participated in, to encourage young people from diverse backgrounds to consider a career with COPFS. You can read more about this event on page 14.

Our long term aim is to increase the diversity of our workforce so that it better reflects the demographics of Scottish society. We realise how important it is for us to establish that we have an inclusive workforce and we are very grateful to organisations such as Stonewall who provide us with excellent advice on how we can improve our policies and practices, and who rate our progress against their UK Workplace index. Read more about how they have assessed us on page 18.

One of our initiatives which I have been delighted to launch this year has been the appointment of the equality ambassadors. We now have 10 ambassadors and they will support me, to engage with staff and communities across Scotland to increase the understanding within COPFS of their chosen characteristic: age; disability; race; mental health;gender; pregnancy & maternity; LGB; transgender; religion & belief; and the travelling community. By promoting awareness of each of the characteristics, we are keen to ensure that our workforce understands the diverse needs of the communities we serve in Scotland. We will introduce you to some of these ambassadors in this edition. I hope you enjoy getting to know our ambassadors as they feature in future editions.

Ruth McQuaid.

Nicola Manison, Equality Ambassador for Gender, Pregnancy & Maternity said:“The remit of this role includes gender-based violence, pregnancy support, maternity and paternity leave rights and flexible working hours. The aim is to provide support and to fully engage with staff, customers and the wider community to raise awareness of gender roles and cultivate an equality-focused ethos within the service, and in turn help to bolster confidence in our prosecution service and in COPFS as an employer”

David Bernard, Equality Ambassador for Age said:“In my role as COPFS Equality Ambassador for Age, I want to ensure and promote the idea that whatever your age, there is equality of opportunity internally within COPFS. On an external basis, I want to engage with organisations and networks, representing all age groups who come into contact with us, and ensure that we listen to them on how we can adapt and improve as a prosecution service.”

Introduction our Equality Ambassodors

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David Casey, Equality Ambassador for LGB said:“As lead for our LGB network group, I aim to support colleagues in the workplace and raise awareness of issues associated with the LGB community. Recently, I launched Friends of Proud – our straight ally initiative which allows staff members who are not LGB to be part of our network. I hope to increase understanding and raise awareness of the LGB community within COPFS through training and internal publications.”

Carol Doherty, Equality Ambassador for Scottish Traveller/Gypsy Community said:“Not everyone fully understands or appreciates the Traveller/Gypsy Community so I aim to be available to assist colleagues with questions relating to this community; this can be in the form of answering questions about the way the community operates, to giving assistance when dealing with the dialect used by either accused, complainer or witnesses in a case.”

Marlene McCaw, Equality Ambassador for Mental Health said: “In my role as Mental Health Ambassador for COPFS I will engage with external organisations, provide information to staff, promote better understanding of different types of mental ill health and help tackle the stigma which can be associated with mental health”. Sandy Mackie, Equality Ambassador for Disability said:“I will represent the views of all disabled people in COPFS. As chair of the COPFS Staff Disability Advisory Group, I am responsible for collating the views and concerns of COPFS employees and ensuring that their voice is heard.”

Chris Macintosh, Equality Ambassador for Religion and Belief said:“ I represent the characteristic of Religion and Belief. I hope to set up a staff network group for those with an interest in this area and hope to facilitate opportunities for discussion and debate to broaden and deepen understanding of different belief systems including among those with no interest in, or antipathy towards, religion and belief.”

Graham Clark, Equality Ambassador for Civil Partnership said: “I have taken on this role and am currently questioning discrepancies in pension rights for surviving civil partners/widows/widowers. However, with the anticipated introduction of Same Sex marriage, I look forward to the day when this post will be redundant!”

Alison Shaw, Equality Ambassador for Transgender said: “As Equality Ambassador for Transgender, it is my aim to raise awareness of the community to colleagues throughout COPFS. I will work closely with our Proud in COPFS network to build constructive working relations with the Transgender community throughout Scotland. It is my intention to act as a point of contact for staff in the service to ask questions or seek further assistance.”

Imran Bashir, Equality Ambassador for Race said:“I aim to continue the good work that has been done to engage with all race groups, adapting our working practices where necessary to allow COPFS to continue to be a progressive and representative prosecution service. I will engage with colleagues to ensure that COPFS continues to offer equal opportunities to all irrespective of race.”

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2013 Equality Network Conference

COPFS has Equality Network groups of staff, geographically based across Scotland, which are committed to promoting equality and inclusion and liaising with local community groups.

A one-day conference in Spring 2013 was an opportunity for the groups to hear directly from the representatives of organisations who are also tackling hate crime and to consider how we can better engage with communities and criminal justice partners on equality issues.

Ruth McQuaid, provided the keynote speech, where she challenged delegates to refocus our approach to Equality as “ a social justice issue not a celebration of difference.”

Delegates were inspired to hear of the successful partnership working which had taken place during 2012/2013. Head teacher Anne Munroe from Bellshill Academy gave a presentation on the “Them and Us” project where COPFS worked with North Lanarkshire to produce an i-book lesson on sectarianism around the “Them and Us” DVD which was produced by schoolchildren at Bellshill Academy and Cardinal Newman High School with the support of COPFS. The lesson is now in the process of being made available to schools across Scotland. Anne advised the audience that the project had made a significant and positive impact on the community and had fostered a closer relationship between these two schools.

Equality Outcomes

In April 2013, the COPFS published its Mainstreaming Report and Equality Outcomes for 2013-17 as part of its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 which required all public sector organisations to set outcomes and monitor progress against these.

The process to decide on these outcomes involved input from all levels within our organisation including the Lord Advocate, Crown Agent and staff within our Equality Network Groups. We also consulted with external organisations and their comments have been incorporated where possible.

Equality & Diversity Spring Conference

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This has been a significant exercise for us over the last year but this process has inspired us in many ways to reconsider our approach to policy making and process development.

We accept that this is very much a work in progress which will grow over the coming years but the cultural change within COPFS to see equality work as a social justice issue and no longer “a celebration of diversity” has been recognised and we hope that the actions we will take over the coming years in partnership with the community organisations and Criminal Justice partners will improve our customer service and the experience of victims and witnesses who deal with us.

Promoting Equality through ArtThe power of art in combating inequality in our communities was ably demonstrated by the pupils from South Lanarkshire who entered a competition which COPFS ran in partnership with South Lanarkshire Local Authority.

Students from Biggar High School, Calderside Academy and John Ogilvie High School attended an introduction to Equality at Hamilton Town Hall where Ruth McQuaid gave a talk on hate crime. Simon Cameron, Organisational Development and Diversity Adviser for South Lanarkshire Council showed the “ It gets Better” DVD which highlights issues surrounding sexual orientation. Pupils attended workshops highlighting all the protected characteristics and they were challenged and inspired by equality themed drama productions by pupils from St Andrews and St Brides High Schools and by a presentation from Alison Mechan, development officer from South Lanarkshire council on famous artwork which has promoted equality.

Ruth McQuaid and Pupils from South Lanarkshire

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The pupils were tasked with creating a piece of artwork which would promote equality and over the winter worked on producing an impressive range of artwork. This was on display at a Holocaust Memorial Event at Calderside Academy on 22 January 2013, attended by the Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland QC and Ruth McQuaid. They were introduced to Mr Harry Bibring, a Holocaust survivor

L to R: Isobel MacDougall, Mr Bibring and The Lord Advocate

They later joined Isobel MacDougall, Head of Education, South Lanarkshire Council, Councillor McLachlan and Alice Jacobs, an established artist, to judge the 28 pieces of artwork.

L to R: Isobel MacDougall, Pamela McDaide Quality Improvement Officer ,Education Resources, South Lanarkshire Council, Lord Advocate, Alice Jacobs and Ruth McQuaid

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The winners were announced on 28 February with Jack Gault, aged 14, from John Ogilive High School winning first prize for his artwork entitled “ True Nationality is Mankind,” an impressive 3D cast of his body which he had covered in news headlines covering significant historical events related to Equality such as Martin Luther King’s fight for racial equality in America.

L to R: Lord Advocate, Jack Gault and Ruth McQuaid

Second prize was won by Nathalie Seagrave from John Ogilvie High School for her stunning photograph entitled “Colours do not Divide” and Eliot Veitch from Biggar High School was third with his stunning sculpture entitled “ Peace and unity”.

Nathalie Seagrave with her entry Elliot Veitch

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The Lord Advocate said:

“Using art to convey powerful messages of equality, tolerance and respect is a wonderful way of communicating such a message”

The Lord Advocate has arranged for the winning entry to be displayed at the Scottish Parliament for a limited period in November 2013.

Isobel MacDougall, Head of Education, South Lanarkshire Council said: “The project captured the imaginations of all involved and all expressed their views extremely well through their art. The project successfully raised awareness of what young people can and should do to combat inequality of any kind in our community.”

L to R: Isobel MacDougall, Councillor McLachlan, Jack Gault, Lord Advocate and Alice Jacobs

Speaking out against InequalityIn 2012, COPFS launched it’s first public speaking competition in Glasgow to raise awareness of issues of equality and diversity, highlight the dangers of hate crime and to encourage young people to consider a career as a prosecutor.

The second Glasgow public speaking competition concluded on 24 April 2013 with Aislinn Manzi and Shannon Neill from St Paul’s High school claiming the winner’s

medals in a high quality debate judged by the Solicitor General Lesley Thomson QC, John Dunn, Procurator Fiscal for West Scotland and Amel Elfallah, Senior Procurator Fiscal Depute, Economic Crime Unit. The topic for the final was “Freedom of Speech is more than a right to say whatever you want”.

L to R: Shannon Neill and Aislinn Manzi

Lesley Thomson QC, said:“I am delighted that following the success of last year’s competition this has now become an annual event and we will be hosting other similar competitions throughout Scotland.The competition has also exemplified what can be achieved by different schools, from different parts of the city, with different experiences, and history, coming together for this contest,building up friendships with each other and becoming better public speakers.

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St Paul’s may have been the winners on the night but all of the pupils and teachers and can be proud of their school’s achievements”.

The competition involved 12 schools from across Glasgow and the progression to the final was captured in a short documentary film which COPFS hope to use to promote this event in the future.

Inspired by their colleagues in the West, our East of Scotland Equality Network ran their first Edinburgh Schools Public Speaking Competition in the spring which culminated in a final at Broughton High School. Cameron Downing and Alexander Fraser from Portobello High School secured a well-deserved win.

Above: Cameron DowningBelow: L to R Cameron Downing , Solicitor General and Alexander Fraser

The major aim of this year’s competition was to encourage young people from across the Edinburgh area to discuss and debate real issues that affect them and their peers such as social networking. It is part of the Network’s ongoing commitment to engage the communities of Edinburgh in discussion and debate on diversity and equality issues.

Solicitor General, Lesley Thomson QC, said:“I am delighted that this year the competition has expanded to include pupils from Edinburgh. It is a project that we will continue to support and organise in years to come, both in Edinburgh and in other towns and cities throughout Scotland.”

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The final public speaking competition for 2013 took place in Tayside which concluded in Menziehill High School being declared the winners at an event at their own school in Dundee on 19 June.

L to R: Mary Squair, Graeme McKenzie and Abby Lang

Reaching out to the Isles

Our Procurator Fiscal for Orkney, Sue Foard, helped to organise a ‘Hate Crime’ event in Orkney on 18 April 2013 with the assistance of the local police Community Liaison Officer, Ruth Ross, and the Sheriff Clerk, Gail Edwards. The aim of the event was to reassure the local community that hate crime is taken seriously and to provide advice on the support available to victims of such crimes. Pupils from the local high school at Kirkwall Grammar School were invited to design posters publicising the event while also raising their awareness of such crimes. There was a great response to the competition and after much thoughtful deliberation, 2nd year pupil Samantha Buck’s entry was chosen and copies were posted in various locations around Kirkwall. The event drew interest from local residents and gave Sue the opportunity to tell the local community more about her role as the local fiscal.

In future, we hope that local fiscals like Sue will be able to provide further information to their local communities through a DVD we are currently producing on the role of COPFS. The DVD will feature chapters on issues such as hate crime and deaths and on the support which victims/witness and next of kin can expect to receive when they come into contact with our department. We hope that the DVD will be helpful to communities across Scotland in gaining a greater understanding of the role that COPFS plays in making Scotland a safer place to live.

Winners: Graeme McKenzie and Abby Lang with their teacher Mrs Mary Squair.

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Hate Crime Statistics

A report on Hate Crime in Scotland, 2012-13 was published on June 2013. This brings together figures on race crime, and on crime motivated by prejudice related to religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity. It also includes figures for charges under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012, covering the first 13 months since the introduction of this legislation.The main findings are

• Racial crime is the most commonly reported hate crime, with more than twice the number of charges in 2012-13 than the other four categories of hate crime combined. However the total of 4,012 race related charges reported in 2012-13 represents a decrease of 12% compared with the figure for 2011-12, and is the lowest figure since 2003-04.

• For the first time, sexual orientation aggravated crime was the second most common type of hate crime, with 729 charges reported in 2012-13, an increase of 12% compared to 2011-12.

• There were 687 charges with a religious aggravation reported in 2012-13, 24% fewer than in 2011-12. The number of charges reported in 2011-12 was particularly high, possibly due to increased awareness, reporting and recording of these crimes, following several incidents which received significant media attention during the year. The number of charges reported in 2012-13 is in line with the levels seen in earlier years.

• The number of charges reported with an aggravation of transgender identity in 2012-13 was 14.

• There were 138 charges reported in 2012-13 with an aggravation of prejudice relating to disability, more than double the number reported in 2011-12.

• Some charges that would previously have been reported with a religious aggravation are now likely to be reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012. Research by the Scottish Government suggests that there were 75 additional charges under this legislation which related to religiously aggravated behaviour. Including both religiously aggravated charges and religious charges under the new legislation therefore implies a total of 762 charges relating to religion in 2012-13, a decrease of 15% compared to 2011-12.

• The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 came into force on 1 March 2012. There were 65 charges reported under Section 1 (Football) in March 2012 and a further 268 charges reported in 2012-13, the first full year of implementation. Five charges were reported under Section 6 (Threatening communications) in March 2012 and a further 20 charges were reported in 2012-13.

COPFS has a robust policy in place in relation to all recognised hate crime offences, with a strong presumption in favour of prosecution where there is enough evidence to secure a conviction.

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Legal Lessons: Hate Crime on trialTwo girls were convicted of a catalogue of racial abuse at a court in Dundee recently. Doubts were raised about the fairness of the trial when it was seen that the jury did not actually discuss the evidence and appeared to have their guilty verdict written out prior to the completion of the trial. And in Edinburgh a jury found the case against a man accused of a racial breach of the peace in an Edinburgh convenience store not proven.

These were not real cases however but a mini trial conducted by pupils of Braeview Academy Dundee, based on a real hate-crime incident and a mock criminal trial conducted by students from state schools across Edinburgh The lead up to the Dundee event involved members of Procurator Fiscal staff watching CCTV footage of the incident and preparing a complaint and scripts for the witnesses. Students were selected and provided with copies. This was followed by visits to the school by COPFS lawyers, police officers and local solicitors, to explain to the students what they all did in relation to hate crime and how a criminal trial worked, explaining how to examine and cross-examine witnesses.

The end result was the mini-trial which took place with the students playing the roles of witnesses, accused and lawyers. They produced a high quality event which entertained and informed their peers about this important issue in an increasingly multi-cultural society.

At the Edinburgh event, pupils aged 15 to 18 years played the roles of Judge, Clerk, prosecution and defence counsel. The scenario involved a racial breach of the peace in a convenience store and gave the pupils the chance to explore issues surrounding racism and disability. As one of the pupils said later, “Very interesting because racism is an issue I feel extremely strongly about”.

The Office of the Advocate General, the Scottish Parliament, the Government Legal Service for Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service collaborated on a week long Law School to give school pupils an opportunity to learn more about the legal profession and how the legal system interacts with all of our daily lives, under the banner of ‘Your Future in Law’. The aim was to encourage pupils from across all communities in Edinburgh and with perhaps no previous links or connections to the legal profession to consider a career in the law. The pupils spent a day at Crown Office learning about various aspects of the prosecutor’s role, from the seizing of assets from organised crime under the proceeds of crime legislation, to the prosecution of a murder.

COPFS also helped to deliver a mock trial event at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. It was a lively process and remarkably realistic, with the Judge in wig and gown and the Clerk and Counsel in gowns. The Clerk also had a silver mace from the reign of Charles II to keep order. Despite oscar winning performances from the two prosecution witnesses, the ‘accused’ stole the show with his performance and just won over the jury, resulting in the ‘not proven’ verdict.

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The Lord Advocate met with the pupils at the end of their week to present them with certificates to mark their completion of the week long course and provided them with an insight into his role

The Lord Advocate with the Pupils

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Wiping out racismWiping out racism in Scotland through education and a changing of attitudes is an ultimate goal however until then, the prosecution of offenders will continue…

Racist and abusive comments: A man was sentenced to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £1,500 compensation for subjecting a family to racist and abusive comments at Waverley Station in Edinburgh. During the tirade of abuse and insults hurled at the family, he suggested they were terrorists and followed them around the station. Following sentencing Fiona Cameron, Procurator Fiscal for Sheriff & Jury, East of Scotland said: “Every man, woman and child has the right to live free from violence, and without fear of humiliation, harassment or abuse, based on prejudice. Nobody wants Scotland to be blighted by a narrow minded and hateful minority”.

Tackling racism at football matches: Prior to their kick-off, Dunfermline Athletic and Cowdenbeath players showed their solidarity for a Scottish Football League Campaign on Anti-Racism by gathering in the centre circle and holding up large Red Cards with the message Kick Racism Out Of Football. A Cowdenbeath supporter was heard to shout a highly offensive racist remark a number of times, seemingly in an attempt to incite other Cowdenbeath supporters to join in with the chant. The man was prosecuted and handed a three month Football Banning Order which prohibits an offender from attending any regulated football match in the UK for a prescribed period. This offence was one of a number tackled by the three COPFS Football Liaison Prosecutors (FLPs) in Scotland. FLPs ensure that there is a consistent and robust response to offences such as this. Prosecutors are successfully using this legislation to tackle football related violence and disorder.

Threatening to blow up a mosque: A man who threatened to blow up Glasgow’s Central Mosque was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment. The man entered the mosque in the south side of Glasgow and shouted racial abuse and implied he had a bomb in the backpack he was wearing. He also shouted that he had a gun and threatened to shoot those near him. John Dunn, Procurator Fiscal for West of Scotland, commented: “Hopefully this conviction and sentencing will encourage the public to report all hate crimes to the police. They can have the confidence that all such crimes will be investigated carefully and prosecuted robustly.”

Critical Friends of COPFSEstablished in June 2003, our Equality Advisory Group (EAG) is made up of external independent experts from a variety of backgrounds, each with a special interest in one or more areas of equality and inclusion – age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, religion and belief, and sexual orientation.

The EAG meets regularly in order to discuss and advise COPFS on policy and practice relating to service delivery and employment matters so that COPFS can treat all of Scotland’s communities with fairness and in accordance with their needs.

The chair of the group, Dr Marsha Scott, recently described the shared goal of the EAG and COPFS:

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“Mainstreaming of equality requires culture changethroughout all levels of an organisation, and that scale of change requires a systematic, sustained, and evidenced effort that delivers system change. The Equality Advisory Group is committed to helping COPFS deliver that level of change.”

In 2013, the EAG will be focusing on three strategic topics for COPFS: • domestic abuse, • victims and witnesses and • COPFS workforce strategy

If you have any issues about how COPFS delivers any of its services, and would like to work with the EAG to improve service delivery, please email DiversityTeam@copfs.gsi.gov.uk. If you would like to learn more about the EAG, you can view the minutes of their meeting on the COPFS website.

Religion and belief

COPFS is keen to network with religious organisations across Scotland such as the opportunity given to Ruth McQuaid, Equality Champion and Chris Macintosh the COPFS Ambassador for Religion and Belief who were guests of the Scottish Muslim Police Association at the annual Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan fasting period) Dinner in Dundee.

The Scottish Police Muslim Association (SPMA) is an organisation dedicated to supporting muslim police officers and staff and existing as a bridge between the police service and muslim communities. The SPMA aims to support the development of programmes that engage with young people, to promote a more accurate and positive image of Islam through the force and also to support the recruitment of people from faith communities into the service.

Networking events such as these give COPFS representatives the opportunity to hear directly from groups like the New To Islam (NTI) group, a charity which aims to help and support New Muslims or converts to Islam.

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COPFS remains top 100 UK employer

Stonewall Scotland has named COPFS as the ‘Top Public Sector Employer’ in Scotland. As well as receiving this distinction, COPFS has also remained in the Top 100 UK Employers for 2013; we leaped 26 places to number 45. COPFS Equality Champion Ruth McQuaid said: “Our rise from number 71 to 45 gives a clear message that COPFS is continually working to review its policies, processes and practices for both LGBT staff and victims/witnesses.”

David Casey who leads the Proud in COPFS network also commented: “I am personally and professionally delighted with this outcome. Receiving this award sends out a clear message to the LGBT community that COPFS is an organisation which values and respects all. Our achievements with the Workplace Equality Index are a clear measure of how well we are progressing. As we progress through 2013, our staff network plans to heighten awareness of LGBT issues in the workplace through reverse mentoring.”

COPFS will continue to work with Stonewall Scotland to raise awareness of LGBT issues within the workplace and the wider community which we serve.

L to R: Amanda Turner, Colin MacFarlane, Stonewell Reps, Ruth McQuaid and David Casey at the event in London.

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Pride Scotia Welcomes COPFS.

Gertie Wallace and Morag McLintock, represented COPFS at the Health and Community Fair at Pride Scotland on 13 June. Pride is Scotland’s annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride celebration. The day starts with a march through Edinburgh city centre followed by live entertainment and the fair.

Gertie and Morag manned the COPFS stall and armed with some promotional jelly beans and some COPFS pens and leaflets. They chatted to passersby about the work COPFS has been engaged in over the past few years to be recognised as an inclusive employer. One visitor to the stall who knows all about what we have been doing is Colin MacFarlane, Director of Stonewall Scotland who popped over from his stall to say hello.

Colin MacFarlane, Director of Stonewall, Scotland

They also took the opportunity to visit a number of other stall holders and to learn more about organisations such as Gay Men’s Health and HIV Scotland.

Gertie and Morag were able to reassure visitors about COPFS’s zero tolerance prosecution policy for hate crimes motivated by prejudice, whether on grounds of sexual orientation or transgender identity and were also able to advise them on the latest hate crime statistics and the fact that we work with organisations such as Stonewall and LGBT Youth to reduce incidents of hate crime. We are encouraged at the increase in victims who are willing to report such crimes and we take opportunities such as the Pride Scotia event to reassure the LGBT community that we will deal sensitively with their complaints.

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Domestic Abuse

Ruth McQuaid joined a delegation of dedicated domestic abuse staff within COPFS who attended the Scottish Woman’s Aid conference in Edinburgh on 5th February. The team heard an excellent presentation from Professor Rachel Pain from Durham University on her research “ Everyday Terrorism: Domestic Abuse and the Politics of Fear”. She highlighted how public safety is seriously undermined by domestic abuse and that if we understand domestic abuse as being “everyday terrorism” then it would allow those working in this arena to perform more effectively. Her presentation was followed by Chief Constable Stephen House from Police Scotland who outlined the priority which the new Force will give to domestic abuse under his leadership. The conference was a timely opportunity for our staff as it took place during the consultation period on our new Domestic Abuse Protocol. A wide range of organisations have been invited to comment on the new protocol which sets out agreed practice between COPFS and Police Scotland on how we tackle domestic abuse.

Ruth McQuaid with other COPFS members – L to R Lindsey Armstrong, Maura Lynch, Kate Hart and Lisa McCloy.

Customer care

In June 2013, COPFS launched a new dedicated Customer Care Unit, designed to improve how we deal with feedback from our customers on the service they have received from us. The Customer Care Unit will also handle all requests for information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and subject access requests under the Data Protection Act 1998. The unit includes our national Enquiry Point which provides a telephone information service for COPFS customers. You can view a copy of our updated Customer Feedback Policy online at www.copfs.gov.uk or contact the Enquiry Point on 0844-561-3000.

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TranslationsPlease email Media Relations if you would like this publication in another language, audio, large print or in electronic or other format.

The languages available in translation are:

• Arabic• Cantonese• Farsi• French

• Punjabi• Kurdish Surani• Mandarin• Polish

• Russian• Urdu• Scottish Gaelic

Editor: Nancy Darroch

Outreach was produced by the COPFS Equality Implementation Group. If you have any comments on content for the Group please send them to: equalityfeedback@copfs.gsi.gov.uk headed ‘Outreach’