This page explains where we might come into contact with you at the different stages of the justice process.
Arrest referral
We provide arrest referral services. Arrest referral is close-knit support and guidance for people when they are arrested and admitted to police custody.
We assess people’s needs and can refer them to other services where there are issues related to housing, mental health, welfare, substance misuse and employment.
Diversion from prosecution
Diversion from prosecution is an option for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) when it receives a report of alleged offending from the police.
Diversion from prosecution may be offered when the defendant has a clear issue to resolve (such as drug or alcohol dependency) and that prosecution is not the most useful path forward.
Diversion schemes provide an opportunity for those accused of relatively minor offences to be dealt with outwith the court system. It aims to prevent people entering the criminal justice system, to stop the cycle of offending and to address any underlying factors that a person may be struggling with at that time.
The COPFS refers an accused person to us for help and support (including treatment) to help them remove the issues that led to them offending in the first place and to stop it happening again.
Bail
If you are granted bail, conditions will be put in place of things you must/must not do) or you will be remanded in custody (go to prison). We will support you to keep to your bail conditions.
Bail supervision
Bail supervision is a social work (or sometimes voluntary sector) service that supports people to keep to the conditions of their bail and keep them in the community safely.
It provides a safe and reliable alternative to being held in custody for people who are accused or convicted of an offence(s) but may need support to keep to their bail conditions.
If the Court decides that you will need bail supervision, you must meet with a bail supervisor at set times per week, and this will be closely monitored to make sure that you are attending those meetings as well as keeping to the conditions of your bail.
The aims of supervision are to:
- Provide support to people in the community, which reduces the impact on them, their families, their employment and housing arrangements.
- Create positive outcomes for people and their families, while considering the needs and impact on others including victims, children, family, and community members
- Support and monitor compliance with bail conditions and the overall Court process.
Fiscal Work Orders
The Procurator Fiscal can impose a Fiscal Work Order (FWO) instead of going ahead with a prosecution. You could be asked to complete between 10 and 50 hours of unpaid work in the community within six months. If the hours are not completed, then your case might still be prosecuted.
You have to agree to a Fiscal Work Order being imposed.
At court
If you plead guilty, or are found guilty, of an offence at court, a Sheriff or Judge might ask for a Justice Social Work Report (JSWR) to be prepared for sentencing.
This report will used to help guide your sentencing and make recommendations on which of the different community-based sentences may be the most appropriate.
This will be needed if you are under 21 years of age, you already have a legal order or have any other issues which your solicitor may highlight such as poor mental health. Depending on the type of offence, we will have between four to six weeks to complete this.
Find out more about attending a criminal court.
After sentencing
Once you have been sentenced (or instead of a sentence in the case of Fiscal Work Orders) you will either have a community disposal or custody. This means that you will either serve a community-based sentence or you may be sent to custody (go to prison). We will support you with any community-based sentence.
Community Payback Orders
(CPO) come with different conditions as set by the Parole Board of Scotland. There are 10 requirements that can be included in a CPO, including supervision, unpaid work, compensation and attendance at drug or alcohol treatment.
A CPO will include the selection of requirements that best fit with the person's needs and their ability to carry out any unpaid work requirement. It will include either one or both of supervision and unpaid work.
Supervision involves regular contact with a social worker, to support you to stop any offending behaviour and to help you make constructive life changes.
Unpaid work involves carrying out work to the benefit of the local community and/or learning new skills. It allows you to make amends for the impact of your offending and repair the harm caused by your actions.
Hours can be:
- 20 - 100 hours (Level 1) to be completed within three months
- 101 - 300 hours (Level 2) to be completed within six months
This is chosen at court, and it must be started within seven days of the court’s decision being made.
CPOs also allow a proportion (30% or a maximum of 30 hours) of the unpaid work hours to be used for therapeutic groupwork/programme or vocational learning.
A CPO will normally be made for between six months and three years. There is no minimum age requirement for a person to receive a CPO, except for unpaid work or other activity, in which case the person must be aged 16 or above.
You must agree to the conditions of a CPO as a sentence and complete it or an alternative sentence will be made. This may be to vary the order, or it may change to a prison sentence, so it is important that you follow the programme set for you.
Progress reviews
The Sheriff may impose regular progress reviews at court to ensure that you are engaging with us and sticking to the conditions of their order. We will need to report on how you are progressing.
Public Protection Team
We provide a statutory service to males aged 16 years and over who are subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
This includes people who have been convicted of sexual offences and high-risk violent offences. Due to the nature of offences, we often work with people who have been sentenced to custody and are subject to Licence Conditions as set out by the Parole Board of Scotland.
We also supervise people subject to Community Payback Order with various requirements. We work closely with our colleagues across the council, and with Police Scotland, Angus Health and Social Care Partnership, other Social Work Services, and the Tay Project.