Scotland
Criminal investigation in Scotland
The police investigate and report; the prosecution service directs, and also investigates deaths and allegations against police itself.
Facts verified:
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COPFS states that its role in the justice process includes the processing of reported crimes and the preparation of criminal cases for court. Investigation is reported to the prosecutor, and the decision on what happens next is the prosecutor's.
Two categories of investigation are conducted by the prosecution service rather than reported to it: deaths, which COPFS investigates on behalf of the Lord Advocate, and criminal allegations against on-duty police officers.
Sources
Sources
About COPFS — Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (Scotland) · Government publication · link verified 2026-09-18
SCOPE: COPFS's own account of its remit. The service's about page, read directly. Supports that it describes itself as “Scotland's prosecution service and death investigation authority”; that death investigations are conducted by COPFS on behalf of the Lord Advocate and cover all sudden, suspicious, accidental and unexplained deaths; and that it has a role in investigating criminal allegations against on-duty police officers. The combination of prosecution, death investigation and police-conduct investigation in one service is what this source establishes; it establishes nothing about how any of them is conducted.