Under the Right to Information, you are entitled to receive information about your case as it progresses through the different justice agencies. In certain instances, you can also receive information on the release of offenders via the Victim Notification Scheme.

Reporting a crime

If you decide to report a crime, the police will provide you with a victim care card which will acknowledge your complaint in writing and provide you with other useful information.

Further information about how your report will be taken forward can be found in the Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses. You can request a copy from Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service, Scottish Prison Service, and the Parole Board for Scotland; or find it on their websites.

Requesting case-specific information

You have the right to request certain case-specific information from the following authorities, and can make a formal application for this information if this has not been provided to you:

• From Police Scotland – information about a decision not to proceed with a criminal investigation and any reasons for it, and a decision to end a criminal investigation and any reasons for it.
• From the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service – if your case is not prosecuted, you have the right to be told the reasons why and to request a review of this decision.
• From the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service – the dates of any court hearings, the final decision of a court in a trial or any appeal arising from a trial, and any reasons for it.

Information on the release of the offender – Victim Notification Scheme

If the offender has been sentenced to 18 months or more in prison, you can choose whether or not to register with the Victim Notification Scheme.

If you choose to register, and are eligible, contact the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service who will give you a form to complete and an envelope to send it to the Scottish Prison Service.

The scheme allows you to receive information from the Scottish Prison Service about the offender’s release, date of death within prison, transfer outwith Scotland, eligibility for temporary release, escape and return to prison.

Victim Support Scotland can help you to register for the Victim Notification Scheme.