Scottish Crime Recording Standard: Crime Recording and Counting Rules

Section B – Whether and when to record

Incident Recording – Compliance with SCRS

Incident compliance with SCRS is assessed on whether an incident recorded on the relevant Command and Control system provides a clear narrative to either dispel or confirm criminality. A "record to investigate" approach should be applied in support of a victim-centred service.

In the main, incidents reported to the police as crimes will result in a corresponding crime report(s) being created. On occasions an incident initially reported to the police may not appear to be crime related, however, following further enquiry criminality may be identified. It is important that the content of an incident provides,

• an overview of the details of the initial call
• any update on the initial report
• any action taken, and
• the outcome.

Where evidence subsequently emerges to contradict that a crime has occurred, prior to an incident reaching a conclusion, the incident must be updated accordingly.

The following provides a brief synopsis of what is required to ensure incident compliance with SCRS.

• Incident disposals must make a clear distinction which identifies the incident as a crime or a non-crime e.g. on STORM an SC01 disposal code indicates the incident has resulted in a Crime/Offence having been identified.
• Conflict between the opening and closing narratives must be fully explained. Any credible evidence which contradicts the original report must be clearly outlined. When an incident at the outset infers a crime or apparent criminal activity, and subsequent Police attendance and investigation into the circumstances confirms that no crime under Scots Law or offence under statute was committed, or there was insufficient information to confirm a crime, the incident must be clearly updated with a satisfactory narrative which eliminates any inference of criminality and fully justifies a non-crime disposal.
• “VPD submitted”, “reported for information only”, “no complaint” or “advice given” are not considered suitable incident narrative disposals where there is inference of criminality.
• Where victim refuses to make complaint, or, wishes to advise Police of the crime “for information only”, there is still a requirement for a crime to be recorded.
• Where no judgement can be made due to a potential victim being drunk or otherwise impaired, the incident must be followed up when the person is in a fit state. Incidents must not be closed "pending further call from victim" or that an officer will follow up later without a clear update to confirm the disposal as a crime or non-crime.
• When it cannot be confirmed whether any crime has occurred on officers attending, the incident must be deferred for further enquiry to be made, and the incident updated appropriately prior to final disposal.
• The crime reference number must be added to the corresponding incident when a crime report is raised, to provide a clear audit trail between the two systems.
• Linked incident records are created when more than one report is received about the same incident and rather than replicate the text on the entire linked incident records they are cross-referenced on the incident recording system. It is important to check that the main incident has been correctly finalised.
• Reports of a crime received from, or on behalf of, someone who is suffering from a mental health condition and either insufficient information has been provided to initially record a crime, or, whilst having provided an initial report of a crime, it was felt their condition was such that it was unclear whether the incident(s) had occurred, then pro-active attempts to follow up such reports should be done as soon as reasonably practicable. The complainer should not be left to re-contact the police at a later date to report the incident(s). Crime related incidents involving persons lacking capacity should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and reference should be made to the section within this manual covering ‘Crime Related Incidents Involving Persons Lacking Capacity’.
• Where sufficient information has been provided in relation to a sexual crime, creation of the crime report must not be delayed by awaiting the statement from the victim by a Sexual Offences Liaison Officer.
• Where an initial report is received which indicates that a crime may have occurred and the victim is not immediately available to confirm details sufficient to record a crime, reasonable attempts must be made to make contact with the victim in order to obtain these details before the incident can be closed. The incident log must be fully updated to document the number of attempts made.
• Lost property or civil matter decisions, rather than criminal, must be accompanied by the full rationale for this decision on the incident/crime report.
• Hit and Run type collision incidents are required to be raised and fully updated to dispel any criminality inferred (e.g. damage so minor in nature driver unaware of collision), however if unable to dispel initial criminality a crime report must be raised to facilitate any necessary enquiry. There is no requirement to wait 24 hours to establish if the offending driver reported the collision prior to recording a crime.
• Crime related incidents occurring within schools can only be dealt with by the school as outlined within the ‘Incidents on School Premises’ section of this manual.

Recording a Crime

The degree to which Police Scotland investigate an initial report from a victim, or person reasonably assumed to be acting on behalf of the victim, to establish whether a crime has occurred or not will vary with the circumstances of the report. Such investigation may range from questioning over the telephone when the initial report is made, to fuller investigation of the circumstances surrounding the allegation. However, it is envisaged such further investigations, to facilitate the crime recording decision, would be the exception, not the norm.

Minimum Information Required to Record

Whilst it is difficult to be absolute, the minimum level of information required to raise a crime report is as follows:

• An approximate date/date range;
• An approximate locus; and
• If an MO can be established (to ascertain crime type).

Where a decision is made to delay the recording despite having what would be deemed appropriate information to record, this must be made clear and sufficiently justified on the incident recording system.

Parents, Carers and Professional Reports

Where reports are received by individuals acting in a professional capacity or parents/carers acting as a guardian or responsible adult reporting crime on behalf of/in the best interests of another they should be regarded as acting on behalf of a victim.

Where there is no doubt as to their status and/or position or the veracity of their report, those reports must be recorded as crimes. Recording should occur regardless of whether the victim has given their permission for the reporting individual to speak to the police and irrespective of whether the victim subsequently confirms that a crime has occurred.

Where a decision is taken not to record a crime being reported, possibly due to there being concerns around the veracity of the report, there must be justification for this decision.

Timeliness of Recording

In all cases, where a crime is made known to the police, by any means, a crime report must be recorded as soon as reasonably practicable. The importance of ensuring that crime reports are submitted as soon as possible is paramount to ensuring the victim's needs are met and the relevant information is available for allocation of enquiry, assessment, statistical and analytical purposes. An incident will be recorded as a crime if, the circumstances amount to a crime as defined by Scots Law or an offence under statute and there is no credible evidence to the contrary.

All crimes must be recorded as soon as reasonably practicable and within a period of 72 hours from the time the incident is first notified. In most cases this will result in details of the reported crime being submitted to the crime system prior to termination of duty. If no crime is recorded within 72 hours the reason for the delay must be fully explained and justified within the incident log. In exceptional circumstances a maximum of 7 days is permitted to take into account situations outwith Police control.

Recording should not be delayed in order to wait for further details of the case, including the likelihood of obtaining a detection. Where sufficient information has been provided in relation to a sexual crime, creation of the crime report must not be delayed by awaiting the statement from the victim by a Sexual Offences Liaison Officer.

Additional crimes made known to Police during the investigation of lengthy enquiries must be recorded as soon as reasonably practicable following notification to Police.

Additional Reports of Crime

Where a complainer reports that the same crime has occurred in the past, or has also happened to a neighbour, these additional reports should be followed up and additional crimes recorded where appropriate.

For example - a report of vandalism to a vehicle is received where the complainer also advises that it appears their neighbour's vehicle was also damaged. A crime should be recorded for the initial vandalism reported and enquiry made in respect of the information regarding the neighbour's vehicle, with an outcome of either a further crime being recorded or justification on the incident as to why no crime is being recorded.

Amendment of Crime Type

Where a crime type has been amended on a crime report, particularly if a crime is being upgraded or downgraded, the rationale must be noted on the crime report to justify the decision made, thereby providing an audit trail. The Crime Registrar will determine whether a crime should be recorded and/or the appropriate crime classification where there is uncertainty.

Uncooperative Complainers

It is not uncommon for someone to report a crime to the police and to then refuse to engage with an investigation. This happens in relation to all crime types, but appears particularly common for victims of sexual crime who can sometimes lose confidence following the initial report and become reluctant to engage with the police. In such cases, a crime should be recorded where there is sufficient information to do so, and an uncooperative tag should be assigned. Only where a complainer freely retracts their initial report and no crime has occurred can such incidents be closed without a crime report.

Visual Recording Systems

Where officers can identify the persons involved from an image or it is appropriate to carry out further enquiry to identify the persons and, on the balance of probabilities, the officer believes that a crime has occurred, an investigation should be considered and a crime recorded. Where the basis for recording the crime is based solely on visual recording evidence, it is important that the provenance of the recording can be established. It is not the intention of the SCRS to record as crimes all incidents that could be construed as crimes when viewed remotely. For example, where, as a result of events, police officers attend the scene of a disturbance but all parties have left, this should be recorded as an incident only rather than as a recorded crime.

Age of Criminal Responsibility

Where children below the age of criminal responsibility are reported as having been involved in criminal behaviour a crime must be recorded. A recorded crime committed by a child of non-age may be shown as detected if there would have been a sufficiency of evidence to have reported the child by SPR had they been over the age of criminal responsibility. In these circumstances the sufficiency of evidence must be documented on the crime report. The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 which commenced on 17 December 2021 increased the age of criminal responsibility from 8 to 12.

Admission by Offender

Where an offender admits to committing a crime and there is no confirmation of that crime having occurred, no crime report should be recorded unless other evidence of the crime exists.

Date Made Known for Statistical Purposes

Sources of crime reports are many and varied, originating with members of the public and police officers alike. The police will record crimes made known to them regardless of when they occurred. The timing of a recorded crime, for statistical purposes, should relate to the date it is recorded on the crime recording system e.g. a crime committed in September, but reported to the police and recorded as a crime in October, should be included in the recorded crime statistics for October.

Non-Recent Crimes

In circumstances where a victim discloses a further non-recent crime to Police over and above crimes which were previously recorded and investigated, where the further crime is undated and would have been incorporated within the crimes already recorded if disclosed at the earlier time, a new crime must be recorded.

Example 1

A crime is reported in 1991 and was recorded on the crime recording system at that time as undetected, however, further information has come to light which enables the crime to be re-investigated and reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

- A crime report should be created on the present crime system which would enable the detection to be counted.

Example 2

A crime is reported in 1991 and was recorded on the crime recording system at that time and was detected, although no proceedings were taken at that time by the Procurator Fiscal. Further information has come to light which enables the crime to be re-investigated and the Procurator Fiscal has requested a report be submitted for consideration of criminal proceedings.

- No crime should be created on the present crime recording system as it would have been counted as a recorded and detected crime at that time.

Example 3

A complainer advises that they reported a crime in 1991 however due to changes to crime recording systems no trace of this report can be found.

- A crime should be recorded on the present crime system.

Points to Consider

Establishing the Locus

Where the Location of a Crime is Unknown

In the vast majority of cases the location of a crime will be apparent or can be established by reference to the counting rules within Annexes 1 to 7 of this document. In circumstances where the location of a crime is unknown or cannot be established by reference to the counting rules the following should be considered:

• Where, on the balance of probability, the crime could reasonably have occurred.
• Where the offender would reasonably be expected to be at the time of the crime e.g. home address.
• If at the time of the report the location of the offender and victim cannot be determined, then the crime may be recorded as having occurred at the victim's home address.

Theft in Transit

All reports of Theft in Transit (other than by air or sea) will be recorded as a crime at the point of departure unless there is evidence the theft occurred at a specific location.

Please see Section 'F' in relation to crimes committed in the air and at sea, and outside the jurisdiction of Police Scotland.

Locus for Communication Type Offences

Where ‘A’ reports receiving a threatening communication (e.g. phone/internet/social media) the locus will initially be recorded where the call is received (as this is where it can be evidenced as occurring at that stage). Only if enquiry confirms the specific location where the communication was made from can the locus be amended to ‘where made from’ e.g. confirmation that call made by landline, admission by accused.

This is also the case in respect of the locus for other offences which take place over the phone/internet/social media etc. e.g. extortion, sexual crime.

Where the communication is confirmed as having been sent from outwith the UK, the crime must remain recorded with the locus being ‘where received’.

Where the communication is confirmed as having been sent from a specific location elsewhere in the UK, only where the relevant Force accept the transfer of the crime can the crime be updated to ‘No Crime’.

Online Child Sexual Abuse Activist Groups

In circumstances where a suspect commits an offence by communicating with a person or group of persons purporting to be a child under controlled conditions the locus will be as follows:

• If a meeting takes place the locus will be where the meeting takes place.
• If arrangements are made to meet and no meeting takes place the locus will initially be recorded where the suspect would reasonably be expected to be at the time of the crime e.g. home address.
• Where a sexual communication offence e.g. communicating indecently, cause to view sexual image has occurred, the locus will initially be recorded where the suspect would reasonably be expected to be at the time of the crime e.g. home address.
• If during the course of the investigation a specific locus is identified the crime will be updated to the correct locus.
• If there is sufficient evidence to report an offender for having made the communication but insufficient evidence to determine where the communication was made from, the locus will be where the communication can be evidenced as having been received.

Crimes Committed Elsewhere in the UK

Where a crime is reported where there is either a direct interaction between the victim and suspect at the time the crime is committed, or where the victim is not present but a clear locus for a crime such as theft or vandalism can be identified, a crime report should be raised to record the full details with the locus being where the crime took place. This should then be forwarded to the relevant Force for recording. Once the receiving Force confirm they have recorded the crime and advise a reference number the Police Scotland crime report can be closed with the ‘No Crime’ disposal code.

Crime Committed Outwith the UK

Where a crime is reported where there is a direct interaction between the victim and suspect at the time the crime is committed which occurs outwith the UK, a crime should not be recorded unless the circumstances meet provisions within Scots Law for consideration of that crime to be prosecuted in Scotland.

Crimes Committed Remotely

It should be noted that crimes committed remotely e.g. online Fraud, communications offences, sending sexual images, and other cyber related crime should continue to be recorded in accordance with the Scottish Crime Recording Standard. These crimes can only be updated as having been transferred to another UK Force where the receiving Force accept ownership, record the crime and forward the corresponding reference number. If the locus for a remote crime is confirmed as having occurred outwith the UK and the victim was in Scotland at the time of the offence, the crime will remain recorded by Police Scotland with a Scottish locus.

National Crime disposals of “Undetected – Suspect Elsewhere UK” or “Undetected – Suspect Outwith UK” should be used where the crime remains recorded by Police Scotland.

Crimes Committed Offshore

Where the locus of a crime is offshore, this should be recorded in the waters nearest to the Division where the crime takes place, which may not necessarily be the same Division who will be undertaking enquiry.

Crimes Committed against Victims in Scotland Where Suspect is Outside Scotland

In circumstances where a victim is in Scotland at the time a crime is committed and the suspect is determined to be outside Scotland a crime will be recorded and retained by Police Scotland unless the location is established as being elsewhere in the UK and ownership is accepted by another UK Force. If crime transfer is accepted by another UK Force and crime reference number provided the crime report may be updated to ‘No Crime’. If crime transfer is not accepted the recorded crime will be retained by Police Scotland.

Example 1

While victim ‘A’ is in Scotland they are defrauded of money by means of bank transfer and a crime of Fraud is recorded. Enquiry determines a home address of suspect in Wales and Welsh Force accept the crime transfer.

- The recorded Fraud should be updated to ‘No Crime’ and a ‘No Crime – Other UK’ disposal applied to the crime report.

Example 2

While victim ‘B’ is in Scotland they are sent unwanted sexual images by a person they have befriended on social media and a crime of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. S6 is recorded. Enquiry determines the images were sent from an IP address which is based in Turkey.

- The recorded Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, S6 offence should be retained as a recorded crime by Police Scotland with the locus being where the images were received.

Example 3

While victim ‘C’ is in Scotland they are defrauded of money by means of bank transfer and a crime of Fraud is recorded. The suspect is believed to be somewhere in England but enquiry is unable to determine a locus sufficient to transfer the crime to another Force.

- The recorded Fraud should be retained as a recorded crime by Police Scotland with the locus being the victim’s home address.

Crimes Committed against Scottish Victims who are outside Scotland at the time of the Crime

Provisions within certain pieces of legislation such as Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Section 11, Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, Section 3 and Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, Section 55 allow for specific offences which occur outwith Scotland to be prosecuted in Scotland.

In these circumstances any offences which are recorded for the purpose of reporting an offender to the Procurator Fiscal should be recorded with a locus external to Scotland.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 enacted by the UK Parliament in June 2021 gives the following offences extra-territorial jurisdiction:

• Assault (Common Law)
• Sections 1-4 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009
• Section 39 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (Stalking)

These provisions give Scottish Courts the jurisdiction to hear those cases committed by any UK national anywhere in the world. It does not need to be a domestic offence.

For Assault, the act must constitute a crime in the country outside Scotland and if it had occurred in Scotland, it would constitute the crime of assault.

For the sexual offences, if they commit the act in another country which would be an offence if committed in Scotland, they can be prosecuted here.

For stalking, the conduct should occur outwith the UK, but if it had happened in Scotland would have constituted the crime of stalking.

Example 1

While victim ‘D’ who has a home address in Scotland is on holiday in Spain they purchase property in Spain which they discover is part of a scam and does not exist. They report the matter to Police Scotland when they arrive home.

- No crime should be recorded

Example 2

While victim ‘E’ is on holiday in Spain they are assaulted by a person in their party. Both victim and suspect reside in Scotland. The matter is not reported to local police and is reported to Police Scotland when they arrive home.

- No crime should be recorded however, provisions under Domestic Abuse Act 2021 would give Scottish Courts jurisdiction to hear such a case provided that the circumstances constituted a crime in the country outside Scotland and if it had occurred in Scotland, it would constitute the crime of assault. Any crime recorded for this purpose should have a locus outwith Scotland.

Circumstances Where a Crime May Not Be Recorded

Where No Crime Has Occurred

If an apparent crime related incident proves not to involve criminality, the incident record disposal will clearly depict the circumstances dispelling criminality. If, following the creation of a crime report, subsequent investigation proves that no crime occurred; the crime report will be marked accordingly. A full description of steps taken and the reason behind the change in status will be detailed in the crime report.

Recording on Other Systems (incl. Conditional Offers, Self-Generated Reports etc.)

The exceptions to the Principles are where standing agreement with the Procurator Fiscal or Reporter exist precluding the requirement to raise a crime report. For example, Conditional Offers or Fixed Penalty Notices in relation to moving Road Traffic Offences where these are not always recorded on a crime recording system, although are recorded on an auditable system for statistical purposes.

All incidents coming to the attention of the police will be registered by the creation of a report, which is auditable. This practice will ensure the Service has all available information to hand when determining possible crimes and will allow an audit trail to be created for future audit and inspection purposes. Where a report is recorded as a crime initially and does not require immediate police response (e.g. self-generated reports), it is not always necessary for an incident record to be created. However, where the report is not initially recorded as a crime, an auditable incident record should be registered (whether on the Incident System or some other accessible and auditable means).

Unable to Confirm Details of Initial Report

Where a complainer reports an incident which initially indicates a crime may have occurred, there is insufficient information available to record a “skeleton” crime report and reasonable enquiry has been made to contact the complainer in order to obtain the details of the alleged crime, but without success, no crime report need be created. However, the incident must be endorsed with a record of the attempts made.

Where sufficient detail has been obtained, a crime report must be raised, even though the police have been unable to contact the complainer to obtain further information.

A refusal to provide a statement is insufficient justification to close an incident as a non-crime. If any doubt exists as to the validity of a report, a crime must be recorded unless it can be evidenced that a crime did not occur.

No Victim, Witness etc. Traced

Where there are grounds to suspect that a crime may have taken place but no victim (or person reasonably assumed to be acting on behalf of the victim) can immediately be found or identified, the matter should be recorded as an incident until such time as confirmation of a crime can be ascertained. Where a crime report is not being raised, the auditable incident record must be fully updated to explain the circumstances. If sufficient details are reported by an apparently reliable witness who is of the opinion that a crime has been committed, and no victim can be traced, a crime will be recorded e.g. reliable witness reports one person being assaulted by two others on a public street.

Public Order Incident

In the case of a public order incident where on the arrival of the police there is no continuing disorder and no specific intended victim, the incident will not be routinely recorded as a crime. Reasonable enquiries should be undertaken to identify specific victims and secure any supporting evidence that would enable further police action in terms of arrest or summons. Where enquiries fail to identify any victim or produce supporting evidence, the incident will remain recorded as an incident only. Where police arrive at a scene and witness disorder, they will deal with the matter appropriately and where crimes are apparent, record a crime(s), as required. Where there is no specific intended victim, and where an officer warns an offender to stop the unlawful behaviour and the offender heeds the warning and no further action is taken, no crime report is required.

Anonymous Reports

Anonymous reports of crime must be supported by corroborative evidence prior to the creation of a crime report. Where a victim’s details are withheld from the police the circumstances reported will normally be recorded as an incident only until such times as victim details are made known.

Specialist Reporting Agencies

Over 50 specialist agencies, other than Police, report cases to the Procurator Fiscal where the types of offences can include benefit fraud, illegal dumping of waste and infringement of trading standards. Where another reporting agency has primacy over an investigation and agrees to record, report and conduct an enquiry, there is no requirement for Police to record a crime. In most instances, these Agencies, being specialists in their own areas of expertise will have a statutory duty to investigate and report direct without involving the police.

Agencies do not have full powers to act in all circumstances (e.g. where a member of staff is assaulted), therefore, some incidents may be referred to the Police for a crime report to be raised.

Examples of other reporting agencies include:

• British Telecom
• Department for Transport
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
• Fire and Rescue Service
• Food Standards Agency
• Gangmasters Licensing Authority
• Health and Safety Executive
• HM Revenue and Customs
• Local Authorities
• National Health Service
• Royal Mail
• Trading Standards
• UK Border Agency

Balance of Probability

In all cases where apparent criminal activity is reported, but a crime is not initially recorded, the police would be expected to carry out reasonable enquiries to confirm whether a crime has in fact, on the balance of probability, been committed through seeking confirmation, from the victim, a person reasonably assumed to be acting on behalf of the victim, witnesses or via other supporting evidence. Where this cannot be confirmed, the incident should be endorsed with the enquiries made and for audit purposes, the reason why a crime was not recorded.

Crimes can be made known to the police through a variety of channels. No corroborative evidence is required before a crime report is raised, if on the ‘balance of probability’ a crime has occurred. In most cases, a belief by the victim (or person reasonably assumed to be acting on behalf of the victim) that a crime has occurred will be sufficient to justify its recording as a crime. A crime should be recorded when it is more likely than not that a crime has been committed. The police will determine whether the circumstances, as reported, amount to a crime defined by Scots Law, or an offence under statute.

The fact that a person is drunk or otherwise impaired might have a bearing on the balance of probability issue within the crime recording decision-making process. As a minimum, a crime incident must be recorded and followed up by the police when the person is in a fit state. However, if at the time of reporting supporting evidence exists, a crime should be recorded, regardless of the victim’s condition.

Uncooperative Victims

In circumstances where a person reports that a crime has occurred, and there is sufficient information to confirm, but the victim, witness and/or complainer refuses to co-operate with the police, a crime report will be raised and the appropriate ‘Uncooperative’ tag assigned.

Power of Discretion

The SCRS while laying down a standard for ethical crime recording does not remove a police officer’s power of discretion when dealing with:

• instances of anti-social behaviour
• minor acts of disorder
• minor road traffic violations.

However, there will be occasions when priorities or local initiatives will limit powers of discretion as the police introduce tactical measures to deal with specific local problems or enforce new legislation.

On occasions when a police officer has used their power of discretion to verbally warn in the circumstances highlighted above, there is no requirement for a crime report to be raised. However, the auditable incident record must be fully updated with the circumstances and the rationale for the action being taken. In the use of discretionary powers, the decision must be appropriate to the circumstances and will be subject to scrutiny. Crimes should continue to be recorded in all circumstances where the crime is victim based, e.g. sexual crime, assault, theft, vandalism, hate crime, domestic crime.

Examples where an officer can use discretion:

• Anti-social behaviour;
• Minor acts of disorder e.g. stand up fights where no serious injury is sustained and no party claims to have been assaulted;
• Minor road traffic violations when a police officer has used their power of discretion to verbally warn.
• Where a Roads Policing officer makes a decision to use power of discretion not to issue a Prohibition Notice.

Incidents on school premises

When a minor incident occurring on school premises is reported to the police, including those witnessed by, or reported directly to the police school liaison officers, the officer dealing should, in the first instance, invite the victim or the person acting on their behalf to report the matter to the head teacher to be dealt with under normal school discipline procedures. Such reports should be recorded as an incident only, until or unless:-

• They judge it to be a serious incident*;
• Having brought the matter to the attention of the school, they receive a formal request from the school to investigate; or
• The child, parent or guardian or the child’s representative asks the police to investigate.

The above excludes where the:

• victim or suspect is an adult e.g. teacher
• victim or suspect is not a pupil at the school where the incident has occurred
• incident has occurred on school transport to or from school
• incident has occurred on a school trip
• incident has occurred outwith normal school hours

The term "school premises" includes residential schools, however, the incident must have occurred during normal school hours within the confines of the teaching or recreational area for the above practice to be considered.

A serious incident is one that has led/is intended to lead/is likely to lead/or threatened to lead to serious harm or loss to any school child in the view of the child, parent or child’s representative. Any Assault meeting the definition of Serious Assault should be classed as a serious incident which should be dealt with by police.

Counter Allegations

In circumstances where counter allegations are made, the officer must apply the ‘balance of probability’ test. Consideration should be given to any injuries sustained, who was the initial aggressor and whether the alleged assault was as a result of retaliation, or in justified self-defence. Every case should be judged on its merits and officers do not require to raise crime reports on every occasion where a counter allegation is made. There may be occasions when a decision is made to report the principle perpetrator to the Procurator Fiscal with the circumstances outlined within the Police report, however, this does not in itself provide sufficient justification for not recording a crime should the circumstances be assessed that the principle perpetrator was also assaulted without justification.

Where the decision is made not to raise a crime report, this should be clearly explained on the Command and Control Log and/or initial crime report raised.

Where doubt exists, submit a crime report. Following enquiries, where evidence suggests no assault took place, authority should be sought to have the crime report updated to ‘No Crime’.

Example 1

Police are called to a domestic incident by an anonymous caller regarding a person assaulting their partner. On police attending, both parties are very drunk and aggressive. Both make counter allegations of assault, although no injuries are apparent. A credible third party (in opinion of attending officers) within the house confirms they were shouting at each other but no assault took place. Police speak to both parties in isolation and they agree things got out of hand but neither were assaulted.

- No crime reports for Assault should be raised as there is credible evidence to justify no crime took place. Consideration must be given in relation to the extent of the arguing (e.g. Establish a disorder type crime such as Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 Sec 38). In such a circumstance, it is vital that a detailed disposal is placed on the Command and Control System to explain the rationale behind the circumstances. Assessment of the incident must be thorough to ensure future safety of all parties involved.

Example 2

'A' assaults 'B' and makes a counter allegation that they were assaulted by 'B'. There is evidence that the injuries sustained by 'A' were inflicted by 'B' in self-defence.

- 1 x Assault ('A' assaulting 'B')

Example 3

'A' assaults 'B' and is then subjected to a sustained attack at the hands of 'B'.

- 2 x Assault ('A' was the main instigator and 'B's' retaliation was not justified retaliation or self-defence).

Crime Related Incidents Involving Persons Lacking Capacity

The following guidance should be considered when a crime related incident is reported to the police involving a victim or offender who lacks capacity.

Where a crime is reported, the police have a duty to obtain sufficient information from the victim, or person(s) acting on behalf of that victim, to submit a crime report and investigate where appropriate.

In all cases where a minor crime is reported, e.g. Common Assault, Theft etc. and following enquiries, it becomes apparent that the suspect lacks capacity, supporting evidence (e.g. a statement/document which may be recorded in the police officer’s notebook/mobile device or other related document) should be obtained from a named registered medical practitioner e.g. doctor, with regard to their capacity to having committed that crime. This should be to the effect that the suspect lacks the capacity in acknowledging their actions as defined by the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. This credible evidence confirms there was no criminal intent to support that a crime took place. Therefore, the relevant procedure should be followed to have the crime report updated to ‘No Crime’.

In all circumstances where a serious crime is reported, e.g. Serious Assault, all Sexual Offences etc., and following investigation it becomes apparent that the suspect lacks capacity, the crime will remain recorded and must not be updated to ‘No Crime’. Any additional crime(s) committed at the same time as a ‘serious crime’ must also remain recorded. If a sufficiency of evidence exists, a police report (SPR2) will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal who will make the decision based on the evidence presented, whether or not criminal intent can be proved and if it is in the public interest to proceed with the case. In such cases, the crime report will result in a detected crime. If there is not a sufficiency of evidence the crime will be recorded as undetected.

Crime related incidents reported involving persons lacking capacity should be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the medical evidence presented at the time to determine the aspect of criminal intent. A crime report should be recorded in all cases unless medical evidence obtained from a named registered medical practitioner e.g. doctor, is available from the outset which clearly confirms a lack of criminal intent and the incident is fully updated to this effect.

Where an individual will permanently lack capacity it is sufficient for reference to be made to medical notes by a medical practitioner e.g. nurse, however, in cases where the illness has not been diagnosed as being permanent this must be assessed by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner e.g. doctor.

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking can be understood as the illegal trade and exploitation of human beings. It can take many forms and cover a wide variety of activities but human trafficking always involves either exploitation of a person or the intention to exploit a person. For the purposes of trafficking, a child is any person under 18 years of age. A trafficking victim does not have to cross international boundaries but merely being moved from one place to another within Scotland or the UK for the purpose of exploitation is sufficient.

Crimes reported which occur within Scotland will be recorded in accordance with SCRS. Crimes which have occurred outwith Scotland will not be recorded. In circumstances where the locus of a crime is unknown but is known to have occurred in the UK, the locus will be where it can reasonably be inferred to have occurred. Where on the balance of probability the locus is within Scotland, however, an approximate locus cannot be identified the locus will be where the person has come to the attention of the relevant authorities.

Example 1

A potential victim of trafficking states that they were forced to work in a named restaurant or an unknown restaurant which can be established as being within Scotland, working long hours and with no pay.

- A crime report is required.

Example 2

A potential victim of trafficking states that they were forced to work for no money and in poor conditions at a named or unnamed warehouse in an unknown location overseas.

- No crime report is required.

Example 3

A potential victim of trafficking states that they were forced to work for no money and in poor conditions at a named or unnamed warehouse in the Manchester area.

- No crime report is required. A crime transfer package should instead be sent to the relevant police force for their consideration.

A European Union directive has been ratified by the UK Government for the non-prosecution or non-criminalisation of persons where it can be shown that they were coerced or forced to commit crime through being a victim of trafficking. In these cases liaison with the area Procurator Fiscal will decide whether it is in the "public interest" to continue with the prosecution of a potential victim of trafficking.

Where a person is believed to have been coerced or forced to commit crime this does not negate the requirement to record the crime committed.

Example 4

‘A’ is charged with a Theft by Shoplifting where the enquiry concludes that it is more than likely that they have been the victim of trafficking and the Procurator Fiscal has advised they will not prosecute.

- A crime of Theft by Shoplifting should be recorded and shown as detected (this meets the criteria of a "cleared up" crime due to reporting being considered as inappropriate in line with the EU directive and direction from the Procurator Fiscal).

Crime Occurring in Prisons

Before reporting an incident to the Police, the prison will consider each case to assess whether it can be dealt with by means of the prison adjudication system, which can in some instances provide a relatively quick and cost effective means of dealing with minor crimes in prisons. Where a prisoner has been dealt with by way of the prison adjudication system, this does not remove the ability for the circumstances also to be reported to the Police to be dealt with as a crime.

Some crimes will be so serious that referral to the Police is necessary whilst others may be reported due to aggravating factors. An informed and balanced decision must be taken in making a referral to the Police regarding the appropriate actions for each individual case.

It should be noted where prisoners are detained in State Hospitals that this type of establishment does not meet the definition of a "Prison" per Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989.