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Procurator Fiscal (Scotland)
Procurators fiscal are legally qualified civil servants who are responsible for investigating and prosecuting crime throughout Scotland.
They decide whether or not to instigate criminal proceedings.
They prosecute some cases themselves.
Procurators fiscal and their deputes normally work normal office hours, 37 hours a week. In addition, they are on an ‘on-call’ rota which means they can be called out in the evenings and at weekends.
They are based in one of 49 district offices, but travel to different courts and to scenes of crime.
Salaries start from £18,963 and the highest salaries can be as much as £50,651.
A procurator fiscal should be:
interestedin law
confident and well organised
able to take in and analyse large amounts of information
a logical thinker
able to explain things clearly in speech and writing.
There are approximately 335 procurators fiscal and deputes. There is a limited number of vacancies.
All procurators fiscal are qualified as solicitors in the Scottish legal system. For this, they need an LLB degree in Scottish Law. A less common route is to complete three years’ pre-diploma training and pass the exams of the Law Society of Scotland. All trainees must then take a 26-week full-time postgraduate course leading to the Diploma in Legal Practice, followed by two years working as a trainee solicitor.
Procurator fiscal deputes work under guidance from senior colleagues, gaining experience during a 1 year probationary period.
