Warrants

If the police have enough information to send a report to the Procurator Fiscal (PF)Often just called the Fiscal. The Procurator Fiscal is the public prosecutor in Scotland. The PF is in charge of deciding whether someone should be prosecuted and what court the case  should be heard in. The prosecution has the 'burden of proof' which means that they need to present enough evidence to prove 'beyond reasonable doubt' that an accused person is guilty. The PF prosecutes the crime on behalf of the Crown, and makes decisions in the public interest (see below). (see Crown Office), but can’t find the accused person, they can give a report for warrant to the Fiscal.

If the Procurator Fiscal decides there is enough evidence, the PF can go to a Judge and ask that a WarrantA warrant is a document from the court, allowing the police to take certain actions. An arrest warrant allows the police to arrest someone, and take them to court. (a document from the court) is granted to arrest the accused so that they can be brought to court to face the charges.

If the Judge agrees, the warrant will be granted.

These warrants can take different forms; some will be for Scotland only, which means the person can be arrested anywhere in Scotland. Others will be for the whole of the United Kingdom, which means if they are found anywhere in the UK, they will be arrested, and brought back to Scotland to go to court.