Sheriff officer (scotland) Job Information | National Careers Service

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Sheriff officer (scotland)

Hours

37-40 per week
Starting salary

£12,000 + per year

The work

Sheriff officers are officers of the courts in Scotland, however they are not civil servants. They provide their services to everyone who has gone to court and requires an act of citation (service) or diligence (enforcement) in a civil case. Their nearest equivalent in Engalnd and Wales is to the county court bailiffs. Messengers-at-Arms in Scotland do similar work to High Court Enforcement Officers in England and Wales.

Your duties in this job might include:

writing to debtors to ask for payment
talking to debtors and arranging for them to repay in instalments
serving court papers such as writs and summonses
offering money management advice
repossessing goods and property
arranging for recovered goods to be sold at auction
keeping accurate records and being responsible for any money and goods recovered.

Sheriff officers work for the civil courts and hold a ‘commission’ to work in a particular region, while messengers-at-arms can travel anywhere in Scotland to enforce orders of the Court of Session. Collectively they are known as ‘officers of court’.

Hours

You would work around 37 to 40 hours a week in a full-time job. You must be flexible in your working hours, and be able to cover early morning, evenings and weekends. Part-time work is possible.

You would have an office base but you would spend most of your time travelling to visit debtors. The job often involves lifting and carrying goods.

Income

Training salaries can be between £12,000 and £16,000 a year
Qualified sheriffs officers usually earn around £26,000 a year, with £28,000 for messengers-at-arms.

Many firms pay a basic salary plus some form of commission or incentive payment to boost earnings.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You would usually start as a witness to a sheriff officer. To be commissioned as a sheriff officer you must be 20 years old or over, with at least three years' training with an officer of court. You must also pass the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers exam.

You will usually need at least five S grades (1-3) including English and maths to take the sheriff officer exam. Other qualifications or relevant work experience may be accepted – check with the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers.

You could start as a witness to a sheriff officer before you are 20, but you must be at least 20 before you can take the exam and gain the commission. You will also usually need a full clean driving licence and the use of a car for work.

Training and development

You would be trained on the job, through a mixture of working with a qualified officer of court and attending short courses. This normally takes three years.

You can continue with training and development throughout your career, through the continuing professional development (CPD) scheme that the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers provides for its members.

After at least two years' experience as a qualified sheriff officer, you can take a further exam and apply to be commissioned as a messenger-at-arms.

Skills and knowledge

an assertive and confident manner
the ability to deal with people from all backgrounds
tact, diplomacy and good negotiation skills
calmness under pressure, as people may become distressed or aggressive
good judgement
the ability to learn and understand the relevant laws
basic mathematical skills, for calculating repayments with debtors
commercial awareness, for assessing the value of goods
a reasonable level of physical fitness
willingness to work alone or as part of a small team.

More information

Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers (Opens new window)
11 Alva Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4PH
Tel: 0131 225 9110
www.smaso.org

Opportunities

There are about 200 sheriff officers in Scotland, and around 130 of these are also messengers-at-arms. You would be employed by private firms of sheriff officers and messengers-at-arms and be commissioned to work for the courts.

The members list on the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers website is a good place to start to find contacts for possible job vacancies.

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

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Related industry information

Industry summary

The prosecution service is part of the justice sector, which is represented by Skills for Justice Sector Skills Council. It includes: forensic science; police and law enforcement; courts and tribunals; custodial care; community justice; plus fire and rescue services. The sector works to create and maintain a safe, just and stable society. Its purpose is to reduce crime and re‐offending, promote confidence in the criminal justice system, protect people and contribute to the reduction and fear of crime, and support the administration of justice. The sector employs around 600,000 employees in the UK across a range of organisations operating with different remits.

The prosecution service operates in:

Crown Prosecution Service (England and Wales)
Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal (Scotland)
Public Prosecution Service (Northern Ireland)
Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office (remit extends across the UK)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the Government Department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. As the principal prosecuting authority in England and Wales, it is responsible for: advising the police on cases for possible prosecution; reviewing cases submitted by the police; where the decision is to prosecute, determining the charge (in all but minor cases); preparing cases for court; and the presenting cases at court.

Key facts:

In total there are 11,258 people working in prosecution services across the UK, of which:
- over 8,730 are employed by the Crown Prosecution Service, including around 2,800 lawyers
- 323 are employed in Revenue and Customs Prosecution Service
Just over 1.3 million cases are heard in Magistrates’ courts and another 115,000 in Crown Court.
The Crown Prosecution Service consists of 39 offices in England headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor.
67% of the Crown Prosecution Service is female and 12% are from a minority ethnic background.
Women across the justice sector as a whole tend to be concentrated in support roles.

Jobs in the industry range from: Legal trainees, Prosecutors, Caseworkers, Administrators, Crown Advocates, Witness Care Officer, Associate Prosecutor.

National and regional data

The East Midlands has 5 CPS Area Offices, which employ 590 full‐time equivalent staff. The five area offices are: Derbyshire; Leicestershire; Lincolnshire; Northamptonshire; and Nottinghamshire.

The East of England has 6 area offices that employ 610 full‐time equivalent staff. The offices are: Bedfordshire; Cambridgeshire; Essex; Hertfordshire; Norfolk; and Suffolk.

London has 2 Area Offices, which together employ approximately 2,160 full‐time equivalent staff, making it the largest CPS region. Additionally, the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office employs 323 staff, which is split between London and Manchester.

The North East has 3 Area Offices, which employ 460 full‐time equivalent staff. The three offices are: Cleveland; Durham; and Northumbria.

The North West has 5 Area Offices that employ 1,240 full‐time equivalent staff. The five offices are: Cheshire; Cumbria; Greater Manchester; Lancashire; and Merseyside. Additionally, the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office employs 323 staff, which is split between London and Manchester. The North West is the second largest region behind London.

The South East has 5 Area Offices that employ 890 full‐time equivalent staff. The five offices are: Hampshire; Kent; Surrey; Sussex; and Thames Valley.

The South West has 5 Area Offices that employ 530 full‐time equivalent staff. The five forces are: Avon and Somerset; Devon and Cornwall; Dorset; Gloucestershire; and Wiltshire.

The West Midlands has 4 Area Offices that employ 870 full‐time equivalent staff. The four offices are: Staffordshire; Warwickshire; West Midlands; and West Mercia.

Yorkshire and Humberside has 4 Area Offices that employ 910 full‐time equivalent staff, the third largest region in England. The four Area Offices are: Humberside; North Yorkshire; South Yorkshire; and West Yorkshire.

The Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPSNI) was formally launched in 2005. The service is regionally based and employs 562 staff, of which 165 are lawyers. There is an expected replacement demand of 25% due to retirements by 2014. The following skill shortages have been identified: provision of experience for prosecutors; management skills for lawyers; potential impact of devolution; and management skills development.

In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) provide independent public prosecution and deaths investigation service. It is a department of the Scottish Government and is headed by the Lord Advocate. The Procurator Fiscal Service is divided into 11 areas, with an Area Procurator Fiscal for each. There is a network of 48 Procurator Fiscal offices, one for each Sheriff Court district. It employs 1,520 staff of which 30% are legal staff. The following skill shortages have been identified: increased partnership working; leadership and management; and keeping up with legislative change.

In Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service employs over 470 full‐time equivalent staff over four Areas Offices, including: Dyfed Powys; North Wales; Gwent; and South Wales.