Scottish Government
Senior Assistant Statistician
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Job Title: Senior Assistant Statistician
Business Area/Directorate
Justice Analysis and Strategy Division / Safer Communities Directorate
Location
Victoria Quay
Working Arrangement
Staff in roles compatible with hybrid working should aim to spend 40% of their contracted working time working in person at their contractual workplace. More information can be found within Hybrid Working Policy.
Grade
B3
Advert Type
Temporary Promotion
Duration
12 months
Eligibility
Expressions of interest are invited from eligible staff in Bands A - B for this vacancy.
Skilled Worker Sponsorship
Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.
Please note this recruitment campaign is also being run jointly with another B3 TP opportunity in JAS (reference: 3898).
Overview
This role is for a B3 TP Statistician supporting criminal justice reform through data analysis. The main focus of the role is leading a project to assess the impact of pre-recorded evidence on conviction rates, using existing court data and developing new data collection methods. The role also provides analytical support for the implementation and review of the Victims, Witnesses & Justice Reform Act. Additional responsibilities include supporting policy development and quality assuring external research. It involves close collaboration with analysts, policymakers, and external partners in a fast-paced environment.
The successful candidate will be posted in the Criminal Proceedings Team within the Justice Analytical Unit that sits in Justice Analysis and Strategy Division (JAS). They will be directly managed by the C1 statistician that leads the Criminal Proceedings team but will also work closely with the C1 social researcher that leads the Strategic Justice team, that also sits in Justice Analytical Unit.
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Whilst the successful candidate will work in JAS and will be line managed by a JAS colleague, the Criminal Justice Policy Division has provided funding for this B3 role. As a result of this, the work the B3 will be undertaking will be strongly linked to the Criminal Justice Divisions remit.
There is one primary piece of work that is expected of this B3 statistician and a number of secondary projects that will be undertaken if time permits.
Primary Task
Pre-Recorded Evidence & Conviction Rate Project
The incoming statistician will undertake a project that seeks to explore how/if a complainer pre-recording their evidence before a trial (instead of appearing in the courtroom,) impacts upon conviction rates. The project will involve a number of different case types. There are two key phases:
- Analysis and publication of existing historical data, held by Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and,
- Designing a data collection tool with SCTS to enable collection of additional data which will then be analysed & published at a later point, likely after 2 years of data collection.
The impetus for this work comes from similar projects undertaken in England and Wales, for example: Impact evaluation of pre-recorded cross examination - GOV.UK
Secondary Tasks (to be undertaken as time permits)
Phase 3 of Pre-Recorded Evidence Roll Out Evaluation
The Criminal Justice Reform policy unit are planning on undertaking an evaluation of phase 3 of pre-recorded evidence roll out, in sheriff solemn courts (as set out in the implementation plan). The goal is to re-create something similar to the evaluation of Phase 1. This B3 TP may work with the policy team to look at previous evaluation, establish what would be ideal to repeat/expand/add/remove for Phase 3 and then establish some options for SCTS and COPFS on how to move forward. The input, at least initially, would be largely facilitating and enabling the evaluation by working with policy and SCTS/COPFS. Policy are keen to gather data and then produce a report in 2027.
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Analytical support for the Victims, Witnesses & Justice Reform Act
This recently passed, wide-ranging Act makes a number of reforms to the criminal justice system. JAS colleagues are involved with the Act in two key ways:
- Supporting implementation of various parts of the Act (for example, the new sexual offences court) and,
- Supporting policy colleagues to meet the Act’s statutory review requirement.
The incoming B3 TP might be involved in either or both aspects of this work, providing statistical input to support policy decisions.
QA of sections of the Jury Deliberation Research Project
The Strategic Justice Team & the Criminal Justice Division have recently commissioned a research project looking at how/if rape myths (false beliefs about rape, rapists and victims) impact upon jury deliberations in rape and attempted rape cases in the High Court. This project (which will be undertaken by external research organisations) will involve a survey and most likely some basic statistical analysis and the incoming statistician will provide QA for both the survey and the statistical sections of the final report.
This position will suit a statistician looking for experience of working closely with the other analytical professions, policy and external stakeholders in a multi-disciplinary, dynamic and fast-paced environment, as well as someone who is capable of designing and delivering a new statistical project.
For further information please contact jocelyn.hickey@gov.scot.
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