Skip to content
Law Society of Scotland
Search
Find a Solicitor
Contact us
About us
Sign in
Search
Find a Solicitor
Contact us
About us
Sign in
  • For members

    • For members

    • CPD & Training

    • Membership and fees

    • Rules and guidance

    • Regulation and compliance

    • Journal

    • Business support

    • Career growth

    • Member benefits

    • Professional support

    • Lawscot Wellbeing

    • Lawscot Sustainability

  • News and events

    • News and events

    • Law Society news

    • Blogs & opinions

    • CPD & Training

    • Events

  • Qualifying and education

    • Qualifying and education

    • Qualifying as a Scottish solicitor

    • Career support and advice

    • Our work with schools

    • Lawscot Foundation

    • Funding your education

    • Social mobility

  • Research and policy

    • Research and policy

    • Research

    • Influencing the law and policy

    • Equality and diversity

    • Our international work

    • Legal Services Review

    • Meet the Policy team

  • For the public

    • For the public

    • What solicitors can do for you

    • Making a complaint

    • Client protection

    • Find a Solicitor

    • Frequently asked questions

    • Your Scottish solicitor

  • About us

    • About us

    • Contact us

    • Who we are

    • Our strategy, reports and plans

    • Help and advice

    • Our standards

    • Work with us

    • Our logo and branding

    • Equality and diversity

  1. Home
  2. For members
  3. Journal Archive
  4. Issues
  5. August 2015
  6. Epilepsy training DVD helps spot the signs

Epilepsy training DVD helps spot the signs

The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service draws attention to a valuable training resource that might help improve confidence in the justice system
17th August 2015 | Catriona Dalrymple

At present, 54,000 people in Scotland live with epilepsy. This very common neurological condition can be acquired by anyone at any age, and eight people a day in Scotland do. These are facts you probably didn’t know. However, they are important. As practitioners in Scottish courts we may be working with accused, witnesses, jurors and colleagues who have epilepsy. We need to ensure that all those people are free from stigma and discrimination in every aspect of our service.

With this in mind, the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, in partnership with Epilepsy Scotland and Police Scotland, developed a DVD entitled Epilepsy and the Law. It clearly explains the issues for people with epilepsy, including seizure and post-seizure behaviour commonly being mistaken for drunk, disorderly or other criminal conduct. It was launched at the Scottish Parliament by Lesslie Young, chief executive of Epilepsy Scotland.

The primary purpose of this DVD is as a training resource for operational police officers. However, I believe this unique package has a much wider value for all criminal justice practitioners. It is an invaluable CPD resource for police, lawyers and any other professional who comes in contact with people who may be thought to be drunk and disorderly, but may actually be having a seizure or in a post-seizure state. I know this training has already been instrumental in keeping two individuals out of prison, demonstrating their behaviour was directly associated with seizure activity and therefore not criminal.

The DVD contains the COPFS policy on dealing with accused with epilepsy. This is not an esoteric examination of the complex law of automatism, but a practical policy which will help prosecutors make the right decisions at the earliest stage. This may be based on information from the police, but could well come from a defence agent. It would also be a great resource for students to see the interaction between real life scenarios and how prosecution policy works.

Epilepsy and the Law is being licensed by the charity; details of the reasonable costs can be found at www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk/epilepsy-and-the-law-dvd/info_273.html. The package is soon to come with supporting materials. It would ideal material for Bar Association events or student training events.

The more we do across the criminal justice system to raise awareness of the diversity of our communities and how we respond to individual needs, the greater the level of confidence our communities will have in our ability to treat them with respect and dignity. The overall result is a consistently high level of service in all aspects of our work.

The Author

Catriona Dalrymple, head of Policy Division, Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service 
Share this article
Add To Favorites
https://lawware.co.uk/

In this issue

  • A touch of EVEL
  • Dad or undad: liability for paternity fraud
  • FAIs – for what purpose?
  • Too late to change your mind?
  • Reading for pleasure
  • Opinion: Beverley McLachlin
  • Book reviews
  • President's column
  • Examination question
  • People on the move
  • Sheriffdom of Scotland
  • Loans and financing throughout your career
  • Courts reform: we have lift-off
  • 2020: a changing prospect
  • Purpose-driven women
  • Under the hammer
  • Sentencing shifts?
  • Holiday headaches
  • Married to the land?
  • Rights before the regulator
  • Time to get your pensions house in order
  • Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal
  • Digesting the Community Empowerment Act
  • Advice on tap
  • Epilepsy training DVD helps spot the signs
  • Law reform roundup
  • From the Brussels office
  • Your price – what's on the menu?
  • Double danger
  • Ask Ash
  • Courts: the when and how
  • Complaints go online
  • What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas
  • Pro bono: a helping hand

Recent Issues

Dec 2023
Nov 2023
Oct 2023
Sept 2023
Search the archive

Additional

Law Society of Scotland
Atria One, 144 Morrison Street
Edinburgh
EH3 8EX
If you’re looking for a solicitor, visit FindaSolicitor.scot
T: +44(0) 131 226 7411
E: lawscot@lawscot.org.uk
About us
  • Contact us
  • Who we are
  • Strategy reports plans
  • Help and advice
  • Our standards
  • Work with us
Useful links
  • Find a Solicitor
  • Sign in
  • CPD & Training
  • Rules and guidance
  • Website terms and conditions
Law Society of Scotland | © 2025
Made by Gecko Agency Limited