The Crown Office has been accused of “letting down” bereaved families over delays in informing them how their relatives died.
New figures reveal justice chiefs did not come close to hitting a target for giving answers to relatives quickly.
Labour MSP Monica Lennon said: “It is hugely disappointing to see the Crown Office letting down vulnerable families by failing to meet their own target.
The Crown Office must get a grip of this situation because families deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”
The Crown Office aims to tell families about the outcomes of probes into sudden and unexplained deaths within 12 weeks in at least 80 per cent of cases.
Toxicology reports are sometimes required as part of the process for completing a post-mortem report.
Opposition politicians have hit out after it emerged grieving families are waiting longer than expected.
In 2021/22, 8,459 cases were closed, but only 50% were completed within the target. This fell from 59% in the previous year.
An increase to 64% has been recorded for 2022/23, but this only covers part of the year.
Two years ago the Record reported the agony faced by the family of tragic Callum Jackson, who was found dead in an Edinburgh flat.
His family waited longer than the 12 week target as a result of a delay in the post-mortem report.
In a written answer, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain said there had been an increase in deaths reported to the Crown Office between 2020 and 2022, including covid deaths.
She added that local GPs were having less contact with patients in the community, and cited changes in the “process of dealing with and reporting deaths in the community”.
Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur said: “These figures stem from the Scottish Government’s failure to give the justice system the resources it is crying out for.
“The consequences of that failure are far-reaching. As we all know, justice delayed is justice denied.
“The government announced £21.2 million in cuts to justice yesterday; this threatens even lengthier delays for victims and witnesses. Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that this is neither a sustainable approach nor the right priority.”
Tory MSP Jamie Greene said: “The failure to close so many of these traumatic cases within the target timeframe will only add to the upset being felt by those who have lost loved ones.
“Time is of the essence in these cases and it is absolutely vital that the Crown Office have all the resources they need to carry out these investigations as quickly as possible.
“My Victims Law includes plans to introduce a statutory timescale for these inquiries, rather than leaving families in limbo for far too long.”
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “We appreciate that having a death investigated by COPFS can be distressing for bereaved families and next-of-kin
“The 40 percent increase in the number of deaths reported to us in the last two years, with an unprecedented number of covid deaths, has heavily impacted our ability to meet case closure targets. Measures are in place to address this essential work with £2.2 million of additional funding this year and ongoing recruitment to build a team of 90 staff to tackle covid deaths.
“Non-covid deaths continue to be dealt with in a thorough and timely manner. The current case closure metrics show that there is continuing improvement with 72 percent of cases closed within 12 weeks.”
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