in Scotland, which was established very considerably later (in 1800). This may explain why, in Scotland, the police are under a legal obligation to comply with the directions of the procurator fiscal in matters concerning the investigation of crime, since the fiscal was himself once an investigator and so did the same job. In the course of the 18th century, the duties of a procurator fiscal to collect taxes and other dues were eclipsed by his duty as prosecutor in the sheriff court with the passage of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1701. In this capacity, procurators fiscal gave concurrence in private prosecutions and prosecuted on behalf of the Crown. The Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1867 gave procurators fiscal full responsibility in law for prosecution of all criminal acts in Scotland. Originally the fiscal was the sheriff's official and tenure of the office was at the pleasure of the sheriff. With the decline of private prosecution the fiscal came to be regarded more and more as under the control of the Lord Advocate. In 1776 the government started to pay procurators fiscal to take precognitions and in 1907 the right of appointing procurators fiscal was transferred to the Lord Advocate, and in 1927 procurators fiscal became full-time civil servants. Prosecution of crimes Procurators fiscal make preliminary investigations into criminal cases, take written statements from witnesses (known as precognition) and are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crime. This includes the power to direct the police in their investigation, but except for serious crimes such as murder the police normally complete their enquiries before involving the procurator fiscal. Under solemn High Court procedure, once someone has been charged with an offence and remanded in custody, the Crown must bring the case to a preliminary hearing within 110 days. The procurator fiscal has never been obliged to prosecute and can choose the level at which to prosecute (either through solemn or summary procedure). The defendant has no right to choose a jury trial, nor can a victim on their own decide to press charges, as the decision on whether to try by jury or summarily belongs to the prosecutor. There is a very exceptional mechanism however, called a bill for criminal letters, where a victim of a crime can petition the High Court of Justiciary for permission ('to pass the bill') to prosecute; akin to private prosecution in other jurisdictions. The