Facts about the CPS

• The CPS was created by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC.
• The Director operates under the superintendence of the Attorney General, who is accountable to Parliament for the Service. The Director is supported by a Chief Executive, who is responsible for running the business on a day-to-day basis, allowing the Director to concentrate on prosecution, legal issues and criminal justice policy.
• The CPS is divided into 13 geographical Areas across England and Wales. Each Area is led by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) who is responsible for the provision of a high quality prosecution service in their Area. Each CCP is supported by an Area Business Manager (ABM), and their respective roles mirror, at a local level, the responsibilities of the DPP and Chief Executive. Administrative support to Areas is provided by Area Operations Centres. A 'virtual' 14th Area, CPS Direct, is also headed by a CCP and provides out-of-hours charging decisions to the police.
• Two specialist casework groups - Central Fraud Group and Serious Crime Group - deal with the prosecution of all cases investigated by the Serious & Organised Crime Agency, UK Borders Agency and Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs as well as serious crime, terrorism, fraud and other challenging cases that require specialist experience.
• The CPS is effectively the largest law firm in the UK, dealing exclusively with criminal cases and casework issues arising from them. At the end of March 2010, it employed a total of 8,316 people. About 35% are qualified prosecutors and more than 93% of all staff are engaged in, or support, frontline prosecutions.