CPS Direct

CPS Direct is the national service that provides police officers across England and Wales with access to out of hours charging decisions from the CPS.

green arrow right Find out more about CPS Direct

An introduction from Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Peter Swain

 Welcome to the CPS Direct website.

Since our launch in 2003, we have established ourselves as a key part of the CPS, ensuring police officers from across England and Wales have access to round the clock charging decisions from the CPS.

Our role is critical in supporting our CPS colleagues to deliver justice and protect their local communities. This website illustrates how we fulfil this role in an open and transparent way.

This site is also intended as resource for our CJS partners; in particular the frontline officers who use our service.

Our size and structure enables us to be highly flexible and responsive to police demands for charging advice. We pride ourselves on the high quality of our decision-making and the level of service we offer the police. We have always managed ourselves against exacting standards, and we have developed a culture that is quick to adapt to change.

I hope you find the information on this website useful. I welcome your feedback on this or any aspect of CPS Direct. Please feel free to contact us.

Peter Swain
Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor
CPS Direct