CPS Direct
CPS Direct is the national out of hours service that provides charging advice on behalf of the 42 Crown Prosecution Service Areas in England and Wales. We provide the police with access to 24/7 charging decisions from the CPS.
Find out more about CPS Direct
Changes to the CPS Direct telephone service
We have recently introduced a new call distribution system. Most of the changes have taken place behind the scenes and have not affected how officers use our service. However, we have made some changes to the way our system works to improve the service we offer.
An introduction from Chief Crown Prosecutor Martin Goldman
Welcome to the CPS Direct website. I hope that the information on these pages will be of interest to three particular groups of people:
- Frontline police officers who use CPS Direct.
- Members of the public who wish to see how the CPS advises upon serious criminal charges at all hours of the day and night.
- Practitioners working elsewhere in the Criminal Justice System who wish to seek information about the operations of CPS Direct.
CPS Direct started as a small pilot in late 2003 and its early success led to a gradual roll-out to cover all of England and Wales. We very much welcome feedback upon our service, especially views and suggestions for improvement from frontline police officers who can contact us directly.
I hope that you find this website informative.
Martin Goldman
Chief Crown Prosecutor
CPS Direct
Latest News
Press Release
CPS out of hours service delivers half a million charges
CPS Direct, the Crown Prosecution Service department set up to provide the police with out of hours advice on charging decisions, has now provided its half-millionth decision to police officers in England and Wales.
Press Release
CPS out of hours service to review hate crimes
CPS Direct, the Crown Prosecution Service department responsible for charging suspects out of hours, has initiated a Hate Crime Scrutiny Panel to improve the way in which it deals with hate crime.
