CPS South Yorkshire

Annual Report 2001-2002

Introduction by the Chief Crown Prosecutor

I am pleased to present The CPS South Yorkshire Annual Report for the year 2001/2002.

A major priority this year has been the continued establishment of co-located units with CPS and police staff working alongside each other.

We have made excellent progress and now have co-located Criminal Justice Units in Barnsley and Doncaster and have a co-located South Yorkshire Trials Unit in our CPS premises in Sheffield. Full co-location was completed in April with consequent improvements in communication and case management, and reductions in duplication and delay.

A major part of CPS work includes advocacy in both the magistrates’ and Crown Courts. We are anxious to improve the quality of our own in-house advocates and also the agents and counsel whom we employ to appear on our behalf. We are therefore conducting our own survey of the quality of advocates locally.

CPS South Yorkshire is also taking part in a nationally organised pilot survey of court satisfaction with prosecution advocates in all the courts in South Yorkshire. We are grateful for the co-operation of the magistrates’ courts and District and Crown Court judges and hope the outcomes will be useful and will help us to improve the service we deliver in future.

Independence and fairness is central to the work we do and we are conscious of the need to improve public understanding and confidence of what we do. To help achieve this we have been working closely with the BBC who have been involved in filming the progress of a number of our cases with a view to including them in a television documentary to be shown next year.

We are conscious of the need to provide a better service to victims and witnesses and will be implementing a system for explaining our decisions to drop or significantly alter charges direct to the victims concerned. Preparatory work is now complete and the scheme will commence in May and be fully operational across the Area by September.

Domestic violence is high on our agenda and we have been working with other agencies to find better ways of dealing with these cases. We have established specialist lawyers in each Criminal Justice Unit team and in the Trials Unit.

They will be looking closely at all domestic violence cases in order to provide advice to the police to ensure the best possible evidence is collected, and that victims are aware of the advice and support that may be available to them.

People are, of course, our most valuable asset. We have, I believe, established a culture and environment where every member of staff feels valued and respected and where everyone has the opportunity to develop their skills and give of their best.

In order to achieve this we have sought to ensure there is no discrimination or bullying and that all staff appreciate and value the differences between them.

This appreciation must extend to the community at large and in order to raise awareness and help our staff to understand and deal with diversity we have been involved in a multi-agency initiative entitled Race to Train.

This innovative project involves the use of theatre to identify and address some of the difficult issues surrounding race, gender and disability. Approximately 40 of our staff have been involved in forum theatre workshops whilst a further 20 have attended a full theatre based training event.

We continue to work closely with our criminal justice partners to improve the speed which cases are dealt with and to reduce the number of adjournments. South Yorkshire’s performance in respect of persistent young offenders has continued to improve. For the period April to December 2001 the average period from arrest to sentence was 60 to 65 days, against the Government’s target of 71 days.

We have been looking closely at the way we and the police deal with disclosure to the defence. We have implemented refresher training for all our lawyers and caseworkers and have agreed an action plan with the police to improve our joint performance in this area.

With the ongoing cooperation of those agencies and with the continued dedication, commitment and effort of all our staff, I am confident that CPS South Yorkshire will play a leading role in providing a high quality criminal justice system in South Yorkshire, which provides fair and just results.

Judith Walker Chief Crown Prosecutor

Casework

“Donnygate”

The end of the year 2001/2002 saw the culmination of a lengthy series of prosecutions arising from the police investigation into the allegedly corrupt activities of a group of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Councillors. During the five-year course of Operation Danum, more than 70 Councillors and DMBC officials were arrested and among those charged were 29 serving or former members of the Council.

Special Casework at York dealt with six of the defendants who had been accused of serious corruption in connection with planning applications. The remainder of prosecutions involved the dishonest appropriation of travelling and subsistence expenses and all but the earliest of these were handled by CPS South Yorkshire, first by the Doncaster team and latterly by the Committals/Trials Unit.

The police made an early request that all cases to be dealt with locally should be managed by a single lawyer to ensure consistency of decision-making and provide continuity and the interchange of expertise as the number of successful prosecutions grew. For the first couple of years Principal Crown Prosecutor Chris Robinson fulfilled this co-ordinating role, but with the implementation of the Glidewell reorganisation the baton passed to Committals (and then Trials) Unit lawyer Ian Brownlee.

Both built up a successful working relationship with the investigating officers and, in particular, with Detective Constable Steve Collins who acted as disclosure officer throughout the investigation. Between them, Chris and Ian (supported by various caseworkers, in particular, Kay Harrison) were responsible for the conduct of 24 Donnygate prosecutions.

Although the cases were relatively straightforward in terms of the issues involved, each characteristically required a veritable rain-forest of accounting and other Council documents to be collated and reviewed and the unused material usually came by the boxrather than the file-full. Given the possible consequences for those local politicians involved, cases tended to be hard fought, and defence lawyers made the most of any opportunity to test the ability of the prosecution to marshal and present its case cogently and on time.

Guilty pleas were forthcoming, but usually only at the end of a lengthy and dogged process and more often than not, only at the door of the trial court.

The Donnygate cases inevitably attracted a great deal of media interest, both in the Doncaster press and occasionally at a national level. One of Ian’s best moments came when a former colleague rang up to say that he seen his name in the “Rotten Boroughs” column of Private Eye. Not all the press coverage was favourable: one local paper, clearly frustrated by what it saw as lenient sentencing and the rare decisions not to prosecute, declared that CPS had “lost the plot”.

The facts, however, hardly seem to support such an analysis. A total of 23 people, 21 of whom were Councillors or former Councillors, were convicted of offences involving the making of false travelling claims. Among that number were two former leaders of the Council and a deputy Mayor of Doncaster. Four cases were discontinued: three on evidential grounds and the other because of the extreme ill health of the accused. Of those cases that came to court, all but two resulted in conviction or acceptable pleas of guilty.

One case was stayed on the ground of an earlier promise of non-prosecution given by the police and the other resulted in the only jury acquittal in the expenses investigation. Sentences imposed on the convicted ranged from nine months’ immediate custody through suspended prison sentences of up to six months, to community penalties and fines.

The “Donnygate” affair was an unfortunate and undesirable chapter in the history of local government in South Yorkshire. However, by working together the police and The Crown Prosecution Service demonstrated the ability of the criminal justice system to respond effectively to dishonesty in whatever quarter it exists and to bring to book those who sought to use the privileges of elected office for personal gain.

The Prince’s Trust

PRINCE’S TRUST INVOLVEMENT

The Prince’s Trust is a youth charity which helps people aged 14 to 30 develop skills and move forward, focusing on those who need help most.

HRH The Prince of Wales set up the Trust in 1976 and since then it has helped more than 400,000 young people. The Trust is keen to turn unused potential into success. It offers training, personal development, business start-up support, mentoring and advice. They help to raise self-esteem, change attitudes, and develop skills. Over 10,000 volunteers and 700 staff deliver their programmes across the UK in partnership with others in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Tina Norton, an Administration Officer in South Yorkshire, has recently completed a four-month period of secondment with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service as a Team Leader, developing her leadership skills.

Tina first became involved in the Prince’s Trust in 1999 as a Princes’ Trust Volunteer in Sheffield participating in various community projects. As a result of this, and to develop her skills further, Tina applied for a post as Team Leader. During her secondment Tina and her team (seven unemployed and four employed young people) produced a sensory garden in Derbyshire, painted a youth hostel in Milton Keynes and also raised money for the Trust.

Tina’s team, “Nottingham Team Two”, had their final presentation at Nottingham Forest Football Club on 4 April, in the presence of Judith Walker, the Chief Crown Prosecutor and others. The Chairman of Nottingham Forest Football Club presented Certificates on behalf of HRH The Prince of Wales.

Tina said of the experience: “I have not only developed as a person but have also expanded my leadership and management skills and gained greater confidence. One of the highlights of my time as a Team Leader included organising a visit by HRH The Prince of Wales, who saw the team participate in some of their activities.

“I was also thrilled to know that at the end of my secondment two of the unemployed young people had managed to obtain employment, and the others had applied for jobs.

“This was an amazing opportunity for me. I really learnt a lot about myself.”

Judith Walker, Chief Crown Prosecutor, commented, “The Prince’s Trust is something which has the personal approval of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Both he and I are delighted that we were able to support Tina’s involvement in this project, which is the first secondment the Department has arranged to the Trust. I am sure the life skills she has gained through her experiences will be invaluable.”

Performance in the Magistrates’ Courts and the Crown Court

Performance In The Magistrates’ Court

All prosecutions start in the magistrates’ courts. These include offences ranging from minor motoring matters to assaults and theft. Usually the more serious cases proceed to the Crown Court.

Caseload: Magistrates’ court

Cases received from the police from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 36,843
Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 36,531
Cases received from the police from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 36,893
Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 36,628

Caseload: Crown Court

Cases received from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 4,355
Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 4,244
Cases received from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 4,216
Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 4,446

The top chart shows as received the number of defendants whose cases the Area received from the police and the number of defendants whose cases were finalised in each of the last two years. Our caseload depends on the number of cases the police send to us. Several factors affect this, such as the level of arrest and the number of people the police caution. The bottom chart shows as received the number of defendants who came before the Crown Court and the number whose case was dealt with there.

Case Categories: Magistrates’ Court

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

Total cases dealt with 36,531
Of which summary only 17,518 (48%)
Indictable/either way 17,785 (48.7%)
Advice 858 (2.3%)
Other 370 (1%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

Total cases dealt with36,628
Of which summary only 16,893 (46.1%)
Indictable/either way 18,520 (50.6%)
Advice 956 (2.6%)
Other 259 (0.7%)

Case Categories: Crown Court

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

Total cases dealt with 4,244
Committed for Trial 2,870 (67.6%)
Appeals 331 (7.8%)
Committed for sentence1,043 (24.6%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

Total cases dealt with 4,446
Committed for Trial 3,117 (70.1%)
Appeals 296(6.7%)
Committed for sentence 1,033 (23.2%)

Compared to the previous year case categories have seen a 4.1% increase in indictable and either way cases whilst there has been a 3.6% reduction in summary cases. The case mix contains a higher proportion of serious cases with 51% of indictable and either way cases compared to 40% nationally. Conversely we have a lower proportion of summary cases with 46% compared to 56% nationally.

Case Results: Magistrates’ Court

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

Total Case Results 26,970
Of which guilty pleas 22,696 (84.2%)
Proofs in absence 3,057 (11.3%)
After Trial 800 (3%)
Other (dismissals) 417 (1.5%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

Total Case Results 26,156
Of which guilty pleas 22,772 (87.1%)
Proofs in absence 2,299 (8.8%)
After Trial 664 (2.5%)
Other (dismissals) 421 (1.6%)

Case Results: Crown Court

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

Total cases dealt with 2,530
Guilty Pleas 2,172 (85.8%)
After Trial 220 (8.7%)
Acquittals 138 (5.5%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

Total cases dealt with 2,685
Guilty Pleas 2,292 (85.4%)
After Trial 236 (8.8%)
Acquittals 157 (5.8%)

Case results have remained consistent with a 98.4% conviction rate and a 1.6% dismissal rate. This compares to a national average of 98.3% and 1.7% respectively. It is of note that the proportion of Guilty Pleas at 87% is higher than the national average of 82%.

Performance In The Crown Court

Some cases can only be tried in the Crown Court. Other cases go to the Crown Court either because the defendant chooses to be tried there or because the magistrates decide they are serious enough to need Crown Court trial. If a defendant pleads not guilty, the case will be tried before a judge and jury.

Caseload

Compared to the previous year Crown Court receipts fell by 3.2% differing from the national average, which shows a 4.2% increase. Finalisations increased by 4.8% again differing from the national average, which shows a 0.6% reduction.

Case Categories

Whilst the number of committals for sentence remains broadly similar to the previous year there has been an 8.6% increase in the number of committals for trial and a 10.6% reduction in the number of appeals. The number of committals for trial at 70.1% is less than the national average of 73.3%. The number of appeals at 6.7% is also less than the national average of 10.3%. Conversely, the number of committals for sentence at 23.2% is significantly higher than the national average of 16.4%.

Case Results

Case results have remained consistent with a 94.2% conviction rate and a 5.8% acquittal rate. The conviction rate is significantly higher than that of the national average, which shows a conviction rate of 88.8% and an acquittal rate of 11.2%. It is of note that the proportion of Guilty Pleas at 85.4% is significantly higher than the national average of 73.2%.

About The Crown Prosecution Service

The Code for Crown Prosecutors

The CPS prosecutes all cases in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The Code is of fundamental importance to the core business of The CPS as it provides guidance to prosecutors on the general principles to be applied in all prosecution decisions, and acts as a public statement of policy allowing everyone to see and understand the basis upon which these decisions are made.

A revised Code for Crown Prosecutors was published in 2000 in order to reflect important developments in legislation, criminal procedure and The CPS’ own structure. As part of that revision process, an extensive programme of public consultation was carried out and almost every aspect of the Code commented upon. New features of the Code include a reference to our position and obligations under the Human Rights act 1998, clarification of the relationship between victims and public interest and a paragraph on youths to reflect new procedures for reprimands and final warnings.

The Auld Review

Lord Justice Auld’s Criminal Courts Review was published in October 2001. It recommends an overhaul of the criminal courts with a unified criminal court in three divisions and a single administration to replace the existing and separate Crown and magistrates’ courts structures. Another proposal is that The CPS rather than the police should decide charges in all but minor, routine offences, or where a holding charge is needed. The change should help improve the quality of files and lead to earlier decisions on when to charge and what charges should be brought. The Home Secretary has agreed that the procedure be piloted for six months in five CPS Areas in advance of the Government’s decision regarding the Auld recommendations.

The Facts

The CPS is responsible for prosecuting people in England and Wales charged by the police with a criminal offence. Nationally we prosecute more than 1.4 million cases every year and our annual planned expenditure for 2001-02 was £416.3 million. This included £30.4 million from the new criminal justice reserve, to speed up the reform of the Service.

Currently we:

Advise the police on possible prosecutions.
Review prosecutions started by the police to ensure the right defendants are prosecuted on the right charges.
Prepare cases for court.
Prosecute cases at magistrates’ courts and instruct counsel to prosecute in the Crown Court and higher courts. Some CPS lawyers are now qualified to appear in the Crown Court in certain cases.
Liaise with other agencies and other Government Departments to achieve improvements in the criminal justice system. °¥ The CPS is headed by Sir David Calvert-Smith QC, Director of Public Prosecutions; the Chief Executive is Richard Foster, who took up post in January 2002.
The CPS employs around 7,100 staff and has an Equal Opportunities Policy. Parts of the Service have achieved the Investor in People standard while others are pursuing accreditation.
A Diversity Unit was set up in October 1999. The Unit’s remit is to turn The CPS Equality Statement into a reality. The aim is to ensure that The CPS does not discriminate in either its employment practice or its prosecutions. A Steering Group has been set up to oversee the Service’s commitment to change following reports by barrister Sylvia Denman and also the Commission for Racial Equality that highlighted discrimination against ethnic minority staff in The CPS. It is chaired by Attorney General Lord Goldsmith.
The Attorney General’s Race Advisory Group includes representatives from external organisations. It examines and comments on proposals by The CPS to improve equal opportunities in response to the Denman and CRE report recommendations. There is commitment from the top of The CPS to having a Service which is fair and has proper approaches to diversity.
The CPS continues to develop new electronic information and media. It has an intranet service with an internal website, CPS Online. CPS Online gives staff better access to information, improved internal communications and allows The CPS to manage its information and knowledge better.
The CPS’ internet website is at http://www.cps.gov.uk and is available in English and Welsh. It provides a considerable amount of information about our business, staff and structures.
The CPS, and its criminal justice partners, are working together to help realise the Government’s pledge to halve the time it takes to deal with persistent young offenders in youth courts and in Crown Court.
The CPS is taking forward initiatives to speed up justice proposed by Martin Narey in his Review of Delay in the Criminal Justice System. These include new Designated Caseworkers — specially trained CPS staff, who are not lawyers, review and present in the magistrates’ courts a limited range of cases involving straightforward guilty pleas.
CPS Areas are working in partnership with police forces to establish joint and co-located criminal justice units to reduce duplication and delay in bringing cases to court. They are also establishing Trials Units (TUs) to deal with the preparation and presentation of the more serious cases at Crown Court. Most TUs will be located in CPS premises, but some are planned for Crown Court centres.
The CPS has 42 Areas corresponding to the 43 police forces in England and Wales (London Area covers both City of London and Metropolitan Police Forces). Each Area has a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) who is responsible for prosecutions. In London the CCP is supported by Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutors. Area Business Managers are responsible for the efficient running of the Area.
The CPS Vision and Strategy is “to be a prosecuting authority of stature, providing the best possible service to society. We want to be a professional organisationwhich values all its people, performs to a high standard inspires public confidence, and works in partnership”.

Where we fit in the criminal justice system

The Law Officers: The Attorney General is assisted by the Solicitor General. The Attorney General has final responsibility for enforcing criminal law and superintends the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The police: Police forces investigate crime and arrest or detain suspected offenders. Once a suspect is held they decide whether to caution them, take no further action, issue a fixed penalty notice — in the case of motoring offences — or charge them and send the papers to prosecuting authorities, mainly The CPS.
The Lord Chancellor’s Department: The Lord Chancellor is head of the judiciary and responsible for the administration of the court system in England and Wales.This includes the magistrates’ courts.
The Court Service: Responsible for the High Court and administration of the Crown Court and County Courts in England and Wales.
The Home Office: Responsible for matters relating to law and order.
The Prison Service: The Service is responsible for keeping in custody people on remand awaiting trial and those sentenced to imprisonment by the courts.
The National Probation Service: The Service provides courts with advice and information on offenders to help sentencing decisions and implements community orders made by the courts.
There are other prosecuting authorities. They include: the Department of Trade and Industry; the Serious Fraud Office; HM Customs and Excise; the Health and Safety Executive; the Department of Social Security; the Inland Revenue; the Department of Food and Rural Affairs; the Intervention Board; the Bank of England; the Army; the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy prosecuting authorities; the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority.

Leaflets and publications

The CPS publishes a range of leaflets and publications about its work that are available free of charge to members of the public.

Leaflets currently available include: a description of the work of The CPS (Introduction); the people who work for the Service (People); information about careers with The CPS (Careers); the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code) — and an abbreviated version of the Code (Prosecutions); The CPS policy on dealing with Domestic Violence and advice for vulnerable witnesses attending court (Witnesses); and a leaflet on how to make a complaint (Complaints). Most publications are available in alternative formats and in other languages.

For more information, contact The CPS Communications Branch, 50 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7EX; telephone: 020 7796 8442.

Dealing with complaints

Our comprehensive complaints procedure is set out in a leaflet available from Area offices and on our website: http://www.cps.gov.uk

If you have a complaint about our handling of a case you should write to The CPS office which originally dealt with it. Please include as much information as possible such as the defendant’s name, the court where the case was heard, and any hearing dates and reference numbers you may have.

If you are not satisfied with replies you receive you should contact The CPS Area’s Chief Crown Prosecutor. They will look into the complaint

If you are still not satisfied you can write to the Customer Service Unit Manager, 50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7EX.

Complaints that cannot be resolved locally are referred through this Unit to the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Chief Executive.