STRATEGIC PLAN 2003 - 2006
BUSINESS PLAN 2003 - 2004

THE CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE VISION

• A 21st century liberal democracy needs a prosecution service which works well and is seen to do so
• It will only do so if, by common consent, it occupies the correct space between investigation and verdict
• It will only do this if it contains able and highly motivated people...
  • with proper tools to advise, review, prepare and present cases and to provide the crucial support services to the prosecution process and...
  • if its people have the confidence to take personal responsibility, rejoice in success, to admit to mistakes and to learn from both

This means:

• Being a lively, successful and esteemed part of the criminal justice system and of the society of which it forms such an important part
• Playing a full and effective part from the moment an investigation becomes a potential prosecution until the end of the criminal justice process, helping to build the most effective cases
• Becoming a respected player in four crucial aspects
  • a paragon of fairness and transparency in terms of decisions and how it makes them
  • an organization which is able to speak its mind on criminal justice issues
  • an organisation which people of ability and enthusiasm want to join for some or all of their working lives
  • an organisation which provides moral leadership and helps to create a communal sense of right and wrong by taking a lead on social/moral issues like domestic violence, homophobic and racist crime
• Setting and meeting high standards
• Having a clear focus on delivery of the outcomes and targets Ministers have set for it in the Public Service Agreement and others it has set for itself

FOREWORD BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

I am pleased to introduce The Crown Prosecution Service’s Strategic Plan for 2003-2006 together with the Business Plan for 2003-2004. The plans focus on how to deliver the Public Service Agreement targets which represent the Government’s key objectives in criminal justice, and the basis on which funding for the Service is provided.

I am proud of the way that the Service is gearing its efforts to make sure that it delivers improved performance. For the first time, the Service’s priorities and targets will be shaped around the priorities that Ministers have agreed should be jointly shared between The Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor’s Department in order to improve the performance of the criminal justice system as a whole. The role of The Crown Prosecution Service in this is of critical importance. Of all the organisations that play a part in the criminal justice system, it is the only one that is involved at every stage from investigation through to the sentence, and changes that are planned for its role in the Criminal Justice Bill, now working its way through Parliament, will help The CPS to enlarge the contribution that it can make.

I believe the Service is at a defining moment in its history, which I have termed the ‘Third Stage’, with key changes planned for its role in the future. The most significant change will be the Government’s proposal to give the Service responsibility for determining the charge in all but routine cases. I am delighted that in the course of the next year The CPS will set in place a shadow scheme which will enable the charging provisions in the Criminal Justice Bill to be implemented shortly after Royal Assent. These provisions will lead to a new working relationship with the police: a partnership in which The CPS is involved routinely much earlier in cases than at present, and the police will themselves stay involved in casework beyond the point of charge as long as is necessary to ensure that the case is in the best possible shape for trial. But the changes that we contemplate will lead to the development of other relationships: with victims and witnesses through closer liaison pre-trial and by ensuring that the victim’s voice is heard in sentencing, and unfair mitigation challenged; with the defence by a greater emphasis on pre-trial management; and with the courts with improved arrangements on listing and new rights of appeal for prosecutors, which will enable them to challenge decisions which at present cannot be subjected to the scrutiny of a higher court.

But much is taking place for which no legislative change is required. The changing role of Area Business Managers will enable Chief Crown Prosecutors to delegate much more administration. COMPASS will improve significantly the case management of the Service. The new Business Development Directorate will fill a significant gap by providing support to Chief Crown Prosecutors to help them drive up performance and focus on delivery.

I believe that the Service is now becoming much more outward facing and outcome focused. This involves having an enhanced role at every stage of the criminal justice process, working in co-operation with its criminal justice partners, while retaining that independence and fairness of prosecution decision-making which is its hallmark. Being fair will always be a key part of what the Service does, but with fairness satisfied, and with the confidence that prosecutions are being properly brought, I hope that all prosecutors will regard it as their job to bring cases to court in the best possible shape, with weak cases made stronger through clear, focused advice to the police, and with all aspects of casework management sorted out sufficiently in advance that cases can go ahead as planned on the day of trial.

These plans reflect an organisation which is determined to deliver improved performance. It is a Service, too, which tries to be fair to its people. I am glad to endorse the plans and will work closely with the Senior Management Team to ensure that they are delivered.

The Rt. Hon Lord Goldsmith QC, Attorney General

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE

It is helpful to view the challenging programmes set out in these plans first and foremost against our statutory function. That is to prosecute cases firmly, fairly and effectively, when there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each defendant on each charge, and when a prosecution is needed in the public interest. The Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code) containing these key principles is central to our core business of prosecuting. It is a public statement of policy on the principles we apply in every case we consider. We also apply the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998 when carrying out our work.

Within the framework of the Code delivery of the Government’s Public Service Agreement targets is central to these plans. All the work that we have already been doing to build on our existing strategic themes of our casework performance, our people and our partners now fit conveniently into these new targets, and provide us with the clarity and focus to make the improvements, both in the service that we provide and as an employer, irreversible.

As these plans demonstrate, modernisation is vital. We must not pass up the historic opportunities to assume responsibility for charging and thereby to occupy the correct space between the investigation and trial; to have earlier input into police investigations, to keep cases under review, adding value by helping to turn weak cases into strong cases; and a closer relationship with those who are victims and witnesses of crime so they feel more able to come forward and give their best evidence. If we take these opportunities the Service, as the pivotal agency within the criminal justice process, will be able to prosecute the right defendants for the right crimes, with the result that there will be fewer discontinuances, fewer ineffective hearings, fewer changes of charge and more early guilty pleas.

Becoming involved at the very start of criminal investigations will also change our relationship with local communities as well as with the police and victims and witnesses of crime. In particular we are committed to greater engagement with community representatives and groups in the development of public policy statements for specific types of crime. Public policy statements have already been developed to ensure that domestic violence and homophobic attacks are prosecuted appropriately. And, has started with community representatives and groups to develop similar guidance for the prosecution of racially and religiously motivated attacks.

Integrated information technology is another key element modernising the Service. We are working with LogicaCMG a ten year PFI contract to develop COMPASS, our strategic programme. COMPASS is one of the essential building blocks successful joined up IT across the criminal justice system. transform the way we go about our business of prosecuting enable us to enrich the services we can offer to victims and witnesses of crime.

We are rich in motivated and committed people and it is who will meet the challenges to deliver the programmes improvement we have set ourselves. Our third strand of modernisation therefore involves a range of initiatives to improve their capability to make a difference. We are revising our recruitment and retention strategy so that we can be confident we have the best people possible. We are developing and recruiting talent, providing legal training sponsorship at various levels. A key element of our training is leadership – we are extending opportunities on personal development programmes to improve and enhance these qualities.

We continue to work towards becoming a beacon organisation terms of equality and diversity both as employer and prosecutor, including working with the Disability Rights Commission.

We are confident that within the framework of the Code and through the challenging, modernising, programmes set out these plans that the Service will play a key role in delivering Government’s Public Service Agreement targets.

Sir David Calvert-Smith QC – Director of Public Prosecutions

Richard Foster – Chief Executive

THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2003-2006

CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE AIM AND OBJECTIVE

The aim of The Crown Prosecution Service directly supports the overall aims of the criminal justice system of reducing crime and the fear of crime and their social and economic costs; and to dispense justice fairly and efficiently and to promote confidence in the rule of law. It is to:

• Deliver a high quality prosecution service that brings offenders to justice, helps reduce both crime and the fear of crime and thereby promote public confidence in the rule of law through the consistent, fair and independent review of cases and through their fair, thorough and firm presentation at court

The objective supporting this aim is to:

• Ensure the effective delivery of justice

THE EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF JUSTICE

In pursuit of the effective delivery of justice the Government has set challenging targets for the criminal justice system for the next three years. They were published in a Public Service Agreement in July 2002. They are to:

• Improve the delivery of justice by increasing the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice, to 1.2million by 2005-2006; with an improvement in all CJS areas, a greater increase in the worst performing areas and a reduction in the proportion of ineffective trials
• Improve the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system, including increasing that of ethnic minority communities, and increasing year on year the satisfaction of victims and witnesses, whilst respecting the rights of defendants

We need to work together with our partners in the criminal justice system to deliver on these. To reflect this, two of the targets were also published in the Public Service Agreement for the Service. There is also a third shared target. It is to:

• Increase value for money from the criminal justice system by 3% a year

The Attorney General shares responsibility for the delivery of these targets with the Home Secretary and Lord Chancellor. This plan shows the part the Service intends to play to deliver these shared targets.

Narrowing the justice gap

Improving the delivery of justice by increasing the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice is known as narrowing the justice gap. The justice gap is the difference between the number of offences recorded and the number for which an offender receives either a caution, a conviction or has the offence taken into consideration by a court. Narrowing the justice gap will help reduce crime, demonstrate that the criminal justice system is effective and improve public confidence.

Justice for All

The Criminal Justice Bill, currently in passage through Parliament, sets out a far reaching reform programme for the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It is aimed at supporting the criminal justice system in delivering its targets by removing the worst obstacles, transforming practices to enable better service and to refocus criminal justice on fighting and reducing crime, while maintaining a fair balance between the prosecution and defence, delivering justice on behalf of the community.

The victims who suffer most from crime will be at the heart of the system. And, witnesses, without whom criminal justice could not function, will be protected and respected.

Critical to the reform programme is close partnership working between The Crown Prosecution Service and the police on structured early legal advice to the police, and The Crown Prosecution Service assuming responsibility for charge.

FOCUS ON DELIVERY

The Glidewell review which reported in 1998 and the 2000 spending review (SR2000) have placed the Service in the position where it is now:

• getting the right organisational structures in place
• increasing lawyer numbers
• achieving more equality of arms with the defence
• clearer accountabilities
• using improved performance management arrangements

This means that at the start of this planning period the Service is poised to become more outward facing and more outcome focused. By being so we can make a substantial contribution to delivery of the Public Service Agreement targets.

Priorities

Our policy priority of much closer involvement in the ‘frontend’” of the criminal justice process is essential. Working in close partnership with the police on early advice and charging will produce the best possible casework for presentation to the court. This means developing in each of our 42 Areas more of a prosecution team approach with the police through the ethos adopted in the street crime initiative and in the charging pilots. This involved prosecutors becoming involved earlier in the case and investigators continuing their involvement until completion of the case, while at the same time protecting the professional independence of decision making for both the investigator and the prosecutor.

The move to charging and the need to develop innovative but practicable solutions to provide out-of-hours advice will bring the most far-reaching changes ever faced by the Service, presenting a significant challenge. But the outcome will also be significant – a more effective prosecution process that will narrow the justice gap substantially, reinforce confidence between the police and ourselves and the provision of a highly professional service to victims and witnesses of crime and to local communities – a prosecution process which remains fair and transparent in terms of decisions and how they are made, one that respects the rights of defendants.

Other issues for priority treatment include:

• rebalancing the criminal justice system towards the needs of victims and witnesses by the Service assuming greater responsibility for victim and witness care – currently 30,000 cases do not proceed because of witness nonattendance. Our programme includes:
  • in January 2003 a pilot started in CPS West Midlands of a whole system approach to victim and witness management putting in place best in class witness care – we shall be accountable for victim and witness handling within the criminal justice system, providing a single point of contact, working closely with the police, courts, Victim Support and the Witness Service to inform the bid for the 2004 spending review, with a view to roll out nationally
  • pilot victim and witness support bureau services as part of the charging programme – research and consultation on pre-charge and/or pre-trial interviewing of witness by the prosecutor in appropriate cases – evaluation by December 2004
• working with the Lord Chancellor’s Department on more effective listing arrangements – such as a basic appointments system that must be honoured unless very exceptional circumstances occur and block bookings for our cases in the magistrates’ courts and Crown Court – thus transforming our ability to prosecute effectively and efficiently

Bringing these priorities to fruition will be a major contribution to meeting the Public Service Agreement targets.

Narrowing the justice gap and reducing ineffective trials

The Government has set narrowing the justice gap as the priority for the first year of this spending review period 2003-2004, with a target of 5% improvement in that year

We are party to the criminal justice taskforce setting the framework within which this target can be delivered locally. Ministers have agreed with the taskforce advice that the problem needs to be tackled in three ways:

• targeting particular types of offences, such as in the street crime initiative. In 10 Areas across the country we are providing a premium service to street robbery, carjacking and similar offences, leading to less discontinuance and more successful prosecutions of these cases

Premium service focuses on a heightened interface between ourselves and the police to underpin the highest standard of case preparation and progression by experienced investigators and experienced teams of prosecutors and caseworkers

• targeting particular types of offender, for example persistent offenders. From 3 February 2003 the premium service described above will be extended to persistent offenders
• eliminating the underlying weaknesses in the criminal justice process that cause cases to fail. The reform programme set out in the Criminal Justice Bill addresses the underlying weaknesses in the criminal justice process

Reducing ineffective trials

Chief Crown Prosecutors will be working with their criminal justice counterparts to assess how and at what rate ineffective trials should be reduced. They will be instrumental in developing with their partners effective local strategies to identify what action they can take to address the underlying causes of ineffective trials; and propose shared, challenging targets. The targets will be delivered through robust joint performance management frameworks, locally.

Improving public confidence

We are also party to the criminal justice system taskforce setting the framework within which this target can be delivered locally.

Many crimes go unreported because of lack of confidence in the criminal justice system – we, together with our partners, have to reverse this trend. The reforms set out in the Criminal Justice Bill and delivery of the narrowing the justice gap target will go some way to do this.

Improving public confidence specifically includes increasing that of minority ethnic communities, and increasing the satisfaction of victims and witnesses, whilst respecting the rights of defendants

We are focused clearly on activities we believe will help to contribute to delivery of this target. Our approach is based on national standards and co-ordination of policy but, importantly, allows each Chief Crown Prosecutor the necessary flexibility required to deliver a service that meets the needs of local communities and local conditions.

There are five elements to our approach:

• improving our services to victims and witnesses of crime
• respecting the rights of defendants
• focusing more on community engagement, particularly minority ethnic communities
• communicating better – media, publicity, public relations, internal communications
• helping the courts to restrain the assets of those involved in serious and acquisitive crime

Value for money

We are working with colleagues in the Home Office and Lord Chancellor’s Department to agree a set of measures in pursuit of this target. For us this will involve:

• reduction in the unit cost of dealing with recordable crime through more effective deployment of Designated Caseworkers
• improvement in performance following implementation of the charging provisions through reduced discontinuance, more early guilty pleas and less adjournments
• improvement in performance in terms of timeliness and quality following implementation of the Initial Case Management System followed by the Full Case Management System as part of COMPASS, our IT strategic programme, being taken forward in partnership with LogicaCMG

RAISING THE CAPABILITY TO DELIVER

In The Crown Prosecution Service

People make the difference

A key element in delivery is leadership and we are committed to improve our leadership capacity through recruitment and development programmes. We have recently appointed three high quality leaders from outside the Civil Service as Director Human Resources, Director Business Information Systems, and as Chief Crown Prosecutor for London. We also have two new Non-Executive Directors on The CPS Board who bring with them strong leadership skills. And, we are in the process of recruiting a third.

Throughout the period of this plan we shall extend opportunities on personal development training programmes to improve and enhance leadership qualities of our senior people, recognizing their development as leaders and their contribution to delivery through the new Senior Civil Service pay system. During the first year we shall also introduce an extensive management development programme for managers at a number of levels – from new and aspiring ones through to senior managers.

Allied to this we shall develop and recruit talent by providing legal training sponsorship at various levels for internal and external candidates

A national training plan is in place that prioritises the training required to develop the leadership and management skills and the specialist skills required to implement the initiatives set out in these plans. It includes developing IT literacy throughout the Service to maximize the benefits from modern, integrated, IT.

Information Technology

Another key element in delivery is modern, integrated, IT contributing to improved case management, improved electronic services to victims and witnesses of crime and improved working with our partners in the criminal justice system. We are party to a substantial IT investment programme that will deliver secure e-mail across the criminal justice system, enable all criminal justice organisations to be able to exchange case files electronically, and enable victims of crime to be able to track the progress of their cases online. These programmes will be realised progressively over the period of this plan. Our strategic IT programme, COMPASS, being taken forward with LogicaCMG as part of a PFI partnership, is in the vanguard of these developments and is one of the essential building blocks.

CPS e-Strategy 2003-2008: Key Themes

1. Transforming prosecution services – to successfully deliver e-Prosecuting through the developing COMPASS partnership

2. Joining up criminal justice – to put e-Prosecuting at the heart of improving justice and delivering e-Justice

3. Joining up CPS – to develop our capability and connectivity for managing and driving up CPS performance

4. Engaging with others – to enrich the services we can offer victims and witnesses, citizens, communities and business

5. Enabling successful delivery – to make people in CPS champions of technology that helps improve the job they do and service they can give

Criminal Justice Information Technology (CJIT)

The new money earmarked for information technology in the 2002 Spending Review will deliver the objectives and fund lasting changes in IT capacity across the whole criminal justice system. A new unit, CJIT, has been established to lead the programme.

CJIT is also developing a CJS Exchange. This will link the case management systems of the various agencies so that case information can be shared, resulting in less duplication and more up-to-date and consistent information for professionals. It will speed up work and lead to more effective justice. Using existing systems with CJS Exchange will mean that we can bring the vision of a ‘virtual case file’ closer to reality.

Planning and performance management

We shall take a sharper approach to resource planning to get a better grip on how additional resources would improve performance, including better business cases and investment appraisal. We shall take more of a programme and project approach to our major work programmes starting with delivery of our IT strategic programme and our major policy initiative, working in partnership with the police, to assume responsibility for charging. We shall also establish clearer links between national and local plans and individual job plans so that everyone knows their personal role in delivery of the Public Service Agreement targets.

Our approach will always be guided by the principles set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors

We shall deliver clear, consistent messages to the whole Service focusing on the targets and their delivery by engaging key managers in the process using a variety of methods including team meetings, the Service’s intranet, road-shows, videos and tape cassettes.

We shall ensure that equality and diversity are integral aspects of performance management. Our Race Equality Scheme has started this process.

The recently formed partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality will provide us with a fund of good practice as we take forward our Race Equality Scheme. The partnership will enable us in turn to share our growing expertise in racial issues.

Our Race Equality Scheme has been widely praised as a model of its kind. It is a three year strategy ensuring that:

• employment, training and development are appropriate to ability and regardless of gender, colour, race, ethnic or national origins, disability, age, marital status or sexual orientation
• prosecution decisions are free from bias or discrimination and that all defendants, victims and witnesses are treated fairly and with respect

From April 2003 we shall have in place an evolving but robust and responsible performance management system based on the balanced scorecard approach that provides an assessment of the Service’s contribution to the Public Service Agreement targets, the quality of our performance, and Area league tables. This will provide The Crown Prosecution Service Board with regular reports to enable it to assess progress and take any remedial action necessary. Importantly it will enable us to move away from reliance on HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate’s management information. This approach will be supported by management information provided through the COMPASS case management system.

In April 2003 we shall establish a new Business Development Directorate in Headquarters to provide greater focus and support to Chief Crown Prosecutors in co-ordinating and implementing new policies and initiatives, aimed at delivering the Public Service Agreement targets and to move us closer to a continuous improvement regime.

Changes are also taking place to strengthen the management role of Area Business Managers so that Chief Crown Prosecutors can, with confidence, leave much more of the administration to them. This change frees up their own time to concentrate on prosecution casework and provides a much stronger leadership team at the helm of each Area to drive forward delivery.

The 1999 reorganisation of the Service into 42 local Areas, co-terminous with police force boundaries, has consolidated our position as a national service delivered through maximum devolved responsibility to the Chief Crown Prosecutor in charge of each Area. This short line of communication means that we are able to deliver legislative and other reforms quickly and places Chief Crown Prosecutors in the position to play a leading role in the new local criminal justice boards that will bring together front line Chief Officers to decide how they can best see justice delivered.

In the criminal justice system

Local Criminal Justice Boards

New local Criminal Justice Boards will operate from 1 April 2003. The Boards bring together local Chief Officers of the core criminal justice agencies to deliver the Public Service Agreement targets in their area and to drive through the reforms set out in the Criminal Justice Bill. Chief Crown Prosecutors will be responsible for the Service’s local input to delivery of the targets and in many instances chair the Boards.

The new Boards will be directly accountable for delivery of the Public Service Agreement targets in their area, reporting to a new National Criminal Justice Board at quarterly intervals. Individual members of the local Boards shall also remain accountable through their own organizational chain of command.

In order to ensure that they operate within as wide a context as possible, local Boards will establish consultative groups drawn from a variety of sectors including the judiciary, local authorities, victim and witness support organisations, local interest groups and the local community more generally. Local Criminal Justice Board conference

Each Board will be supported by a performance officer to assist the Boards in developing and introducing joint local planning and performance review processes aimed at delivering the targets. Performance Advisers are also being appointed to support this work, each one working with a group of areas.

National Criminal Justice Board

The new National Board will also operate from 1 April 2003. Reporting to the Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor and Attorney General, it will be responsible for making sure that the Public Service Agreement targets for criminal justice are delivered. As part of this process delivery agreements will be made between the local Criminal Justice Boards and the National Board.

The Director and Chief Executive sit on the National Criminal Justice Board. It is chaired by the Minister of State for Criminal Justice, draws together other criminal justice Ministers, the most senior officials from the three criminal justice departments, chief executives of criminal justice agencies, the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (representing the police service), and a senior Lord Justice of Appeal.

Executive Board

The Service’s Chief Executive and other senior officials on the National Board form the Executive Board. Their remit is to take forward and oversee implementation of National Board decisions.

Support

A number of our people work in the trilateral units that support the National and Executive Boards and the local Boards. Among other things, the units are responsible for:

• developing criminal justice system plans and ensuring consistent messages about delivery are communicated to local Boards
• working with national and local structures to promote effective working, including simplifying and aligning procedures where possible
• building relationships to ensure that there is a strong two way communication between national and local level
• developing cross agency performance information in support of the Public Service Agreement targets

The Criminal Justice Council

A national Criminal Justice Council is being established to advise the National Board on criminal justice reform. Chaired by the senior Lord Justice of Appeal who sits on the National Board, it will provide views from a wide range of interests.

FUNDING FROM 2002 SPENDING REVIEW (SR2002)

Our budgets for 2003-04 and the following two years were determined through SR2002. We received additional funding to continue our reform programme and to develop and implement the COMPASS case management system. We shall also focus resources on our contribution to delivery of a step change in criminal justice performance through our closer partnership working with the police in respect of early advice and assuming responsibility for charging. Our aim is to ensure that prosecution cases proceed on the right charge at the earliest opportunity, and to reduce significantly the number of ineffective trials.

We received additional funding from SR2002 of £10.1/28.7/43.8 million in resource over three years and £2.7/3.4 million capital over the latter two years of the review period.

The Treasury recognised the important contribution the criminal justice Reserve made to supporting greater joint planning and management of the criminal justice system and the Reserve will continue for the SR2002 period. The Home Secretary, the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General together agreed that we should be allocated a further £18 million in 2003-04 from the Reserve to cover the costs of achieving the narrowing the justice gap target.

We obtained over £3 million each year from the Home Office in recognition of the critical work we shall need to do to help the courts restrain the assets of those involved in serious and acquisitive crime as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act. Discussions continue on the funding in 2004-05 and 2005-06 for asset recovery.

These additional resources will enable the Service to recruit significant numbers of additional lawyers and administrators to ensure that we are properly equipped with people with the right skills to deliver on all the main initiatives and help achieve the Public Service Delivery targets.

We received further capital funding of £6.8 million to enable us to deliver the Glidewell agenda and complete our programme of implementing Criminal Justice Units and Trials Units, collocated with the police wherever possible.

The tables below anticipates the continuation of funding from the Reserve and the Home Office.

Administration costs (mainly salaries, accommodation and IT costs):

	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
SR 2002 settlement	295,300	321,100	339,700	358,300
Additional funds from CJS Reserve	58,000	76,150	76,150	76,150
Home Office funding for Proceeds of Crime		3,300	3,500	3,500
Total	353,300	400,550	419,350	437,950

Other Current Expenditure (mainly prosecution costs):

002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
111,700	109,000	109,000	109,000

Capital:

	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
SR2002 settlement	4,000	4,000	6,700	7,400
Capital Modernisation Fund	6,000	6,800
Total	10,000	10,800	6,700	7,400

THE BUSINESS PLAN 2003-2004

SR2002 PUBLIC SERVICE AGREEMENT TARGETS

The Public Service Agreement targets for the SR2002 and the Justice for All reforms in the Criminal Justice Bill set our direction of travel for this coming year.

The Criminal Justice Bill represents a wide-ranging programme of reform for the criminal justice system. The reforms are aimed directly at supporting the criminal justice system in delivering its aims and objectives. The programme of reform is guided by a single priority:

• to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim and the community so as to reduce crime and bring more offenders to justice

The crucial element being the Government’s acceptance of Lord Justice Auld’s recommendation that the Service should take over responsibility for deciding the charge in all but the minor criminal cases. The aim is to ensure only the right cases enter the system, waste and delay is reduced, and that the reasonable expectations of victims and witnesses of crime are not disappointed.

The Service’s Public Service Agreement Targets for 2003-2004 are:

• Improve the delivery of justice by increasing the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice, to 1.2 million by 2005-2006; with an improvement in all CJS areas, a greater increase in the worst performing areas and a reduction in the proportion of ineffective trials
• Improve the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system, including increasing that of ethnic minority communities, and increasing year on year the satisfaction of victims and witnesses, whilst respecting the rights of defendants
• Increase value for money from the criminal justice system by 3% a year

The targets contribute to the criminal justice system Public Service Agreement

Deliverables by March 2004

• The Government has set narrowing the justice gap as the priority for this first year of the spending review period with a target of 5% improvement by March 2004 – a core part of the overall strategy is the persistent offender scheme introduced on 2 February 2003
• Local Criminal Justice Boards have been asked to set their own targets for reducing ineffective trials and improving the level of public confidence. They will be subject to a monitoring and performance management regime at national level
• Increase value for money by 3%
• Maintain the persistent young offender target of 71 days from the time taken from arrest to sentence
• Drive down street crime in the 10 hot spot Areas
• Double the amount of assets seized from criminals by March 2004

Our top level policy priorities for this year have a huge impact on the narrowing the justice gap target and improving public confidence and also contribute to increased value for money, they are:

• to focus resources at the beginning of the criminal justice process in close partnership with the police – the ‘frontend’ – early advice to the police and assuming responsibility for charge in all but the minor cases – this is our key policy priority
• to assume greater responsibility for witness care – starting with a pilot this year in CPS West Midlands and a pilot on a victim and witness support bureau as part of the charging implementation programme
• to implement the provisions of Proceeds of Crime legislation that are applicable to prosecutors contributing to the 2001 Manifesto commitment to double the amount of assets removed from criminals by March 2004

Our key enabling priorities are:

• to broker with the Lord Chancellor’s Department more effective listing arrangements – proposals for an honoured appointments system and block listings for Higher Court Advocate cases and Designated Caseworker cases
• to implement in all Areas by December 2003 the COMPASS Initial case management system to provide frontline practitioners with active case management and timely performance information
• to reshape Human Resource policies to better support the business – in particular flexible working patterns, improved recruitment processes, and innovative legal trainee/scholarship schemes
• to reassess the balance of work between Crown Prosecutors and Designated Caseworkers – to maximize the flexibility of current provisions in respect of Designated Caseworkers and consider possible extension of the provisions to all recordable offences

KEY RISKS TO DELIVERY

We have robust controls either in place or being put in place to ensure delivery of this plan. They are:

• a constructive and productive approach to partnership working at a national and local level, particularly with the police on charging and early advice
• the capacity and capability to deliver through successful recruitment and development programmes
• commitment from our people through effective planning and communication
• modern networked IT through COMPASS, our strategic IT programme

The Board has appointed Jeff Corrighan, Chief Crown Prosecutor Durham to ensure that the Service’s risk management processes are fit for purpose, particularly in regard to the above.

DELIVERY OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE AGREEMENT TARGETS

Each target has an assigned owner at Director level in Headquarters. Chief Crown Prosecutors are personally accountable for the delivery of Crown Prosecution services in their Areas, for ensuring the application of the principles of the Code for Crown Prosecutors in each case, for the efficiency and effectiveness of the prosecution process, for the proper and effective management of their Areas and for playing a leading role locally in the delivery of the targets.

NARROWING THE JUSTICE GAP AND REDUCING INEFFECTIVE TRIALS

TARGET OWNER: PETER LEWIS, DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Narrowing the justice gap

The cornerstone of the Service’s contribution to this target is working in close partnership with the police to implement the charging provisions discussed elsewhere in this plan. Early advice and charging decisions are challenging and will require the enthusiasm and energy of all concerned. They are also exciting. Fundamental is the personal leadership of all Chief Crown Prosecutors. Their ability to engage with their Chief Constable to agree and action plans to make a success of the new roles is key. This is about close partnership working while respecting the professional independence of both services.

A dedicated national implementation team has been put in place that works in partnership with the Association of Chief Police Officers to help Chief Crown Prosecutors and Chief Constables implement the necessary changes.

The programme involves:

• work both nationally and locally in close partnership with the police on a structured early advice scheme – a scheme in every Area by December 2003
• assume responsibility for charging, legislation Autumn 2003, phased rollout in all Areas completed by end 2004 – this involves close partnership with the police so that every Area has the structure and organisation in place to operate the charging provisions by mid 2004, with special measures for London, as necessary
• provide a premium service in all Areas to heighten the interface between ourselves and the police to underpin the highest standard of case progression to a wider category of cases than street crime such as persistent offenders, hate and other recorded crime by March 2004
• pilot ‘CPS Direct’ – a remote advice scheme to complement face-to-face advice and provide 24 hour cover – with a view to national roll out by December 2004
• pilot victim and witness support bureau services – research and consultation on pre-charge and/or pre-trial interviewing of witness by the prosecutor in appropriate cases – evaluation by December 2004
• drive forward the establishment of collocated police/CPS criminal justice units consistent with prosecutors assuming responsibility for charging so that there is at least a total of 124 by March 2004 and 129 by March 2005

Other programmes relevant to delivery of the target

• develop cadres of specialist prosecutors and caseworkers in Areas to deal with particular types of offences such as domestic violence, race, homophobic and serious, organised and international crime – an ongoing programme
• help counter the threat of global crime, especially terrorism, by developing further our role in European, international, serious and organised crime including extending our overseas liaison network of prosecutors and increasing our influence in Eurojust – an ongoing programme

Reducing ineffective trials

• work with the courts to refine the joint performance management analysis of ineffective trials in the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court to provide local practitioners with better analysis tools to secure performance improvement
• provide practitioner experience of ‘what works’ to the tripartite Case Preparation and Progression Project led by the Lord Chancellor’s Department for procedural, cultural and behavioural reform that will maximize the opportunity to reduce ineffective trials – pilots are proposed from April 2003 with full implementation from April 2004
• work with the Lord Chancellor’s Department so that court lists operate as an efficient appointments system and that wherever possible involve ‘block listing’ of cases involving Higher Court Advocates in the Crown Court and Designated Caseworkers in the magistrates’ courts by March 2004 so that trials can go ahead on the day listed
• look to extend the use of case progression officers, beyond the street crime Areas, to take active steps to ensure that cases are ready for the next hearing

IMPROVING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE

TARGET OWNER: PETER LEWIS, DIRECTOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Improving public confidence includes increasing that of minority ethnic communities, and increasing the satisfaction of victims and witnesses, whilst respecting the rights of defendants

Treatment of victims and witnesses of crime

To rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim and community so as to reduce crime and bring more offenders to justice

• during 2003, pilot in CPS West Midlands a whole system approach to victim and witness management putting in place best in class witness care, including witness warning, providing a single point of contact, being accountable for delivery – to provide evidence for SR2004 for possible replication in all 42 Areas from 2005
• develop a national quality standard of care for victims and witnesses of crime based on best practice – by September 2003
• provide victims of crime with information about their case – explaining directly to them decisions to drop or substantially alter charges and offering face-to-face meetings in appropriate cases – ongoing

Victim Personal Statements

New procedures were introduced in October 2001 allowing victims of crime to explain how the crime has affected them and to express their feelings about many other issues important to them. Our prosecutors make sure that the courts have access to the statements so that the information they contain can be taken into account in bail and sentencing decisions

• phased implementation of special measures available under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to assist vulnerable or intimidated witnesses to give their best evidence – final implementation to be determined
• evaluation by academic experts of a two year pilot due to start in April 2003 to instill in the courts greater confidence in the statements of vulnerable witnesses through the additional testimony of experts in domestic violence and its effects – March 2005
• Crown Prosecutors applying to the Crown Court to restrain the proceeds of those convicted of serious and acquisitive crime – ongoing

Respecting the rights of defendants

• correct application of the Code for Crown Prosecutors – ongoing
• scrupulous compliance with the prosecutorial duties of disclosure – ongoing
• strict adherence to custody time limits – ongoing
• development of a delivery plan following publication of the report on the results of external research into the disproportionate impact, in terms of ethnicity and gender, of the system on defendants – due to report in May 2003

Community Engagement

• involvement of community representatives in the development of public policy statements for specific types of crime is now established practice for the Service – in 2003 this will be racial and religiously motivated crime
• Examples of community representative involvement in the development of the Service’s public policy statements for specific crime to date are:
• domestic violence
• homophobic attacks
• involvement of community groups to help draw up publicity material and the delivery of training to lawyers and caseworkers, for example, racially aggravated crime
• launch a national campaign to improve trust and confidence among minority ethnic groups targeting victims, witnesses and defendants as well as the community as a whole – September 2003

The raft of initiatives on community engagement, particularly involving minority ethnic communities include distributing leaflets on the Service to community groups in community languages, visiting groups, inviting groups to visit our offices and having community representatives on local Area equality committees

The appointment during 2002 of 10 Equality and Diversity Officers, each serving a group of CPS Areas based on the Government Offices for the Regions shall have a considerable effect in stimulating a meaningful dialogue with different communities – dialogue of this sort being one of the most effective ways of raising public confidence

Communications

We are members of the criminal justice system taskforce subgroup working up a criminal justice system communication strategy to improve public confidence. For our part we shall during 2003-2004:

• ensure everyone in the Service understands the ambassadorial role they have in building up public confidence in their day-to-day tasks
• build stronger relationships with the media, including minority ethnic media, locally and nationally to develop a more positive public image by offering articles, good news stories, interviews, features, and suggesting profiles
• work more closely with criminal justice partners to ensure consistency of messages and co-ordination of communication

Proceeds of crime

• to implement the provisions of Proceeds of Crime legislation that are applicable to prosecutors, contributing to the 2001 Manifesto commitment to double the amount of assets removed from criminals by March 2004

INCREASE VALUE FOR MONEY BY 3%

TARGET OWNER: JOHN GRAHAM, DIRECTOR FINANCE

Delivery of the target involves:

• realize benefits from implementation of the charging provisions
• more effective deployment of Designated Caseworkers leading to a reduction in the unit cost of dealing with recordable crime
• implement the Interim Case Management System
• develop our activity based costing system to align with the Public Service Agreement targets, to deliver better distribution of resources across Areas, and to provide benchmarks against which individual Areas can assess their relative costs and performance
• more effective use of available resources through improved procurement practice
• manage the estate to meet changing business requirements

ENABLERS TO DELIVERY OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY AGREEMENTS

• as part of becoming more outward facing and more outcome focused we want to know how our criminal justice system partners and other key stakeholders perceive our performance to help us to improve on a continuous basis – we shall do this by carrying out regular reputation surveys – the first in February 2003. The first survey results which will form the benchmark for future years will be considered at our Senior Management Conference in April 2003.
• as part of our strategic IT programme, COMPASS, introduce an initial case management system in all Areas by December 2003 that will provide timely and accurate information on the outcome of recorded and recordable offences enabling early analysis of problems and remedial action – with the introduction of a full case management system in all Areas by December 2004

Joined up Criminal Justice IT: Investment Programmes

• to deliver secure email across the criminal justice system
• all criminal justice organisations to be able to exchange case files electronically
• victims of crime to be able to track the progress of their cases online

The new money for IT in SR2002 will fund the programmes. The programmes will be realized progressively over 2003-2006. A new unit, Criminal Justice Information Technology (CJIT), has been established to lead the programmes.

COMPASS is in the vanguard of these developments and is one of the essential building blocks. Claire Hamon, Director Business Information Systems

• develop a strategy to extend the remit of Designated Caseworkers to a greater range of cases, to release more prosecutors to concentrate on recorded crime and to release the more senior prosecutors, including Higher Court Advocates, to concentrate on the earliest stages in the criminal justice process by March 2004
• devise and introduce flexible working patterns to support earlier advice to the police and implementation of charging provisions by March 2004
• take forward the actions required to strengthen the weaknesses identified in the 2002 staff survey so that the 2004 staff survey shows significant improvements in the perceptions of staff
• develop a new recruitment and retention strategy, including the development of an employment brand for the Service, to ensure that recruitment needs are anticipated, planned and met so that we are able to recruit and retain the best people possible by June 2003
• review the personal performance appraisal system and competency framework so that everyone in the Service can understand how to link their jobs to the Public Service Agreement targets by March 2004
• implement the recently developed leadership and management development programme which will be launched in Spring 2003
• produce plans for a legal scholarship scheme by May 2003
• develop and agree a strategy by September 2004 for ongoing assessment against the Investors in People standard leading to corporate assessment during the SR2002 period
• continue to work towards becoming a beacon organisation in terms of equality and diversity both as employer and prosecutor – in this European year of disabled people – working with the Disability Rights Commission to concentrate on disability both for those in the Service and the victims and witnesses of crime whose lives we touch – ongoing
• promote and support a range of positive action schemes for our people (Pathways, Prince’s Trust, Disability Bursaries, Elevator Partnering) – ongoing
• review the Service’s Equalities Statement and related practices and procedures to ensure compliance with EC Directive: article 13 (Age and Religion) by September 2003

FUNDING

The new budget for 2003-04 is £520.4 million compared to £475.0 million in 2002-03. More detail can be found in the Strategic Plan for 2003-2006 at the front of this document.

Our total planned expenditure in round figures for 2003-04 is:

Administration costs (mainly salaries, accommodation and IT costs)

• SR 2002 settlement £321.1 million
• Additional funds from CJS Reserve £76.2 million
• Home Office funding for Proceeds of Crime £3.3 million
• Total £400.6 million

Other Current Expenditure (mainly prosecution costs) £109.0 million

Capital

• SR2002 settlement £4.0 million
• Capital Modernisation Fund £6.8 million
• Total £10.8 million