The Crown Prosecution Service Annual Report 2004

Annex A: Casework Statistics

In these statistics, a defendant represents one person in a single set of proceedings, which may involve one or more charges. A set of proceedings usually relates to an incident or series of related incidents that are the subject of a police file. If a set of proceedings relates to more than one person then each is counted as a defendant. Sometimes one person is involved in several sets of proceedings during the same year: if so, he or she is counted as a defendant on each occasion.

The figures comprise defendants dealt with by the 42 Areas of the Service, but do not include the specialised casework handled by Casework Directorate.

Chart 1 Magistrates court caseload

Chart 1 shows the number of cases dealt with by the CPS, in 2004-05 and the two preceding years.

The number of defendants in respect of whom the CPS provided pre-charge advice to the police rose by 126.3% during 2004-05, reflecting the impact of prosecutors assuming responsibility for the decision to charge in all but minor cases. Over the period 2004-05 all Areas have been providing pre-charge advice, some via the statutory scheme, and some by operating a shadow non-statutory scheme.

The number of defendants prosecuted by the CPS fell by 8.4% during the year. Several factors may affect this figure, including the number of arrests, the impact of the early involvement of prosecutors, the number of offences cleared up by the police, and the number of offenders cautioned by the police.

The present fall in caseload may also be related to lower levels of recorded crime, and to an increasing number of comparatively minor offences now dealt with by way of a fixed penalty without CPS involvementPre-charge decisions: in all but minor cases, and those where a guilty plea is anticipated,

Pre-charge Decisions

Note: Many precharge decisions will have been made in cases subsequently prosecuted by the CPS

2002 - 2003 64,456
2003 - 2004 194,928
2004 - 2005 441,194

Prosecuted by CPS

2002 - 2003 1,274,852
2003 - 2004 1,274,615
2004 - 2005 1,168,078

Other Proceedings

2002 - 2003 8,853
2003 - 2004 17,225
2004 - 2005 7,028

Pre-charge Decisions: in all but minor cases, and those where a guilty plea is anticipated, Crown Prosecutors are responsible for deciding whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, what that offence should be in accordance with the Director’s Guidelines. The figures shown here comprise all such decisions, regardless of whether the decision was to prosecute or not.

Prosecuted by the CPS: this figure comprises all defendants charged or summonsed whose case was completed in magistrates’ courts during the period, including those proceeding to a trial or guilty plea, those discontinued, and those which could not proceed. Cases committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court are not included. Further information on the type of finalisations is shown at chart 3;

other proceedings: non-criminal matters, such as forfeiture proceedings under the Obscene Publications Acts.

Chart 2: Magistrates’ courts: types of cases

Chart 2: Magistrates' courts: types of cases

Chart 2 shows the different types of cases dealt with by the CPS in magistrates’ courts. They are:

summary: (approximately two thirds of total cases) cases which can be tried only in the magistrates’ courts;

indictable/either way: (approximately one third of total cases) indictable only cases can be tried only in the Crown Court, but either way cases may be tried either in magistrates’ courts or in the Crown Court.

Summary

2002 - 2003 796,742 58.5%
2003 - 2004 836,973 61.4%
2004 - 2005 792,725 63.6%

Indictable/either way

2002 - 2003 565,570 41.5%
2003 - 2004 525,345 38.6%
2004 - 2005 453,115 35.4%

Total

2002 - 2003 1,362,312
2003 - 2004 1,362,318
2004 - 2005 1,245,840

Chart 3: Magistrates’ courts: case outcomes

Chart 3: Magistrates' courts: case outcomes

Chart 3 shows the outcome of defendant cases completed during the year. These are cases where a decision has been made by police or CPS to charge or summons. Cases may proceed to prosecution or be discontinued at any stage of the proceedings up to the start of trial.

Discontinuances:

Circumstances often leave the CPS no choice but to discontinue: for example when witnesses fail to attend court or change their evidence; when defendants wait until the day of the trial before producing documents proving their innocence (such as a driving licence); or when the police are unable to fill gaps in the evidence. Discontinuance can occur at any time up until the start of trial, or the defendant pleads guilty. The figures include both cases discontinued in advance of the hearing and those withdrawn at court. Also included are cases in which the defendant was bound over to keep the peace;

2002 - 2003 197,680 15.5%
2003 - 2004 175,779 13.8%
2004 - 2005 146,268 12.5%

Warrants etc:

when the prosecution cannot proceed because the defendant has failed to appear at court and a Bench Warrant has been issued for his or her arrest; or the defendant has died; or where proceedings are adjourned indefinitely. These cases are not discontinued. The majority could not proceed because the police could not find a defendant: if the defendant is subsequently traced, then the prosecution may continue.

2002 - 2003 80,477 6.3%
2003 - 2004 72,078 5.7%
2004 - 2005 53,408 4.6%

Discharges:

committal proceedings in which the defendant is discharged. The number of discharges may be misleading. The new Compass Case Management System has only recently begun to capture these cases to be reported as a discrete outcome. The numbers are expected to stabilise and then gradually decrease;

2002 - 2003 1,006 0.1%
2003 - 2004 2,225 0.2%
2004 - 2005 3,444 0.3%

Dismissals no case to answer:

cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty and prosecution evidence is heard, but proceedings are dismissed by the magistrates without hearing the defence case;

2002 - 2003 1,745 0.1%
2003 - 2004 3,053 0.2%
2004 - 2005 3,681 0.3%

Dismissals after trial:

cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty and proceedings are
dismissed by the magistrates after hearing the defence case – a not guilty verdict;

2002 - 2003 15,452 1.2%
2003 - 2004 15,997 1.3%
2004 - 2005 17,839 1.5%

Proofs in absence:

these are mostly minor motoring matters which are heard by the court in the absence of the defendant;

2002 - 2003 126,518 9.9%
2003 - 2004 152,757 12.0%
2004 - 2005 169,681 14.5%

Guilty pleas:

where the defendant pleads guilty;

2002 - 2003 811,583 63.7%
2003 - 2004 800,525 62.8%
2004 - 2005 716,082 61.3%

Convictions after trial:

cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty but is convicted after the evidence is heard.

2002 - 2003 40,391 3.2%
2003 - 2004 52,201 4.1%
2004 - 2005 57,675 4.9%

Totals Magistrate Court Cases:

2002 - 2003 1,274,852
2003 - 2004 1,274,615
2004 - 2005 1,168,078

Table showing the different types of case heard by Magistrates Courts from 2002 to 2005

Discontinuances have continued to fall substantially since 2002-03. This is believed to be largely a positive outcome of the charging initiative. Recent years have seen a gradual downward trend in discontinuance, from 16.2% in 2001-02 to 15.5% in 2002-03, to 13.8% in 2003-04, and to 12.5% in 2004-05, reflecting the impact of the charging initiative.

Convictions rose from 76.8% of all outcomes in 2002-03 to 78.9% in 2003-04 and to 80.8% in 2004-05. Over the same period, unsuccessful outcomes fell from 23.2% in 2002-03, to 21.1% in 2003-04, and to 19.2% in 2004-05. Again, another positive outcome of charging.

97.8% of cases proceeding to a hearing (trial or guilty plea) resulted in a conviction, little changed compared with the previous year. Where a defendant pleads guilty to some charges in a set of proceedings, and not guilty to others, the above figures include both the guilty plea and the outcome of the subsequent contested hearing.

Chart 4: Magistrates’ courts: committals to the Crown Court

Chart 4: Magistrates' courts: committals to the Crown Court

In addition to the above cases, which were completed in magistrates’ courts, the following numbers of defendants were committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court:

Commitals for trial:

2002 - 2003 92,649
2003 - 2004 100,490
2004 - 2005 93,936

Chart 5: Crown Court caseload

Chart 5 shows the number of defendants whose case was completed in the Crown Court:

Prosecuted by the CPS: This figure comprises all cases proceeding to trial or guilty plea in the Crown Court, together with those discontinued or dropped by the CPS after having been committed or sent for trial. The outcome of these proceedings is shown at chart 7;

Cases Prosecuted by the CPS:

2002 - 2003 96,233
2003 - 2004 97,375
2004 - 2005 94,737

Appeals: defendants tried in magistrates’ courts may appeal to the Crown Court against their
conviction and/or sentence;

Appeals:

2002 - 2003 11,504
2003 - 2004 11,418
2004 - 2005 11,960

committals for sentence: some defendants tried and convicted by the magistrates’ are committed to the Crown Court for sentence, if the magistrates’ decide that greater punishment is needed than they can impose.

Committals for sentence:

2002 - 2003 19,659
2003 - 2004 20,191
2004 - 2005 19,672

The number of defendants prosecuted fell by 2.7% during 2004-05.

Chart 6: Crown Court: source of committals for trial

Total number of cases committed for trial at Crown Court:

2002 - 2003 94,546
2003 - 2004 95,234
2004 - 2005 90,890

Magistrates’ direction: these are either way proceedings which the magistrates’ thought were serious enough to call for trial in the Crown Court;

2002 - 2003 40,274 (42.6% of total)
2003 - 2004 41,997 (44.1% of total)
2004 - 2005 49,355 (54.3% of total)

Defendants’ elections: these are either way proceedings in which the defendant chose Crown Court trial;

2002 - 2003 15,051 (15.9% of total)
2003 - 2004 13,037 (13.7% of total)
2004 - 2005 5,045 (5.6% of total)

Indictable only: these are more serious cases which can only be tried in the Crown Court.

2002 - 2003 39,221 (41.5% of total)
2003 - 2004 40,200 (42.2% of total)
2004 - 2005 36,490 (40.1% of total)

Indictable only cases represented 40.1% of the total compared with only 18.2% in 1991-92.

Chart 7: Crown Court: case outcomes

Cases against defendants committed for trial in the Crown Court can by completed in several ways:

Judge ordered acquittals:

These are cases where problems are identified after a case is committed or sent to the Crown Court. The prosecution offers no evidence, and the judge orders a formal acquittal of the defendant. These include cases where the defendant has serious medical problems; or has already been dealt with for other offences; or when witnesses are missing. Cases sent to the Crown Court under s51 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and subsequently discontinued are also included in this total. Also included are cases in which charges do not proceed to a trial, and the defendant is bound over to keep the peace;

2002 - 2003 14,671 (15.2% of total)
2003 - 2004 14,358 (14.7% of total)
2004 - 2005 13,430 ( 14.2% of total)