Driving Change and Delivery
Recovering Proceeds of Crime
From April 2005 to March 2006, the CPS secured 3,009 confiscation orders to a value of over £87 million, exceeding the 2005-06 targets of 2,280 orders to a value of £68 million. The CPS has also obtained 548 restraint orders, which exceeds the target for 2005-06 of 431 orders.
The CPS/Enforcement Task Force continues to recover monies in respect of confiscation orders and compensation orders on behalf of victims.
The Regional Asset Recovery Teams (RARTs) have contributed by assisting in obtaining larger value Confiscation Orders and in other areas of asset recovery work such as co-ordinating local training and disseminating best practice.
Case Study
In January 2004 Ayub Khansia was arrested and charged with possession of a class 'A' drug (1.5kg of heroin) with intent to supply. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven and a half years' imprisonment. Following his conviction, an investigation was launched into Khansia's financial situation with a view to starting confiscation proceedings. He had few assets in his own name but had put the majority of assets in the name of other family members. The enquiry led to the arrest and charge of four members of his family, all of whom pleaded guilty to money laundering in July 2005. In December 2005, following a confiscation hearing at Preston Crown Court, a confiscation order of over £2 million was made against Ayub Khansia, with the remaining family members receiving confiscation orders totalling almost £530,000.
Kendal Lindley, CPS Lancashire Special Casework Lawyer said: "This is a fantastic example of what can be achieved by the successful cooperation between all agencies including CPS Lancashire, Lancashire Constabulary, HM Revenue and Customs and civilian analysts. The RART was specifically set up to target criminals who have substantial assets from acquisitive crime or drug dealing. The ultimate beneficiaries in all this are the local community as a large percentage of the money which is recovered will be used by all the agencies to fight crime and reduce the fear of crime. It's payback time for criminals."
Joined-up IT
Working in collaboration with the police and CJIT, the CPS has successfully piloted the electronic transfer of case information between police and CPS IT systems. The CJS Exchange facility, created by CJIT, has enabled immediate electronic information sharing between the CPS and partner agencies. The initial pilot between the CPS Case Management System and police IT system (NSPIS) in Humberside was successfully concluded in 2005 and the exchange is now live in Avon and Somerset. These interfaces will continue to rollout throughout 2006-07. By using the interface, the burden of inputting the same data into both police and CPS systems has been substantially reduced.
During 2005, two new releases of the Case Management System were implemented to support legislative change and enhance data. This information is increasingly being exploited throughout the organisation and across the CJS, using the Management Information System (MIS) to interrogate and extract data that supports strategic planning and performance enhancements. In addition, the information contained within the MIS is being used across the CJS at both national and local criminal justice levels, by automatically feeding into the Criminal Justice MIS which was introduced in Spring 2006.
The CPS is also developing a system to support the Effective Trial Management Programme through improved case progression. This development will ensure we have a national approach to ensuring judicial instructions are complied with speedily and effectively.
Electronic Information at Court
The CPS has also worked closely with the DCA and has completed the rollout of the Exchange of Hearing Information By Internet Technology (XHIBIT) which provides up-to-date listing and results information for the CPS and for victims and witnesses at Crown Courts. The CPS continues to work with other prosecuting authorities and with colleagues in the DCA to explore opportunities for making wider use of electronic tools such as electronic presentation of evidence.
Prolific and Priority Offenders
The CPS has continued to work closely at a national and local level during 2005-06 with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Community Safety Groups on the three-strand Prolific and Priority Offender (PPO) Programme. Working predominantly with police partners the CPS has focused on the 'Catch and Convict' strand, providing a premium service in terms of the preparation and presentation of cases involving offenders alleged to represent a significant threat to the wellbeing of the local community.
CJS performance is monitored through J-Track, an IT system used to track and monitor PPOs. A J-Track London User Group has been set up to raise awareness within CPS London of this part of the PPO process and best practice from this group will be promulgated to other Areas.
Drug Intervention Programme
The Drug Intervention Programme (DIP) involves the CPS, criminal justice agencies and the National Treatment Agency working with other service providers to offer a way out for offenders regularly committing crime to fund their drug habit. CPS performance is measured by comparing Home Office figures for the number of drug tests carried out, to the number of DIP cases that have been identified. CPS compliance has risen from 46% in April 2005 to 70% in April 2006. To improve performance further the CPS Priority Offenders Delivery Unit has held four DIP seminars and visited five CPS Areas to look at local systems, discuss issues, and disseminate best practice.
In March 2006, 'Testing on Arrest' and 'Restriction on Bail' provisions came into force to encourage earlier and better levels of drug intervention. Under 'Testing on Arrest' offenders are being tested at arrest instead of at charge, allowing the initial drug assessment to be completed in the police station and increasing the chances of meaningful drug rehabilitation. 'Restriction on Bail' applies across England and makes drug treatment a condition of bail where someone has tested positive for drugs. In preparation for the launch of these two important initiatives the CPS has held three national seminars for staff with invited speakers representing the Home Office, Government Office for London and Metropolitan Police.
Criminal Case Management
The CPS has been working with the OCJR, other CJS agencies, the senior judiciary and representatives from the defence in the production of the next edition of the Criminal Case Management Framework (CCMF) for hearings involving adults. The CCMF articulates the roles and responsibilities of the agencies in bringing offenders to justice by helping to improve case preparation and progression from charge to finalisation. The CCMF is being implemented through the Effective Trial Management Programme and was introduced in all 42 Areas by March 2006 as part of the overall strategy to reduce the number of ineffective trials in the Crown Court and in magistrates' courts.
Work is currently underway to produce a CCMF for Youth cases. The CPS has once again worked as part of the multi-agency Case Management Team within OCJR to assist in the production of the YCCMF by the summer of 2006.
Improving the Management of Prosecution Costs
The CPS works closely with the DCA on a shared strategy for defence and prosecution costs, to ensure that both parts of government are joined-up in their approach to dealing with the management of criminal cases.
A key focus of CPS activity in 2005-06 has been to improve the management of Very High Cost Cases. There are a small number of such cases but they can have a significant impact on expenditure of prosecution costs. In July 2005, the CPS introduced a new way of procuring the services of barristers in very high cost cases through new arrangements initially in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and the three HQ Casework Divisions. The new arrangements achieve greater certainty around the fees payable for cases that are due to last eight weeks or more, by identification of a fixed hourly rate at the beginning of a case, and planning and managing the work of counsel in 8-12 week stages. The Very High Cost Cases Scheme will be rolled out across the remaining CPS Areas from July 2006.
The CPS also introduced Case Management Panels during 2005 to oversee the strategies being applied in the prosecution of these very high cost cases likely to take more than eight weeks at trial. Case Management Panels in respect of the most serious and complex cases are chaired by the DPP, whilst others are chaired by CCPs or Heads of Casework Divisions. The process enables the Director, and CCPs, to provide personal assurance to the Attorney, and the wider CJS community, that appropriate consideration has been given to all pertinent issues surrounding the launch of any substantial prosecution case due to last eight weeks or more at trial, and that the case is kept under regular review.
Simple, Speedy, Summary Justice
The cross CJS review to speed up and simplify the administration of cases in magistrates' courts will look at processes throughout the CJS to ensure that they are efficient, effective and proportionate. The CPS will be contributing significantly to this work as well as reviewing its own internal processes and structures informed by the recent review work of Lord Justice Thomas.
The aim is to ensure that the administration and organisation of the CPS can effectively and efficiently service a simpler, speedier process. The Service will be improving joint working with other criminal justice agencies by providing a more streamlined way of dealing with magistrates' court cases. The CPS will develop a standard efficient model of its administration to provide proper oversight of cases and develop effective procedures to identify urgent and high risk cases.
