Introduction
Role
The CPS was set up in 1986 as an independent authority to prosecute criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. In undertaking this role, the CPS:
- Advises the police during the early stages of investigations;
- Determines the appropriate charges in all but minor cases;
- Keeps all cases under continuous review and decides which cases should be prosecuted;
- Prepares cases for prosecution in court, prosecutes the cases with in-house advocacy or instructs agents and counsel to present cases; and
- Provides information and assistance to victims and prosecution witnesses.
Code for Crown Prosecutors
Before charging a defendant and proceeding with a prosecution, Crown Prosecutors must first review each case against the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The Code sets out the principles the CPS applies when carrying out its work. Those principles are whether:
- There is enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each defendant on each charge; and, if so,
- A prosecution is needed under the public interest.
The Director is under a statutory duty to publish the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The fifth edition of the Code was published on 16 November 2004 and reflects the new responsibilities for Crown Prosecutors to determine charges.
Human Rights Act
The CPS is a public authority for the purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998. In carrying out their role, Crown Prosecutors must apply the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights in accordance with the Act.
Organisation
The CPS is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ken Macdonald QC. The Director is superintended by the Attorney General who is accountable to Parliament for the Service. The Chief Executive is Richard Foster, who is responsible for running the business on a day-to-day basis, and for human resources, finance, business information systems, and business development, allowing the Director to concentrate on prosecution, legal issues and criminal justice policy.
CPS Areas
The CPS has 42 Areas across England and Wales. Each Area is headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) who is responsible for the delivery of a high quality prosecution service to his or her local community. A 'virtual' 43rd Area, CPS Direct, is also headed by a CCP and provides out-of-hours charging advice to the police. Three casework divisions, based in Headquarters, deal with the prosecution of serious organised crime, terrorism and other specialised prosecution cases.
Each CCP is supported by an Area Business Manager (ABM), and their respective roles mirror, at a local level, the responsibilities of the DPP and the Chief Executive. Administrative support to Areas is provided through a network of business centres.
The CPS is working closely with the Home Office and Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) on the recently announced Police Reform proposals. The Service is reviewing its organisation in readiness to respond to police force restructuring and ensure the CPS continues to provide a high quality prosecuting service in partnership with the police.
Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) bring together the Chief Officers of local criminal justice agencies to deliver the Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets in their Area and to drive through criminal justice reforms. Each LCJB has produced delivery plans to bring more offenders to justice, reduce ineffective trials and increase public confidence. Progress on the plans is reported to the National Criminal Justice Board (NCJB). The Attorney General, Solicitor General, DPP and CPS Chief Executive, along with the Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor and others, are members of the NCJB.
Office for Criminal Justice Reform
The CPS also works closely with the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR), which is the trilateral team drawn from the Home Office, DCA and CPS to support criminal justice departments, agencies and LCJBs in working together to deliver PSA targets and to improve the service provided to the public.
Management Structure
The following divisions report to CPS Headquarters:
- Policy: Philip Geering
- Equality and Diversity: Séamus Taylor
- Finance: John Graham
- Organised Crime Division: Alison Saunders
- Special Crime Division: Carmen Dowd
- Counter Terrorism Division: Sue Hemming
- Business Development: Peter Lewis
- Human Resources: Angela O'Conner
- Business Centres
- Business Information Systems: Claire Hamon
CPS Headquarters, the 42 Area and CPS Direct Business Managers and 42 Area and CPS Direct Chief Crown Prosecutors report to Chief Executive Richard Foster and ultimately to the Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald QC
