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 and prosecutes these cases with in-house advocates or instructs agents and counsel to present them; 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). 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 in 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 responsibilities of 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), Keir Starmer QC, who took up office on 1 November 2008. For the period from 1 April to 31 October, the DPP was Ken Macdonald QC. The Director is superintended by the Attorney General, who is accountable to parliament for the Service. The Chief Executive is Peter Lewis, who is responsible for running the business on a day-to-day basis, and for equality and diversity, human resources, finance, business information systems, and business development. This allows 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 their local community. A "virtual" 43rd Area, CPS Direct, is also headed by a CCP and provides out-of-hours charging decisions to the police. Three casework divisions, based in headquarters (HQ), 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. Corporate administrative support to Areas is provided through a network of business centres.
Forty-one Areas are part of a 14-Group structure (excluding CPS London). The Groups have a specific remit to deliver measurable improvements across a range of functions. Each Group is overseen by a Group Strategy Board, chaired by a Group Chair, who is a senior CCP and, since 1 October 2008, has line management responsibility for the other CCPs in the Group. Each Group Chair is supported by a senior ABM. All the CCPs and ABMs of the Areas within a Group are members of the Group Strategy Board.
Links with Local Criminal Justice Boards
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. All LCJBs produce 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, Secretary of State for Justice, 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). This is the trilateral team, drawn from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the CPS, that supports criminal justice departments, agencies and LCJBs in working together to deliver PSA targets and to improve the service provided to the public.
CPS Management Structure
The following report to the Director of Public Prosecutions ("DPP"):
- Casework Divisions
- Principal Legal Advisor
- Principal Policy Advisor and Director Policy
The Chief Executive reports to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The following report to the Chief Executive:
- HQ Directorates
- Groups
- Areas
