Core Quality Standards
Following the launch of Core Quality Standards (CQS) in March 2010, a new performance monitoring regime was developed and has been fully operational since October. As part of the new system, approximately 18,000 files are reviewed each year to assess compliance with the Core Quality Standards. The results of these assessments are then compared against a basket of key performance measures which report casework outcomes.
The file review process, known as Core Quality Standards Monitoring (CQSM), requires managers to assess at least six files per month against 34 commitments set out in the Core Quality Standards. These assessments are supplemented by a peer review process where another manager assesses at least 24 files over a two month period. This helps to ensure assessments are consistent and robust across the service. In the period from October 2010 to March 2011, over 10,000 files were assessed. Approximately 78% of the commitments in these files were fully met. Of the remainder, 11.5% were partially met and 10.5% not met.
CQSM results are further validated against a range of key performance measures drawn from our casework management system and other corporate databases. Other measures have also been selected to monitor performance by efficiency and productivity, violence against women, hate crime and people issues.
The results of both the CQSM assessments and the key performance measures are discussed in quarterly Area Performance Review (APR) meetings held between the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Crown Prosecutors and Area Business Managers. These meetings provide an early warning of poor or declining performance. Chief Crown Prosecutors and Area Business Managers are asked to complete and report back on corrective actions when performance fails to meet the required standard. Area Performance Review also provides a process for identifying and sharing best practice between senior managers across the service.
In January 2011 the CPS launched a new national Appeals Unit to conduct all appeals against final judgments in the Administrative Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Unit provides a central point of contact and source of expert advice for CPS prosecutors and our criminal justice system partners, and by rigorously applying our Core Quality Standards, demonstrates the CPS's commitment to providing a first-rate service at every stage of a prosecution. The new unit is expected to conduct in excess of 7,000 appellate court cases per year, including all appeals referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and all Unduly Lenient Sentences. Master Venne, Registrar of Criminal Appeals, welcomed the establishment of the CPS Appeals Unit, saying that it "will improve the service which the Court of Appeal provides to appellants and the criminal justice service as a whole".
