Crown Prosecution Service Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2011 - 2012

Director's letter to the Attorney General

I am pleased to report to you on the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) during 2011-12. During this year the CPS has become a leaner, more flexible organisation that is growing in confidence and which has demonstrated a real ability to respond dynamically to changes in its operating environment.

We have restructured and implemented a phased process of staff reductions to fit our new model, and are now beginning to see the benefits of increased flexibility which digital working provides by enabling work to be processed outside traditional geographic boundaries allowing us to deal more efficiently with peaks in demand.

The CPS has led the move to digital working across the criminal justice system and through this process has forged closer collaborative working arrangements with key partners including the police, courts and the defence community. Digital working now provides a platform on which all agencies can work together to build further reforms.

This, the first year of the 2010 Spending Review period, presented a robust test of CPS's capacity to continue delivering cases with fewer resources whilst at the same time maintaining and, where possible, raising standards. It was also the second year of the operation of CPS Core Quality Standards. As in the first year we examined a comprehensive sample of cases to ensure that we were fully meeting the Standards we have set, and took corrective actions where we found we did not.

By the end of the final quarter of 2011-12, performance in nine of our ten critical performance measures showed improvement when compared to the final quarter of 2010-11. This improvement came while we saved more than £19.6m (6% of our budget) in the costs of front line activity.

For example:

• The conviction rate for CPS-charged cases in both the magistrates' and Crown Courts improved;
• The number of cases dropped at the third or subsequent hearings dropped;
• Witness attendance rates improved;
• The conviction rate for both Violence against Women and Hate Crime improved in every quarter throughout 2011-12;
• Attrition rates for rape have been reduced and are now at their lowest recorded levels, and
• The average number of working days lost to sickness was reduced by 7% over the course of the year.

In my report to you last year I described the steps we had taken to live within our budget and safeguard our operations and I recorded my determination to ensure that cost reductions did not come at the expense of quality or the proper application of justice. Now that this first year has been completed, I can confirm that the measures we put in place have been effective and the quality of cases has been maintained.

This year we undertook 787,613 cases in magistrates' Courts (840,983 in 2010-11) and 107,268 cases in the Crown Court (116,898 in 2010-11).

During the summer of 2011 there were disturbances in London and other cities in England. The CPS responded by providing round the clock cover at magistrates' courts so that those responsible could be brought to justice swiftly. Our response was widely acclaimed and provides strong evidence of the responsiveness and capability of our staff in difficult and pressurised conditions.

This year also saw CPS continuing to lead in the field of technology and innovation. Our Transforming Through Technology (T3) programme is continuing to deliver fundamental change by using technology to streamline and modernise long standing working practices leading to efficient, paperless working. The year saw the first cases being presented at court electronically, and the transfer of digital files between the police, the CPS and courts is now a reality. This initiative, led by CPS and now adopted by other agencies, will fundamentally change the way that criminal justice is delivered in England and Wales in the coming years and puts us in the best position to take advantage of future technological change. It has also enabled us to develop innovative and genuinely collaborative approaches with partner agencies to deliver change in the criminal justice system, for example the single (cross-agency) Programme Management Office which is driving the implementation of streamlined digital case administration.

Another way we have sought to lead and work across Government is by taking on the prosecution functions of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and from 1 April 2012, the prosecution functions of the Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health.

I would like to end my report to you by recognising the work of my staff. Over the past 12 months they have shown great tenacity in delivering a good and improving prosecution service. Operational imperatives must always take priority but at the same time they have delivered organisational and technological changes which place the CPS in the vanguard of legal practice in this country. The achievements that have been won are a direct result of their impressive hard work and dedication to public service. It has not always been plain sailing, there have been many obstacle to be overcome and we recognise that there are further significant challenges ahead. Our staff survey results tell us that we need to work hard at securing and improving staff engagement. During the course of this year we have devised and implemented a new People Strategy which will fundamentally change our approach to people issues and our ability to develop the capability of our staff and their managers which will equip us to build for the future. Within this we will seek to replicate the very high performance and staff engagement that we already see in many parts of the Service.

As we enter 2012-13, I am confident that the commitment, professionalism and sheer grit of my capable and forward looking body of staff will continue to enable the CPS to provide a high performing prosecution service, supporting both the requirements of society and the demands of justice.

 

Keir Starmer QC
Director of Public Prosecutions

22 June 2012