Annex B - Casework Statistics
In these statistics, a defendant represents one person in a single set of proceedings, which may involve one or more charges. A set of proceedings usually relates to an incident or series of related incidents that are the subject of a police file. If a set of proceedings relates to more than one person then each is counted as a defendant. Sometimes one person is involved in several sets of proceedings during the same year: if so, he or she is counted as a defendant on each occasion.
The figures comprise defendants dealt with by the 13 Areas of the Service, but do not include the specialised casework handled by the central Casework Divisions. The central Casework Divisions, including prosecutions handled by the former Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, prosecuted 1,705 defendants in the period and handled 7,305 defendant appeals against conviction and/or sentence or Extradition.
Table 1: Magistrates' courts: caseload
Chart 1 shows the number of cases dealt with by the CPS in 2011-12 and in the two preceding years.
The number of defendants prosecuted by the CPS fell by 6.4% during the year. Several factors may affect this figure, including the number of arrests, the impact of the early involvement of prosecutors, the number of offences cleared up by the police, and the number of offenders cautioned by the police. The present fall in caseload may also be related to lower levels of recorded crime, and to the increased number of comparatively minor offences now dealt with by way of a fixed penalty without CPS involvement.
| Magistrates' courts: caseload | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-charge decisions | 477,522 | 466,611 | 367,067 |
| Out of court disposals | 19,462 | 15,894 | 10,743 |
| Prosecuted by CPS | 872,585 | 840,983 | 787,547 |
| Other proceedings | 3,302 | 2,501 | 1,937 |
Pre-charge decisions: in around one third of cases, Crown Prosecutors are responsible for deciding whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, what that offence should be in accordance with the Director's Guidelines. The figures shown here comprise all such decisions, regardless of whether the decision was to prosecute or not. Many pre-charge decisions will have been made in cases subsequently prosecuted by the CPS;
Out of court disposals: a simple caution, conditional caution, reprimand, final warning or TIC (taken into consideration) issued by the CPS at pre-charge stage;
Prosecuted by the CPS: this figure comprises all defendants charged or summonsed whose case was completed in magistrates' courts during the period, including those proceeding to a trial or guilty plea, those discontinued, and those which could not proceed. Cases committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court are not included in magistrates' caseload data. Further information on the type of finalisations is shown at chart 3;Other proceedings: non-criminal matters, such as forfeiture proceedings under the Obscene Publications Acts.
Counting rules for the presentation of case volumes and outcomes were amended with effect from April 2007. Cases involving mixed pleas of guilty to some charges while other charges proceeded to contest were formerly double counted, but are now treated as a single defendant case. Historical figures in the present report have been adjusted in accordance with the revised rules, giving a consistent run of figures.
Table 2: Magistrates' courts - types of cases
Table 2 shows the different types of cases dealt with by the CPS in magistrates' courts. They are:
Summary: cases which can be tried only in the magistrates' courts;
Indictable only/either way: indictable only cases can be tried only in the Crown Court, but either way cases may be tried either in magistrates' courts or in the Crown Court.
| Magistrates' courts: types of cases | 2009-10 | % | 2010-11 | % | 2011-12 | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 565,572 | 57.3 | 523,556 | 54.9 | 477,561 | 53.6 |
| Indictable only/either way | 421,321 | 42.7 | 429,592 | 45.1 | 414,155 | 46.4 |
| Total | 986,893 | 953,148 | 891,716 |
The above figures include cases committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court as well as those completed in magistrates' courts.
Chart 3: Magistrates' courts - case outcomes
Chart 3 shows the outcome of defendant cases completed during the year. These are cases where a decision has been made by the police or CPS to charge or summons. Cases may proceed to prosecution or be discontinued at any stage of the proceedings up to the start of trial.
Discontinuances: Consideration of the evidence and of the public interest may lead the CPS to discontinue proceedings at any time before the start of the trial. The figures include both cases discontinued in advance of the hearing and those withdrawn at court. Also included are cases in which the defendant was bound over to keep the peace;
Warrants etc: when the prosecution cannot proceed because the defendant has failed to appear at court and a Bench Warrant has been issued for his or her arrest; or the defendant has died; or where proceedings are adjourned indefinitely;
Discharges: committal proceedings in which the defendant is discharged;
Dismissals no case to answer: cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty and prosecution evidence is heard, but proceedings are dismissed by the magistrates without hearing the defence case;
Dismissals after trial: cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty and proceedings are dismissed by the magistrates after hearing the defence case – a not guilty verdict;
Proofs in absence: these are mostly minor motoring matters which are heard by the court in the absence of the defendant;
Guilty pleas: where the defendant pleads guilty;
Convictions after trial: cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty but is convicted after the evidence is heard.
| Magistrates' courts: case outcomes | 2009-10 | % | 2010-11 | % | 2011-12 | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discontinuances (including bind overs) | 78,901 | 9.0 | 80,911 | 9.6 | 75,579 | 9.6 |
| Warrants etc | 12,156 | 1.4 | 9,849 | 1.2 | 9,094 | 1.2 |
| Discharges | 2,252 | 0.3 | 1,690 | 0.2 | 1,308 | 0.2 |
| Dismissals no case to answer | 1,605 | 0.2 | 1,525 | 0.2 | 1,362 | 0.2 |
| Dismissals after Trial | 20,322 | 2.3 | 19,517 | 2.3 | 17,681 | 2.3 |
| Proofs in absence | 133,844 | 15.3 | 124,573 | 14.8 | 112,094 | 14.2 |
| Guilty pleas | 589,789 | 67.6 | 570,073 | 67.8 | 538,568 | 68.4 |
| Convictions after trial | 33,716 | 3.9 | 32,845 | 3.9 | 31,861 | 4.1 |
| Total | 872,585 | 840,983 | 787,547 |
The rate of discontinuance rose slightly from 9.0% in 2009-10 to 9.6% in 2011-12.
Convictions rose from 76.4% in 2001-02 to 86.5% in 2011-12.
During 2011-12, a total of 7,536 defendants pleaded guilty to some charges, and were either convicted or dismissed after trial of other charges. To avoid double counting, and to ensure consistency with figures for previous years, the outcome for these defendants is shown as a guilty plea.
Chart 4: Magistrates' courts - committals to the Crown Court
In addition to the above cases, which were completed in magistrates' courts, the following numbers of defendants were committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court.
| Magistrates' courts: committals to the Crown Court | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Committals for trial | 114,341 | 112,185 | 104,204 |
Table 5: Crown Court caseload
Table 5 shows the number of defendants whose case was completed in the Crown Court:
Prosecuted by the CPS: This figure comprises all cases proceeding to trial or guilty plea in the Crown Court, together with those discontinued or dropped by the CPS after having been committed or sent for trial. The outcome of these proceedings is shown at table 7;
Appeals: defendants tried in magistrates' courts may appeal to the Crown Court against their conviction and/or sentence;
Committals for sentence: some defendants tried and convicted by the magistrates are committed to the Crown Court for sentence, if the magistrates decide that greater punishment is needed than they can impose.
| Crown Court caseload | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosecuted by the CPS | 110,146 | 116,898 | 107,244 |
| Appeals | 14,221 | 13,961 | 12,244 |
| Committals for sentence | 18,920 | 19,857 | 21,944 |
The number of defendants prosecuted decreased by 8.3% during 2011-12.
Counting rules for the presentation of case volumes and outcomes were amended with effect from April 2007. Cases involving mixed pleas of guilty to some charges while other charges proceeded to contest were formerly double counted, but are now treated as a single defendant case. Historical figures in the present report have been adjusted in accordance with the revised rules, giving a consistent run of figures.
Chart 6: Crown Court - source of committals for trial
Magistrates' direction: these are either way proceedings which the magistrates thought were serious enough to call for trial in the Crown Court;
Defendants' elections: these are either way proceedings in which the defendant chose Crown Court trial;
Indictable only: these are more serious cases which can only be tried in the Crown Court.
| Crown Court: source of committals for trial |
2009-10 | % | 2010-11 | % | 2011-12 | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magistrates' Directions: | 59,624 | 54.4 | 63,771 | 54.9 | 59,703 | 56.0 |
| Defendants' Elections: | 9,170 | 8.4 | 10,427 | 9.0 | 7,777 | 7.3 |
| Indictable only: | 40,754 | 37.2 | 42,019 | 36.2 | 39,209 | 36.8 |
| Total: | 109,548 | 116,217 | 106,689 |
Table 7: Crown Court - case outcomes
Cases against defendants committed for trial in the Crown Court can be completed in several ways:
Judge ordered acquittals: These are cases where problems are identified after a case is committed or sent to the Crown Court. The prosecution offers no evidence, and the judge orders a formal acquittal of the defendant. These include cases where an evidential deficiency has been identified, where the defendant has serious medical problems; or has already been dealt with for other offences; or when witnesses are missing. Cases sent to the Crown Court under s51 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and subsequently discontinued are also included in this total. Also included are cases in which charges do not proceed to a trial, and the defendant is bound over to keep the peace;
Warrants etc: when the prosecution cannot proceed because the defendant fails to attend court and a Bench Warrant has been issued for his or her arrest; or the defendant has died; or is found unfit to plead. If the police trace a missing defendant, then proceedings can continue;
Judge directed acquittals: these are cases where, at the close of the prosecution case against the defendant, a successful submission of 'no case' or 'unsafe' is made on behalf of the defendant, and the judge directs an acquittal rather than allow the case to be determined by the Jury;
Acquittals after trial: when the defendant pleads not guilty and, following a trial, is acquitted by the jury;
Guilty pleas: where the defendant pleads guilty;
Convictions after trial: cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty but, following a trial, is convicted by the jury.
| Crown Court: case outcomes |
2009-10 | % | 2010-11 | % | 2011-12 | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge ordered acquittals (including bind overs) | 12,930 | 11.7 | 14,958 | 12.8 | 12,527 | 11.7 |
| Warrants etc | 980 | 0.9 | 923 | 0.8 | 841 | 0.8 |
| Judge directed acquittals | 1,048 | 1.0 | 1,101 | 0.9 | 857 | 0.8 |
| Acquittals after trial | 6,316 | 5.7 | 6,810 | 5.8 | 6,290 | 5.9 |
| Guilty pleas | 81,000 | 73.5 | 84,742 | 72.5 | 78,106 | 72.8 |
| Convictions after trial | 7,872 | 7.2 | 8,364 | 7.2 | 8,623 | 8.0 |
| Total | 110,146 | 116,898 | 107,244 |
Convictions rose from 73.2% in 2001-02 to 80.8% in 2011-12.
During 2011-12, a total of 2,543 defendants pleaded guilty to some charges, and were convicted after trial of other charges. To avoid double counting, and to ensure consistency with figures for previous years, the outcome for these defendants is shown as a guilty plea.
Agent Usage
The proportion of half day sessions in magistrates' courts covered by lawyers in private practice acting as agents in 2011-12 was 8.8% compared with 9.7% in 2010-11.
