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Annual Report 2003-2004

For the period April 2003 - March 2004

From the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Attorney General

Presented to Parliament in pursuance of Section 9, Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, Chapter 23

Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 15 July 2004

Letter From Director Of Public Prosecutions To The Attorney General

The Crown Prosecution Service

Summary Of CPS Performance And Achievements

Criminal Justice System Performance

CPS Reform

Strengthening the Prosecution Process

Rebalancing the Criminal Justice System Toward the Victim and Community

Raising the CPS Capability to Deliver

Expenditure

Annex A Casework Statistics

Annex B The Code For Crown Prosecutors

Annex C Designated Caseworkers

Annex D CPS Headquarters

Annex E CPS Area/Police Force Boundary Map

 

Letter From Director Of Public Prosecutions To The Attorney General

I am pleased to report to you on the performance and reform of the Crown Prosecution Service during 2003-04 and in doing that acknowledge the contribution made by Sir David Calvert-Smith QC.

The CPS made great strides under David's leadership over the last five years, we shall now build on that and take our proper place as a world-class prosecution service that is able to make the fullest possible contribution to the Criminal Justice System and to society.

The Crown Prosecution Service is an organisation with a strong record of achievement during 2003-04.We have over 7,600 staff. These include 2,300 frontline prosecutors and 4,000 legal caseworkers. Almost 94% of our people work in or support our local frontline delivery of prosecution services, increasingly working alongside police colleagues whilst holding to our values of fairness, impartiality and integrity. So that in prosecuting criminal activity actively, robustly, promptly and fairly we aim for safe convictions in which the public can have confidence.

We manage a budget of almost 500 million a year, with a further 127 million managed as prosecution costs.This is not a small organisation. It is a large one.We are by far the biggest law firm in the country.

In 2003-04,we dealt with almost 1.4 million prosecutions.Over one million defendants were convicted in magistrates'courts and almost 73,000 defendants were convicted in the Crown Court.Well over 90% of all cases result in a guilty plea or a conviction.

These are good figures and very few organisations can match them. They show the substantial contribution the CPS is making to delivery of the Government's PSA targets to narrow the justice gap. And Chief Crown Prosecutors chaired over half of the new local Criminal Justice Boards charged with the responsibility to deliver those PSA targets.

We have successfully piloted charging - the biggest transformation in our history. Without doubt prosecutors taking responsibility for charging will have the biggest impact of any reform in raising the performance of the CJS.The work so far in introducing 'shadow' charging arrangements, the roll out of statutory schemes in priority Areas, the support of a CPS Direct service, offering police out-ofhours advice and charging, shows what we in the CPS - in Areas and in Headquarters - can achieve by working with the police as a prosecution team.

The victims and witness care pilots run in five Areas in partnership with local police colleagues were so successful that we have been able to develop the most compelling business case for funds from the Invest to Save budget to roll out these programmes nationally. Witnesses deserve the best treatment we can offer as we deal with the crime they have suffered or witnessed. Our victim and witness care programme 'No Witness; No Justice'is the start to delivering that sort of service.Once it is national in scope, the benefits from this initiative are going to be felt across the whole system.

But it is not just about the role that we play in the CJS.We are equipping our people with the right tools, skills and support to do their job as well as it can possibly be done.We have in place a highly professional senior management team. CCPs and the Casework Director are highly experienced prosecutors and leaders. Our HQ team draws on people with a strong delivery background; some like me from completely outside the Civil Service bring a different perspective to our work.We have introduced a new Business Development Directorate in HQ to support Areas in the delivery of PSA targets; we have enhanced the Area Business

Manager cadre; and the Senior Management Team in London, which is responsible for approximately 20% of CPS work, has been strengthened and restructured with top posts re-advertised and filled by fierce, open competition. And competition for those sorts of jobs should be fierce.

We are raising leadership skills for our senior, middle, and most important in my view, our aspiring managers through 'Transform' our new leadership and management development programme. All Area Business Managers and the first tranche of Unit Heads have completed the initial training as a start to equipping them with more effective leadership skills.

And we have the best IT in the CJS.We set ourselves the challenging target of rolling out our case management system between April and December and we achieved it.That is a remarkable success.The COMPASS Case Management System developed in partnership with LogicaCMG is now fully functional in all Areas and we have rolled-out the next phase of COMPASS development to provide case management support for charging.

These are excellent achievements and they set a strong foundation for the public prosecution service in the coming years.They reflect the professionalism, enthusiasm and commitment of everyone who works here.

Ken Macdonald QC
Director of Public Prosecutions

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The Crown Prosecution Service

Role

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was established in 1986 to prosecute criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales.In undertaking this role,the CPS advises the police on cases for possible prosecution, reviews cases submitted by the police for prosecution,prepares cases for court and presents those cases at court.

Code for Crown Prosecutors

Before proceeding with a prosecution, Crown Prosecutors must first review each case against the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The Code is designed to make sure everyone knows 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,
  • whether a prosecution is needed under the public interest.

The Director of Public Prosecutions is under a statutory duty to publish the Code for Crown Prosecutors.The fourth edition of the Code was published in October 2000.The changes were matters of emphasis rather than principle.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 Service is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ken Macdonald QC,who succeeded Sir David Calvert-Smith QC in November 2003. 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 managing the business day to day, allowing the Director to concentrate on prosecution and legal issues.

The CPS has 42 Areas across England and Wales matching police force boundaries. Each Area is headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor who is responsible for the delivery of a high quality prosecution service to his or her local community. Each Chief Crown Prosecutor is supported by an Area Business Manager, and their respective roles mirror, at a local level, the division of responsibilities between the DPP and the Chief Executive. Administrative support to the Areas is provided through a network of 10 Service Centres each responsible for providing effective services to a 'family group'of Areas.

Aim

The CPS works in partnership with the police, courts, the Home Office, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) and other agencies throughout the criminal justice system to reduce crime and the fear of crime and their social and economic costs; to dispense justice fairly and efficiently and to promote confidence in the rule of law.

The Crown Prosecution Service's overall aim, which reflects the Government's priorities for the Criminal Justice System, is to:

Deliver a high quality prosecution service that brings offenders to justice, helps reduce both crime and the fear of crime and thereby promote public confidence in the rule of law through the consistent fair and independent review of cases and through their fair, thorough and firm presentation at court.

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Summary Of CPS Performance And Achievements

Cases for advice and prosecution

  • Caseload has increased.The number of defendant cases sent to us by the police during 2003-04 rose to 1.57 million, an increase of 9.9% compared with 2002-03.
  • This increase reflects the impact of prosecutors assuming responsibility for the decision to charge in all but the minor cases. Over 2003-04, prosecutors gave advice on prosecution and charge in 195,000 cases, a three-fold increase on 2002-03.

Case results

  • During 2003-04, over one million defendants were convicted in magistrates'courts and almost 73,000 defendants were convicted in the Crown Court.The CPS made a substantial contribution to the Criminal Justice System's target to narrow the justice gap although only the more serious offences fall within the scope of this measure.
  • The percentage of cases discontinued continues to fall, from 16.2% in 2001-02, to 15.5% in 2002-03 and now to 13.8% in 2003-04.
  • 98% of cases proceeding to a hearing in magistrates'courts and 90% of such cases in the Crown Court resulted in a conviction.
  • Unsuccessful outcomes in magistrates'courts fell from 23.2% of all outcomes in 2002-03 to 21.1 % in 2003-04,a reduction of 9.1%.
  • Unsuccessful outcomes fell from 25.5% of all Crown Court outcomes in 2002-03 to 25.4% in 2003-04, a reduction of 0.3%.

People

  • At the end of March 2004, the CPS employed a total of 7,666 people, 620 more than at the same time the previous year. This includes 2,612 prosecutors and 4,885 caseworkers and administrators. Around 94% of all staff are engaged in or support frontline prosecutions.
  • The CPS has 529 prosecutors able to advocate on Crown Court cases and in the Higher Courts and 254 Designated Caseworkers to present cases in magistrates'courts

Delivery of Public Service Agreement targets

  • Latest available figures show 1,104,539 offences were brought to justice in the year ending December 2003.
  • The proportion of ineffective trials in the Crown Court has reduced from the 24% baseline to 17.8%, for the quarter ending April 2004, an improvement of 6.2% points.
  • For the magistrates' courts, the proportion of ineffective trials has reduced from 31% to 27.1% for the quarter ending April 2004, an improvement of 3.9% points.
  • The British Crime Survey for the year to December 2003 shows 40% of the public believe the CJS is effective in bringing people to justice, a 1% increase on year ending March 2003.
  • The CPS is taking a leading and influential role in Local Criminal Justice Boards. Half of the 42 Local Criminal Justice Boards were chaired by Chief Crown Prosecutors in 2003-4.

CPS Reform

  • Each CPS Area has worked with local police colleagues to introduce non-statutory 'shadow'charging arrangements, in advance of statutory provision in the Criminal Justice Act. These arrangements are being supported by 'CPS Direct', a telephonebased service offering police an out-of-hours advice and charging service.
  • The CPS in partnership with the police has successfully piloted 'No Witness: No Justice'victim and witness care arrangements. The partnership has been awarded 27million from the Government's Invest to Save initiative to support national implementation of the scheme.
  • The CPS is working with the DCA on effective trial management pilots, where victims and witnesses as customers of the court know in reasonable time when cases will be heard and can be confident that arrangements will not be changed. Plans are being developed for the roll-out of these effective trial management arrangements across England and Wales.
  • The CPS has appointed 12 specialist Prosecutors in 'hot spot'Areas, to concentrate on prosecuting anti-social behaviour and low-level disorder offences, and to support local authorities in the application and enforcement of any breaches of those orders.
  • The COMPASS Case Management System is now fully functional in all 42 Areas with over 7,000 staff trained in using the system. At the end of April 2004 there were over one million cases registered on the system.
  • The CPS has developed, in partnership with external training providers, a leadership and management development programme -Transform - for our managers. All Area Business Managers and the first tranche of Unit Heads have completed initial training as a start to equipping them with more effective leadership and management skills.

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Criminal Justice System Performance

Public Service Agreement (PSA) Targets

The PSA targets for the CPS and the Criminal Justice System from the Spending Review 2002 are:

  1. To improve the delivery of justice by increasing the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice, to 1.2 million by 2005-06, with an improvement in all CJS areas, a greater increase in the worst performing areas and a reduction in the proportion of ineffective trials.
  2. To improve the level of public confidence in the Criminal Justice System, including increasing that of ethnic minority communities, and increasing year on year the satisfaction of victims and witnesses, whilst respecting the rights of defendants.
  3. To increase value for money from the Criminal Justice System by 3 per cent a year.

Delivering these targets is the joint responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service, Home Office and Department for Constitutional Affairs. Spending Review 2000 included PSA targets to improve the delivery of justice and public confidence.

Performance in delivering those PSA targets over 2003-04 is set out on the following pages.

Narrowing The Justice Gap

Increasing the number of offences for which an offender is brought to justice. (Offences which result in conviction, caution, or in which the offence is taken into consideration).The gap between offences brought to justice and the overall level of recorded crime is sometimes referred to as 'attrition'.

The target will be met if there are 1.2 million crimes for which an offender is brought to justice in the year ending March 2006, compared with the baseline year ending March 2002

Latest performance on offences brought to justice is 1,104,539 for year ending December 2003.

An improvement in all CJS Areas

The target will be met if each of the 42 Criminal Justice Areas bring more offences to justice than they did in the baseline year ending March 2002

39 of the 42 CJS areas have improved their performance on the baseline year of 2001-02.

A greater increase in worse performing areas

The target will be met if the average performance improvement achieved by the worse performing areas is greater than the national average performance improvement in the year ending March 2006 as compared to the baseline year ending March 03

Areas performing below the average were identified for the purpose of setting area targets for 2004-05, which were sent to areas in February 2004.

A reduction in the proportion of ineffective trials.

The target will be met if the national level of improvement for Crown Courts and magistrates'courts is 27% or less by the year ending of March 2006.

This equates to a reduction in Crown Courts from 24% to 17% and in magistrates'courts from 31% to 23%.

The proportion of ineffective trials in Crown Court centres has reduced from 24% (baseline) to 17.8%, quarter ending April 2004, an improvement of 6.2% points. For the magistrates'courts the proportion of ineffective trials has reduced from 31% to 27.1%, quarter ending April 2004, an improvement of 3.9% points.

The CPS also has specific measures that serve as proxy indicators for its contribution to narrowing the justice gap.Targets for 2003-04 were to reduce the proportion of unsuccessful outcomes in the magistrates'courts and in the Crown Court by 5%. Performance in 2003-04 was as follows.

To reduce by 5% the proportion of unsuccessful outcomes in magistrates'courts.

Unsuccessful outcomes in magistrates'courts fell from 23.2% of all outcomes in 2002-03 to 21.1 % in 2003-04, a reduction of 9.1%.

To reduce by 5% the proportion of unsuccessful outcomes in the Crown Court.

Unsuccessful outcomes fell from 25.5% of all Crown Court outcomes in 2002-03 to 25.4% in 2003-04, a reduction of 0.3%.

Unsuccessful outcomes comprise all outcomes other than a conviction.Taken together, unsuccessful outcomes in magistrates'courts and in the Crown Court fell from 320,870 in 2002-03 to 293,851, in 2003-04, a reduction of 27,019 (8.4%). In proportional terms the fall was from 23.4% of all outcomes to 21.4%, a reduction of 8.5%

Improving Public Confidence

Improve the level of public confidence in the Criminal Justice System

This will be met if, by the year ending March 2006, the level of public confidence has increased, compared to the baseline year ending March 2003

Latest performance from the British Crime Survey for the year to December 2003, shows that 40% of the public believe the CJS is effective in bringing people who commit crimes to justice

  • including increasing that of ethnic minority communities

This will be met if, by 2005/06, the level of confidence amongst black and minority ethnic people is statistically higher than that during the baseline year ending March 2003.

Baseline established of 49%, year ending March 2003. Latest British Crime Survey figures for December 2003 show confidence has increased to 53%.

  • increasing year on year the satisfaction of victims

This will be met if the level of satisfaction of victims increases year on year during April 2003 to March 2006, with the final year showing a statistically significant increase over the first year

Baseline data for victims to be established July 2004.

  • increasing year on year the satisfaction of witnesses

This will be met if the level of satisfaction of witnesses increases year on year during the target period from April 2003 to March 2006, with the final year showing a statistically significant increase over the first year

Baseline data for witnesses to be established July 2004.

  • respecting the rights of defendants

The rights of defendants are protected by law. Any evidence that a defendant's rights have been infringed would be thoroughly investigated.

Increasing Value For Money

To increase value for money from the Criminal Justice System by 3% per annum

The CPS contribution to the target will be met if by year ending March 2006, there is an improvement in efficiency or value for money of at least 3% compared with the year ending March 2003.

Some CPS-led initiatives will have efficiency and value for money benefits for the police and the courts as well as the CPS.

  • The rollout of the shadow and statutory charging schemes will provide a better grip on cases from the outset, reducing the number of cases that are discontinued and increasing the number of early guilty pleas. Both will save time and effort on the part of the police,CPS and courts.
  • Increasing the proportion of cases dealt with by joint police and CPS Criminal Justice Units and Trials Units is producing overall efficiency savings in estates and better value for money through joint administration and streamlined case management processes. By September 2003, these Units were handling around 50% of all CPS prosecution cases.
  • The CPS has developed proposals for greater use of Designated Caseworkers to deal with straightforward guilty plea cases in magistrates'courts, freeing up prosecutor resources to deal with trials in magistrates'courts and the more serious cases heard in the Crown Court.
  • The CPS is introducing eProcurement across the Department as a platform for increasing efficiency and achieving significantly improved terms from its suppliers of goods and services. In conjunction with this initiative it is introducing framework agreements for a variety of goods and services where savings and efficiencies can be realised.
  • Roll-out of a COMPASS case management system is automating clerical case handling and case tracking processes.

Other Criminal Justice System Targets

A number of targets for the CJS were not carried forward into PSA for SR2002.

Reduce by 2004 the time from arrest to sentence or other disposal for all defendants by:

reducing the time from charge to disposal for all defendants, with a target to be specified by 31 March 2001; and dealing with 80% of youth court cases within their time targets.

Ministers agreed that each LCJB would set timeliness targets for their area, with no overall target.Targets have now been set in each area.

Maintain the 71 day target to deal with persistent young offenders from arrest to sentence.

The average time taken from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders over 2003-04 was consistently below the 71-day target and for the quarter to March 2004 was 66 days.

Criminal Justice Boards

New Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) were introduced from 1 April 2003.These Boards bring together Chief Officers of local criminal justice agencies to deliver the Public Service Agreement targets in their Area, and drive through criminal justice reforms. Chief Crown Prosecutors chaired around half of the 42 local Boards in 2003-4. Each local Board has produced delivery plans for narrowing the justice gap, ineffective trials and public confidence and report on progress to a new National Criminal Justice Board.The Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chief Executive, along with the Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor and Attorney General and other criminal justice ministers are members of the National Board.

Criminal Case Management Programme

The Criminal Case Management Programme was launched in November 2003 to co-ordinate delivery of three important, and inter-reliant reform initiatives: the Charging Initiative; the Effective Trial Management Programme; and 'No Witness,No Justice. The Ministerial Champion for the Programme is the Attorney General, and the Programme Director is Jane Furniss, Head of the trilateral Criminal Justice Performance Directorate.

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CPS Reform

The CPS set itself a challenging reform agenda over 2003-04 to make the maximum contribution to the development of the Criminal Justice System. Broadly, these were to strengthen the prosecution process, to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim and community and to raise the Service's capability to deliver PSA targets and CJS reform.

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Strengthening the Prosecution Process

Charging

Lord Justice Auld recommended in his Review of the Criminal Courts, that the CPS should be given greater legal powers to determine the decision to charge in all but minor cases.The development and implementation of new charging arrangements was the top priority for the Service in 2003-04 and, following successful pilots in five CJS Areas, the recommendation to extend the role of the CPS in charging suspects was accepted. Enabling legislation in the Criminal Justice Act was passed in November 2003.

In advance of that legislation, the CPS has worked as a prosecution team with the police to introduce 'shadow'charging arrangements in each Area during 2003-04.These arrangements are already delivering considerable benefits, with prosecutors working closely with police to build robust cases for prosecution and helping to narrow the justice gap.

The CPS has reprioritised existing funding to support the roll-out of the statutory charging scheme in 14 Priority Areas during 2004, where the impact of charging will make the greatest difference, and, subject to additional funding, have plans for a phased introduction of the statutory scheme to all 42 Areas.

R-v-Huntley

R-v-Fitzgerald

CPS Direct

Suspects are charged with criminal offences right around the clock and the transfer of responsibility for charging decisions to the CPS means that prosecutors have to be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

To meet this challenge, in September 2003 the CPS introduced a pilot scheme known as CPS Direct in three Areas. By dialling a single national number, police officers can speak to experienced prosecutors working from home through the night and at weekends and on public holidays.The officer can fax or e-mail statements and other written material to the prosecutor via a separate line and IT links give the prosecutor access to on-line legal reference materials.The prosecutor generally provides an immediate decision over the telephone and written confirmation follows by fax or e-mail within 15 minutes.

The pilot scheme proved highly successful and by the end of March 2004 CPS Direct had received over 12,000 calls and has provided 9,000 written decisions and advices on cases ranging from motoring offences to murder. CPS Direct will expand to provide cover for around 60% of the country by October 2004.

Effective Trial Management Programme

The Effective Trial Management Programme (ETMP) aims to reduce the number of ineffective trials by improving case preparation and progression from point of charge through to trial or earlier disposal. ETMP builds on the better case file preparation being delivered by the Charging initiative and the improved information available on victims and witness needs from the "No Witness, No Justice"project.

Six early test sites (Bedfordshire, Essex, Greater Manchester, North Wales,West Midlands and West Yorkshire) have already designed and implemented the ETMP proposals and have introduced an improved case management system. Implementation in the remaining Criminal Justice Areas will take place throughout 2004 and early 2005.

These principles will be reflected in the Criminal Case Management Framework, which Lord Goldsmith, Lord Falconer, Baroness Scotland and the Lord Chief Justice will issue in July. For the first time, the Framework will provide practitioners in local areas from across the Criminal Justice System with a consistent guide to their own, and their partners'roles and responsibilities, together with operational guidance on case management good practice. It is intended that the Framework will lead to a clearer understanding of what should be done, and by whom, so that cases are prepared appropriately and can be brought to a conclusion with the minimum of delay and without unnecessary adjournments.

Reducing Street Crime and breaking the link between drugs and crime

The primary purpose of the Street Crime initiative was to bring down levels of robbery in 10 police force areas from record levels. The Joint Inspection Report on the Street Crime Initiative by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Inspectorate was published on 29th July 2003 and noted that together, with the police and other CJS agencies, we have achieved this.There have also been significant improvements in the 'charge to conviction rate'in street crime cases, increasing by 27% for adults and 40% for juveniles. In April 2004 the Criminal Justice Intervention Programme coverage was doubled and the programme,with it's objective of breaking the cycle of drug misuse and crime, now operates in 19 Criminal Justice Areas.

Persistent Offenders

The Persistent Offender Scheme launched in April 2003 was subject to an early review at the end of 2003 by a Joint Inspectorate team. The feedback from practitioners and central stakeholders was that targeting persistent and prolific offenders is best done at the local level, targeting individuals according to the nature and volume of crime and harm they cause along with any other local considerations.Taking these views into account, on 30 March 2004 the Prime Minister announced a new strategy aimed at reducing the harm which prolific and other priority offenders cause which will replace the current persistent offender scheme.

Recovering Proceeds of Crime

The confiscation provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 have made it easier for the police and prosecutors to recover assets from criminals.

During 2003-04, the CPS has developed a network of Asset Recovery Champions, across all 42 CPS Areas together with a delivery unit in CPS Headquarters to support them. One immediate benefit of this approach has been a 155% increase in the number of court orders obtained by the CPS to preserve a defendant's assets pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

Following conviction, a courtmay make assumptions regarding a defendant's assets and order payment of a sum of money that far exceeds the benefit gained by the defendant from the offences for which he was convicted. In a recent case in Derbyshire, for example, a confiscation order was made in the sum of 1.5 million following guilty pleas to the theft of petrol to the value of 219.

Building upon the Service Level Agreement between the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the CPS signed in December 2002,CPS Areas have been entering into local agreements with individual police forces to ensure that potential confiscation cases are recognised and taken forward in the courts. Both the CPS and the magistrates'courts have adopted a revised National Best Practice Guide to Confiscation Order Enforcement to ensure that once confiscation orders have been made, they are paid.

The CPS Central Confiscation Branch has continued to enforce confiscation orders made under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994 (DTA) and Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, as amended by the Proceeds of Crime Act 1995, recovering 9.2 million this year.

R-v-Dady

Tackling Serious,Organised and International Crime

In February 2004, the Government announced its decision to create a new,dedicated national agency to fight serious and organised crime - the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). The new Agency, which will be operational in 2006,will draw together the responsibilities which currently fall to the National Crime Squad, the National Intelligence Service,parts of the Home Office dealing with organised immigration crime and the investigation and intelligence arms of HM Customs and Excise in tackling serious drug trafficking.

The CPS will be the principal prosecutors for the new agency and is working closely with the Home Office and other agencies to provide a dedicated group of specialist prosecutors who will work closely with investigators to provide comprehensive advice and develop strong cases for prosecution.These prosecutors will stay with each case from the outset of investigations and play an important role in presenting the cases in court.

Extradition Act

In November 2003, the CPS completed specialist training to equip CPS prosecutors and colleagues across the CJS to deal with the new streamlined extradition procedures that came into force on 1 January 2004.The training dealt with the introduction of the European ArrestWarrant for European Union cases.The CPS led this initiative on behalf of the CJS and trained 131 CPS and CJS colleagues. In January and February 2004 this training was 'exported'to two of our main extradition partners, France and Italy. Fifty senior French CJS officials,prosecutors and judges and over 100 of their Italian counterparts attended a specially designed one-day seminar to explain our new procedures.

Human Trafficking

In 2003, the CPS consulted all 25 European Union Member States through a questionnaire to establish a baseline understanding of the issues each country faced, their current legislation and "what works"in tackling crimes alleging human trafficking. This was followed up with an international conference in London at which 150 delegates from 20 Eurpoean Union jurisdictions identified key priorities for more successful human trafficking prosecutions.

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Rebalancing the Criminal Justice System Toward the Victim and Community

Victim and Witness Care Project:'No Witness: No Justice'

In March 2003 the Prime Minister and the Attorney General commissioned a pilot project to improve victim and witness care. The No Witness,No Justice programme is a Crown Prosecution Service and Association of Chief Police Officers partnership supported by the Criminal Justice Group and the Prime Minister's Office of Public Services Reform.

At pilot sites in Essex,Gwent, North Wales, South Yorkshire, and the West Midlands, representatives from CJS agencies worked together as a team to ensure that the service provided to victims and witnesses is properly tailored to the needs of each individual. Victims and witnesses are provided with the support and information they need through the life of the case to attend court and give best evidence.

As part of the care arrangements, victims are provided with a single point of contact to give them the information and support they need, provide somewhere to go in order to raise issues, concerns or special needs they may have. Prosecutors explain their decisions to victims,who are entitled to know how their cases are being handled and are provided with updates on progress and the outcome of their case.

Following encouraging early results the Government announced an award of 27 million from it's Invest to Save Fund to support national implementation of the scheme.As a result,dedicated Witness Care Units will be introduced into all Areas in a phased programme of implementation between April 2004 and December 2005.

ACPO Conference in Birmingham

Improving the service to vulnerable or intimidated witnesses

The CPS continues to work closely with other Government Departments and organisations to meet the needs of vulnerable or intimidated witnesses. In September 2003, a joint CPS/VOICE UK conference was held in Derby to discuss vulnerable witness issues to which people with learning disabilities contributed.The event included a play 'Jake's Justice'which was specially commissioned by the CPS and has since been performed at a number of Area events. In November 2003, the Bar Council video 'A Case for Special Measures'was launched which was partially funded and designed by the CPS.

Intermediary support to witnesses

In February 2004, a pilot started in Merseyside, in which Courtapproved intermediaries were able to assist vulnerable witnesses to understand and answer questions posed during a trial. These arrangements are being extended to the other pilot areas of South Wales,Thames Valley,West Midlands,Devon & Cornwall and Norfolk.

Improving Witness Support for Vulnerable Witnesses

CPS Humberside helping vulnerable witnesses

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour

In November 2003,the Prime Minister launched the Home Office Action Plan on Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour.As part of this multi-agency project the CPS has appointed 12 specialist Prosecutors in 'hot spot'Areas to concentrate on prosecuting anti-social behaviour and low level disorder offences. They also support local authorities in the application and enforcement of any breaches of those orders. The expert prosecutors will also be working with Crime Reduction Partnership groups and local communities to establish projects to reduce anti-social behaviour.Good practice from the hot spot areas will be used at the Community Justice Centre planned for Merseyside.

Improving Community engagement

In 2003 good practice guidance on community engagement was formulated, by a joint HMCPSI/CPS committee. In January 2004, the CPS began to develop a national strategy for Community Engagement. Work will continue throughout 2004-05 and will include up to three 'Breakthrough Pilots' to trial elements of the strategy, helping the CPS to meet the needs of local communities.

Race for Justice

The findings of the independent Diversity Monitoring Project were published in October 2003. Entitled 'Race For Justice', the research study examined over 15,000 CPS files across 10 Areas to see whether there was any bias or discrimination on the grounds of race and gender through the prosecution process. Whilst the statistical evidence of bias or discrimination was inconclusive, significant issues were highlighted which could have a disproportionate impact on women and black and minority ethnic defendants. Ten recommendations were made to the CPS to improve the quality and management of its review and prosecution of racial and religious crimes. All of these recommendations were accepted and are being acted upon.

Public Policy Statement on Racially and Religiously Aggravated Crime

In July 2003, the CPS Policy on Prosecuting Racist & Religious Crime was launched by the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions. The policy was the result of a series of national and regional consultations with over 120 black and minority ethnic, community, faith, statutory and voluntary groups and organisations. This was the largest ever consultation on a CPS Public Policy Statement.

The Policy Statement has been translated into 12 community languages and is supported by a leaflet and guidance for prosecutors.

"Religiously aggravated crime is still a relatively new piece of legislation but with the work we are doing to communicate our policies I hope that members of all faith communities will have the confidence to come forward and report crimes directed against their beliefs."
Ken Macdonald QC, Director of Public Prosecutions,May 2004.

R-v-Ratcliffe

Building a representative workforce

The CPS continues to recruit a workforce that is representative of the community it serves. In 2003-04, the CPS exceeded Civil Service recruitment targets, with 13.9% of staff from black and minority ethnic communities, compared to a Civil Service benchmark of 7.6%; 66.4% of permanent CPS staff are female compared to a benchmark of 51.8%, and 4.4% are disabled, compared to 3.7% across the Civil Service. Over 1,500 CPS people take the opportunity to work part-time.

CPS Avon & Somerset Employment initiative

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Raising the CPS Capability to Deliver

Improving Recruitment

During the year the CPS has undertaken a review of its approach to recruiting people into the organisation and promoting those within it. The review included the views of over 400 staff and identified and assessed approaches used by other organisations, particularly those with reputations for being 'employers of choice'.

On-Line Recruitment

As part of improving its recruitment practices the CPS has introduced on-line recruitment.Launched in our North East Service Centre,the online recruitment campaign was aimed at attracting 200 lawyers to the CPS nationwide.The campaign involved an intensive print media campaign which directed potential lawyers to the CPS careers website where they could apply on-line and upload their CVs. Candidates could also find out information on other careers/vacancies, the working benefits of the CPS and job descriptions.

The on-line recruiting process reduced hours of paperwork for both candidates and CPS staff, enabled recruiters to gather valuable equality/demographic information, as well as open up the CPS to more prospective candidates. The next stage of on-line recruitment has already started with other jobs now being advertised on-line at www.cps.gov.uk.

Improving Staff Satisfaction

The results for the 2004 staff survey 'Your Voice 2004'show considerable progress against the previous survey held in 2002. The 2004 survey, the first ever to be conducted on-line within CPS, attracted a response rate of 67%, a 4% improvement on 2002. The scale and breadth of improvements in staff attitudes and satisfaction are considerable. There has been a 28% improvement in the belief that the recruitment system operated by the CPS is fair and objective; a 19% improvement in the belief that CPS provided good career progression opportunities; an 18% improvement in opportunities for personal development and growth; and a 16% improvement in those who think that the quality of service offered by the CPS is good.

Some areas for improvement and development were also highlighted in the survey and are being addressed.We are currently rolling out a completely new recruitment process and have overhauled our induction and new entrant training arrangements. The survey confirmed that we still have further work to do on improving leadership and management skills and an action plan to take forward these survey results will also include, among other things, some work on Health and Safety and communications issues. The lowest scores were around the public perception of the CPS. But there is a marked improvement, up 9%, in how well the CPS is felt to be working with other parts of the CJS.

Managing Absence

The CPS continues to manage absence following the Cabinet Office's 'Working Well Together'report published in 1998. The overall trend is improving but long-term sickness absence remains high. According to latest available data 9.7% of employees had been on long-term sick absence during 2002.

During 2004 the CPS will be looking at reducing the overall sick absence rate, including the arrangements for recording, monitoring and reporting sick absence information to managers, reviewing relevent policies and providing training on all aspects of sick absence.

Increasing Opportunity

As the largest legal services employer in the UK, the CPS has a unique role to play in setting the standard amongst the legal profession for development and training. We have earned a reputation for providing high quality career development opportunities for all our staff.

CPS Law Scholarship

Higher Courts Advocates

The CPS increased the number of Higher Court Advocate (HCA) training places in 2003-04, from 100 to 150 and this number will increase again to 200 in 2004-2005. There are now 529 trained HCAs qualified to present cases in the Crown Court, allowing the CPS to develop its in-house advocacy skills. An approach for deploying HCAs as effectively as possible in the Crown Court is currently being piloted in Hertfordshire and Hampshire and Isle of Wight to test what a move into full scale advocacy might look like at local level.

Designated Caseworkers

The CPS currently employs 254 Designated Caseworkers (DCWs) to present straightforward guilty plea cases in magistrates'courts. During 2003-04, a review of the role of Designated Caseworkers recognised the vital advocacy role that they undertook and that there was scope and potential amongst the existing cadre of DCWs to extend that role. A training programme has been developed to allow DCWs to play a greater role in presenting cases in magistrates'courts.

Law Scholarship Scheme

The CPS Law Scholarship Scheme provides a comprehensive education and training framework for those employees who want to become prosecutors. This Scheme supports a range of qualifications, including 'A'Level, Law Degree, Institute of Legal Executives, Bar Vocational Course and the Legal Practice Course and the stages of progression to becoming a lawyer. The Scheme extends opportunities for higher education to those staff who have no post-school qualifications, widens access to, and diversifies, the legal profession and helps the CPS to 'grow its own' lawyers

The Scheme was launched in June 2003 and there are already 235 scholars throughout England and Wales. Approximately 75% of the scholars are women and 20% are from black and minority ethnic communities. Most of the scholars are between 25 and 34 years old. In CPS London, 80% of the scholars are women and 46% are from black and minority ethnic communities.

Legal trainee scheme

The CPS is authorised by the Law Society to take trainee solicitors; many of its offices are also approved by the Bar Council to offer pupilage.The legal trainee scheme is the final stage of the Law Scholarship Scheme. Since the scheme was re-launched in April 2001, 35 trainee solicitors and 19 pupils have completed their training with the CPS.We currently have 50 trainee solicitors and eight pupils on the scheme.

Strengthening Leadership

Transform was launched as a leadership and management development programme for the CPS in April 2003. Since that time a comprehensive programme of development has been delivered to Area Business Managers and Unit Heads, accredited to Master's Degree level with Leeds Metropolitan University. The programme makes use of 360 feedback, workshops, coaching and action learning groups to help these key managers cope with the changing demands of the modern CJS. New and aspiring managers, both lawyers and administrators, have been offered a programme accredited by the Institute of Leadership & Management and Service Centre Managers have been attending a series of one-day workshops.

In addition, Transform has delivered programmes on risk management, the race equality scheme, community engagement and a series of masterclasses on Employment Law. Feedback from these programmes has been overwhelmingly positive and Transform will continue to offer high quality development to key managers, including CCPs, during 2004-05.

Building strong management teams

The CPS has enhanced the Area Business Manager (ABM) cadre and five new ABMs have been appointed since April 2003. There have been 12 new Chief Crown Prosecutor appointments over the year and eight senior appointments in CPS London have completed the restructuring of that management team.

Building an equal and diverse Prosecution Service

The CPS is transforming its reputation to become a beacon employer and prosecutor on equality and diversity issues. The Year One Review of the CPS Race Equality Scheme was published in May 2003 and impact assessments conducted on key functions of CPS business identified in the first year of the scheme. The Commission for Racial Equality has commended this Review as an example of good practice and has recognised the CPS Equality Plan as a model. They are working with us to promulgate the approach we have developed. The National Audit Office is using the CPS as an equality and diversity case study because of our increasing cooperation and consultation with external stakeholders and local communities.

Equality of opportunity

The CPS actively promotes development programmes such as the Prince's Trust Scheme, the Pathways programme and the Civil Service Disability Bursary Scheme .These are designed to identify and develop black, minority ethnic and disabled managers with the potential to reach the Senior Civil Service.

European Year of Disabled People

CPS took the opportunity of 2003 being the European year of disabled people to raise disability awareness across the Service. The CPS national conference on disability held in December 2003, was addressed by speakers from across the Civil Service, the Disability Rights Commission and a victim with learning difficulties. A booklet on disability was launched at this conference for all staff to use as a reference guide. A short video was produced and shown to all staff to highlight disability issues.

Each Area now has an Ability Advisor who will be a central point of guidance and information on all aspects of disability. The Advisors will be able to draw on specialist bodies, such as Access to Work, the Shaw Trust, RNIB, RNID, and the Employers Forum on Disability to arrange specific assistance and information.

Equality and Diversity Awards

In February 2004, the CPS held its second Equality & Diversity Recognition Awards event in Liverpool. Awards were given to those who had developed innovative projects in employment, policy or casework. The Awards enabled the CPS to recognise the achievements of teams, groups and Areas who have demonstrated outstanding performance in promoting equality and diversity within the CPS and who have helped to raise public confidence in the CJS. Winners included CPS Thames Valley for its family friendly policy which has been innovative and groundbreaking and CPS Gwent for contacting the Muslim community prior to the Iraq war reassuring them that racially aggravated incidents would be prosecuted.

Introducing Electronic Case Management

The roll out of the COMPASS Case Management System to all 42 Areas in England and Wales was completed in December 2003 on time and within budget. There are more than 7,000 case management system users in over 350 locations and 42 CPS Areas. At the end of April 2004 there were over one million cases registered on the system.

In parallel to the rollout of the COMPASS Case Management System, we have continued to develop our technology to support changes to the prosecution process and in April 2004 rolled out the next phase of system development to all Areas in support of the introduction of Statutory Charging.

"The CPS COMPASS system is more than just a way of managing casework. It is a leading example of the sort of business transformation tool that is needed across the Criminal Justice System if we are going to achieve the challenging targets that we have set ourselves" Attorney General June 2004

Linking to police systems

Over the year, the CPS has continued to work closely with Criminal Justice Information Technology and Police Information Technology Organisation colleagues to develop an electronic interface between the police Case Preparation system and the COMPASS Case Management System.This interface will provide a key component in using electronic case files throughout the Criminal Justice System and be a significant step towards joining up IT in the Criminal Justice System.

Secure e-mail

The CPS has worked with other Criminal Justice Organisations to develop the use of the Criminal Justice Secure Email network. The CPS has moved over 400 information exchanges from post and fax to e-mail following a series of inter-agency workshops in each Area. The CPS will continue to develop use of the service and is playing an active role in Lord Justice Hooper's Criminal Practitioners' Working Group, which is seeking to encourage use of secure communications by chambers and solicitors.

Procurement

The CPS is implementing eProcurement as part of its approach to modernise and streamline its procurement activities. The first phase of the roll-out has now been completed. This has made a significant contribution to its value for money targets and improved the way the Service procures its goods and services.

Procurement improvements include Compass, Payroll Services and Video Transcription Services. The CPS has also worked with other parts of the CJS to establish a cross-CJS panel for the appointment of receivers under the new Proceeds of Crime legislation.

Sustainable Development

The CPS is continuing to reduce energy use and manage its buildings in a more environmentally friendly manner. The CPS also continues to ensure that appropriate aspects of sustainable development are included in criteria when evaluating suppliers for the provision of goods and services. We are incorporating sustainable development criteria into our new Standard Specification for Works and suppliers are actively encouraged to put forward innovative solutions that address sustainable development.

Business Development Directorate

In April 2003, the CPS implemented the recommendations of a review of HQ that sought to improve the focus on delivery by introducing a new Business Development Directorate, led by an experienced CCP. This Directorate is providing a greater focus and support to Areas on meeting PSA targets and supporting the Director and Chief Executive on regular performance reviews with CCPs and ABMs from the priority Areas.

Centre of Excellence

Over 2003-04, in response to the Cabinet Office Improving Programme and Project Delivery report, the CPS has established a Centre of Excellence Team to support HQ Directorates in delivering key business change projects. This work is building on the lessons learned from the successful COMPASS and Charging programmes which have both passed Office of Government Commerce gateway reviews with flying colours. The Centre of Excellence is also supporting two pilot Areas in Merseyside and Northumbria in coordinating and managing the raft of CPS and CJS reforms.

Improving planning arrangements

Following reviews by HMCPSI and our internal auditors we are improving our approach to planning with a clearer link between national and local Area plans and individual job plans so that everyone knows their personal role in PSA delivery. A new performance management system has been developed that allows the CPS Board to gain regular assurance on performance on PSA and its own targets, and on the key projects that comprise its business strategy. The Board is supported in this by a Chief Executive's Group, which has been established to manage and review progress of the Service's overall reform programme.

Setting the future direction of the CPS

Over 2003-04, the CPS reviewed its business strategy in partnership with the Attorney General, senior managers, frontline staff, CJS partners and other stakeholders. As a result of that review and consultation, the vision for the Service is to become:

'a world-class, independent prosecuting authority, at the heart of the criminal justice system, providing a valued public service thatmeets the needs of victims and communities,makes a real difference to the lives of local people and helps to build a fairer and more decent society'

Over the next five years we will be concentrating on delivering that vision, through a business strategy built upon:

  • Strengthening the prosecution process
  • Driving change and delivery in the criminal justice system
  • Being champions for justice and the rights of victims
  • Inspiring the confidence of the communities we serve
  • Being renowned for fairness, excellent career opportunities and the commitment and skills of all our people

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Expenditure

2000 Spending Review

Spending Review 2000 determined the baseline level of funding available to the CPS in the three years from 2001-2002 to 2003-2004. Announced in July 2000, the SR2000 settlement for the CPS was 374/391/403 million and enabled the Service to build its capacity to deliver on key criminal justice objectives.

2002 Spending Review

Spending Review 2002 re-visited funding for 2003-2004 and in the settlement announced in July 2002, the CPS gained an increase in resource of 10.1/28.7/43.8 million over three years and 2.7/3.4 million capital over the latter two years of the review period.

The revised baseline of funding of 413 million in 2003-2004 provided for the costs of the COMPASS case management system together with resources to improve the level of co-ordination between criminal justice departments.

The SR2002 settlement recognised the important role of the CPS in leading criminal justice reform and the three years to 2003-04 marked a significant period of growth for the Service.

CJS Reserve

Established as part of the 2000 Spending Review plans, the Treasury created a criminal justice reserve worth 525 million over the three years up to 2003-2004. Set aside to provide funding for unforeseen pressures and new Criminal Justice initiatives. Release of the reserve funding must be trilaterally agreed by the Attorney General, the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor.

The success of the criminal justice reserve in supporting joint planning and management of the criminal justice system in SR2000 led to the Treasury continuing its availability over the SR2002 period.

In 2003-04 Ministers agreed to invest 76 million resource in the CPS from the reserve. This was an increase of 15 million over 2002-03 in real terms.

The CJS Reserve funding contributed significantly to the PSA targets of Narrowing the Justice Gap and Improving Public Confidence. More specifically it funded elements of the charging programme, reforms in services to victims and witnesses, strengthened the CPS response to cross-border crime and terrorism and improved community engagement through Local Criminal Justice Boards.

Expenditure 2003-2004

The principal CPS expenditure programme is the prosecution of criminal cases brought forward by the police and the confiscation of the proceeds of crime. Our total planned net expenditure within the Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) to 31st March 2004 was 510 million. This represents an additional investment of 55 million in real terms to support the implementation of the shadow charging scheme, the development and implementation of the COMPASS case management system, improving the recovery of proceeds of crime and dealing with additional caseload to help achieve the Narrowing the Justice Gap target.

Administration Costs (mainly salaries and accommodation) £398million
Of which CJS reserve £76million
Net Prosecution Costs £112million

Our outturn on expenditure to 31 March 2004 was 398 million on administration costs and a net expenditure of 112 million on prosecution costs which is offset by costs awarded against convicted defendants. Prosecution costs expenditure includes counsel's fees, witness expenses and other general costs incurred in the preparation of cases for court.

A capital budget of 12 million was also available to the CPS in 2003-04, 6 million of which was provided by the Capital Modernisation Fund.

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