CPS Business Plan 2009 - 2010
Foreword by the Attorney General
I welcome the CPS Business Plan for 2009–10.
Prosecutors play a pivotal role in the Criminal Justice System (CJS), including:
- working with CJS partners to tackle crime by securing the conviction of offenders – 1.065m cases prosecuted in 2007–08;
- removing the proceeds of crime through the seizure and recovery of criminal assets – £87m recovered in 2007–08;
- saving the CJS more than £90m per year in ineffective trials avoided through good charging decisions; and
- building public confidence in the CJS.
In the current climate, where all parts of government need fresh thinking about how to deliver better services to the public in a value for money way, I am glad that the CPS are considering their role in a modern criminal justice system through advocacy and improving the magistrates' courts. I also welcome their focus on how they can improve services to communities, victims and witnesses and how they can structure their business to drive out efficiencies across the whole system.
To deliver further improvements, I have already announced that the CPS and Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO) will be combined in 2009–10. The combined department will provide enhanced prosecution services for the public, to safeguard and improve the already high quality work done in both services on serious and complex cases, and to deliver a community prosecutor approach for the majority of cases across the country. This builds on the very considerable progress made in both the CPS and the RCPO to build capability and deliver high quality services.
I will also be looking to develop and strengthen corporate shared services, that is Human Resources (HR), Information Technology (IT) and facilities management across all the Law Officer Departments (LODs).
I know that CPS will continue to work closely with my office and the other LODs to ensure that, where the service to the public can be improved through joint delivery or closer working, these advantages are fully realised.
Baroness Scotland QC
Attorney General
Introduction by the Director of Public Prosecutions and Chief Executive
I am delighted to present my first CPS Corporate Business Plan as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). In the six months I have been in post I have met a large number of CPS people and I am very impressed with their commitment to justice, their professionalism and the support that they have given me. I have direct support from Peter Lewis, my Chief Executive, and I know that we share a common set of core beliefs about the future of public prosecution in England and Wales.
We believe that the existence of a strong, effective and publicly respected prosecuting service is an absolute requirement of a fair criminal justice system based on the rule of law.
Our goal is a modern public prosecution service, fit for the 21st Century, which engages in an open and honest way with the communities it serves; which prosecutes cases firmly and effectively, but also fairly; and which is renowned both for the quality of its casework and the high ethical standards it adheres to. Its work should aim to provide justice for all and make communities safer. The very positive steps that the CPS has taken over the past 5 years provide a solid platform from which to build this service.
We are already engaged in two key pieces of work that will be fundamental to creating a modern public prosecution service.
Firstly, the Attorney General has announced that CPS and RCPO are to merge. This merger will bring together two strong prosecution services and broaden the skills and scope of the combined organisation, allowing us to make prosecutions more effective whilst providing better value for money to the taxpayer. We have already established a Transition Team to carry out this work, taken from both organisations and from the Attorney General's Office. There are still many issues to consider but it is already clear that the merger will create a stronger, more efficient service.
At the same time we are engaging with all CPS staff to determine in more detail the shape of a modern, public prosecution service. This work is scheduled to continue into the summer but already there are some vital emerging messages about our future. In particular there is broad acceptance of the need for clear, public facing, national standards for prosecution that go beyond the current Code for Crown Prosecutors to cover a broader range of our work. These standards will let the public know what they can expect of us and how we are performing against those expectations. They will also let CPS staff know what is expected of them in how they serve the public, making our management of performance even stronger.
The work on both of these issues will be crucial in 2009–10 for the future development of the organisation as a publicly engaged and accountable prosecution service. But we must also continue to deliver excellent results and improve our service to the public in this year.
To ensure delivery of the business, we have set a further five challenging strategic objectives for 2009–10. These are to:
- focus CPS's support to victims, witnesses and communities;
- embed our advocacy strategy;
- improve the performance in the magistrates' courts;
- ensure that CPS people are well led, managed and engaged; and
- contribute to the wider CJS.
This Business Plan describes the most important changes we will make to shape the modern public prosecution service and deliver our strategic objectives. It describes the key performance measures we will use to demonstrate success. It does not describe everything the CPS will do in 2009–10. That would require a much longer document than this, but it does give the flavour of the key challenges that we face.
Keir Starmer QC
Director of Public Prosecutions
Peter Lewis
Chief Executive
About us
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, appropriately diverted from prosecution or taken no further;
- prepares cases for prosecution in court and prosecutes the cases with in–house advocates or instructs external agents and/or counsel to present cases; 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 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 under the public interest.
The DPP 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 for Crown Prosecutors to determine charges. Public consultation is currently underway on the next version of the Code which will be published during 2009–10.
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 DPP. The DPP is superintended by the Attorney General who is accountable to Parliament for the Service. The Chief Executive is responsible for running the business on a day–to–day basis, and for human resources, finance, business information systems, and business development, allowing the Director to concentrate on prosecution, legal issues and criminal justice policy.
CPS Areas
The CPS is a national service that is delivered at a local level by 42 Areas across England and Wales. Each Area is headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) A 'virtual' 43rd Area, CPS Direct, is also headed by a CCP and provides out–of–hours charging decisions to the police. In addition, 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 Chief Executive Administrative support to Areas is provided through a network of business centres.
The 42 Areas are arranged into a series of 14 Groups plus CPS London (who are included in references to Groups elsewhere in the plan). Each Group is overseen by a Group Chair who is also a CCP supported by a Senior ABM This reform has been designed to improve the resilience and effectiveness of the Service.
The current Group Chairs and SABMs are shown at Annex A.
Headquarters
CPS HQ consists of six Directorates who report to the Chief Executive They are:
- Business Development;
- Business Information Systems (BIS);
- Equality and Diversity;
- Finance;
- Human Resources (HR); and
- Policy.
A corporate Communication Division also reports to the Chief Executive
A recent review of HQ will lead to the introduction of a Corporate Services Directorate which will be an amalgamation of the BIS and Finance Directorates A Director of Corporate Services is currently being recruited.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) heads the Business Development Directorate The Chief Information Officer (CIO) heads the BIS Directorate.
Within Policy Directorate there is an International Division which co–ordinates all non–casework related international work for the CPS. This work includes: supporting CPS prosecutors in working with overseas jurisdictions; engaging with Whitehall Departments and International organisations in the development of international law and policy; and implementing a programme of justice sector assistance programmes in order to share best practice and help improve standards in prosecution abroad.
The diagram at Annex B shows the structure of CPS.
About this plan
This plan outlines our priorities for 2009–10; the second year of our Business Strategy 2008–11. Funding for the period 2008–11 was set by the Government as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07), along with Public Service Agreements (PSAs) setting out the key commitments to improve public services over the same period.
CJS Strategy
he CPS Business Strategy and this Business Plan support the wider CJS Strategic Plan for 2008–11: Working Together to Cut Crime and Deliver Justice and the CJS Business Plan 2009–10 Both CJS plans are based around four key principles that will guide the delivery of criminal justice services The CJS must:
- be 'effective in bringing offences to justice';
- make 'the public confident and engaged';
- keep 'the needs of victims at its heart'; and
- have 'simple, efficient processes'.
Public Service Agreement (PSA) Targets
Two PSAs (referred to as PSA 24 and PSA 23) are most directly relevant to the work of the CPS and the wider CJS and are jointly owned by the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Law Officers' Departments
PSA 24 has the objective of delivering a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public; bringing more offences to justice and improving public confidence in the CJS.
PSA 23 'Make communities safer' focuses on putting local needs at the heart of the CJS and reducing crime and re–offending.
As an employer and Government Department we also have a contribution to make to PSA 8 'Maximise employment opportunity for all' PSA 15 'Address the disadvantage that individuals experience because of their gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief'; and PSA 28 'Secure a healthy natural environment for today and the future'.
Working with partners
We work closely with the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) and Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) to deliver the PSA targets OCJR is the trilateral team drawn from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and CPS to support criminal justice departments, agencies and LCJBs LCJBs bring together the Chief Officers of local criminal justice agencies to deliver the PSA targets in their Area and to drive through criminal justice reforms.
Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) & CPS Vision
The CPS has a single DSO, set as part of the CSR07, which supports the PSAs That is:
To bring offenders to justice, improve services to victims and witnesses and promote confidence, by applying the Code for Crown Prosecutors, adopting a proportionate approach to determine which offenders should be charged and which should be diverted from court, and by firm and fair presentation of cases in court
In order to achieve this, the CPS has a vision that:
The CPS is a prosecution service that is confident and independent, efficient and effective – becoming truly world class Everything that we do aims to deliver justice for all and to make our communities safer.
Our Resources
Along with the DSO and PSA targets, the financial resources needed to deliver them were also set out in CSR07 The overall CPS budget reduces in real terms by 3.5% per annum Within this target, administration costs (i.e. most of HQ and Business Centre expenditure) must reduce by 5% per annum in real terms.
The net resources available to the CPS for CSR07 are therefore as follows:
CPS Resources |
|||
£,000 |
2008–09 |
2009–10 |
2010–11 |
CSR07 |
635,798 |
630,111 |
624,475 |
Of which |
56,027 |
54,668 |
53,308 |
The table does not reflect the Budget announcement of additional Value for Money savings to be found by the LODs amounting to £15 million in 2010–11 Part of these savings will be achieved by the merger with RCPO.
The table also does not include additional resources from the Modernisation Fund amounting to £17 million across the CSR07 period to deliver a more efficient CPS business model (OBM), to develop an advocacy quality management strategy, to train advocates and to build a more productive and effective workforce.
In order to keep spending within the CSR07 settlement figures, the CPS needs to make cashable savings of £69 million per annum, in real terms, by 2010–11 The planned savings for 2009–10 are £49 million, comprising operational savings (£34 million) and administrative and support savings (£15 million)
Delivering improved efficiency and value for money savings are now an integral part of the CPS business We are committed to ensuring that the quality of service delivery to the public is maintained whilst achieving greater efficiencies.Strategic objectives for 2009–10
We have mentioned the vital work that we are undertaking to shape a modern, public prosecution service for the future – in particular the work on merger with RCPO and the setting of national service standards. This will be a major focus for our efforts at corporate level throughout 2009–10 and beyond.
In addition to this work, to underpin delivery of the DSO and PSAs, the CPS has developed a further five strategic objectives for 2009–10 which shape the rest of the plan The five strategic objectives are to:
- focus CPS's support to victims, witnesses and communities;
- embed our advocacy strategy;
- improve the performance in the magistrates' courts;
- ensure that CPS people are well led, managed and engaged; and
- contribute to the wider CJS.
The work on the shaping of the modern prosecution service is at an early stage and plans are in development We have shown below some key milestones and activities for this work but these will need to be refined as the year progresses.
The work on how we achieve the strategic objectives is more developed Underneath each strategic objective we have identified a set of performance measures and a programme of change that represent the most critical priorities for the CPS in 2009–10 These are outlined in the following section.
Performance and change priorities for 2009–10
CPS Strategic Objective: Shaping the Modern Public Prosecution Service
Throughout this year we will be working on a number of key issues that will begin to shape the modern, public prosecution service and deliver real efficiencies and savings We will be managing the merger of CPS with RCPO to ensure we take the best of both organisations to improve delivery and value for money (VFM) Also, to improve our transparency and accountability, we will be developing a set of clear, public focused service standards to guide the major areas of our work. In addition, we will be finalising the approach to our IT support beyond 2012 and driving through the efficiencies.
We will measure progress this year in terms of successful integration of CPS and RCPO business, development of standards and meeting the efficiency targets for 2009–10.
Change Priorities |
|||
Change Issue |
Senior Owner(s) |
Outcome(s) |
Milestones |
Merger of CPS and RCPO |
Peter Lewis, CEO CPS |
A high quality, seamless prosecution service covering revenue, customs and criminal cases A more efficient and cost–effective approach to delivering shared services across all LODs |
Apr 09 onwards – a timetable will be developed for both parts of the programme, but consideration will be given to the impact on:
|
Development of clear, public focused service standards for the prosecution business |
Peter Lewis, CEO John Holt, CCP Greater Manchester |
A clear set of measurable, public facing service standards that drive improvements to the quality of prosecutions and guide our work on securing value for money |
To be developed |
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) beyond 2012 |
David Jones, CIO Mike Kennedy, COO
|
Assurance of ICT services beyond 2012 and continuity of business support |
Apr to Sept 09 – negotiate a new baseline contract for signature |
CPS Strategic objective: Victims and Witnesses and Communities
The CPS has taken great strides in Victim and Witness Care and we are offering a far better service to victims and witnesses than before However, we need to ensure that our efforts and resources are being targeted effectively and that we meet the standards of service expected. Engaging with communities remains central to what we do and we must develop effective methods of doing so which will engage whole communities including those at risk of exclusion or who have, historically, been under–represented.
We will measure success by tracking:
- how many CPS witnesses attend court;
- how well we communicate with victims and witnesses in serious cases
- victims and witness satisfaction with our service;
- our success rates in cases of violence against women and hate crimes;
- how well we have engaged with the communities we serve;
- how well we ensure that there is no unfair treatment of defendants or employees on the grounds of race; and
- people's overall confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of CPS as part of the wider criminal justice system.
Change Priorities |
|||
Change Issue |
Senior Owner(s) |
Outcome(s) |
Milestones |
Violence Against Women (VAW) |
Dale Simon, Equality & Diversity Director
|
Improved prosecution of VAW crimes and support for VAW victims By March 10, to reduce unsuccessful outcomes for DV to 26%; sexual offences 23% and rape 41% |
June 09 – issue VAW guidance and launch work on race disproportionality |
Community Prosecutors
|
Mike Kennedy, COO
|
More 'community–aware' casework decisions; greater CPS involvement in 'problem–solving' of local crime and disorder priorities; and |
April 09 onwards – identify suitable sites for testing Community Prosecutor approach June 09 –provisional date for testing to commence |
Community Engagement |
Dale Simon, Equality & Diversity Director Mike Kennedy, COO
|
Improve community engagement performance through application of the community engagement measure |
April 09 onwards – hold quarterly meetings of CAF August 09 – implement recommendations from the 2008–09 review of CIPs/HCSPs |
CPS Strategic objective: Advocacy
The Advocacy Strategy has been at the heart of CPS' transformation over the past five years We have created a cadre of in–house advocates (both Crown Advocates and Associate Prosecutors) that has allowed us to take more control of our own work from end to end and has generated financial savings and opportunities for staff to develop and grow We are now turning our attention to ensuring that quality standards are set and maintained for advocacy, working with partners to ensure internal and external quality measurement of advocacy is aligned.
For this year we will measure our success through monitoring our in–house advocate usage – looking at how well we use our Crown Advocates and Associate Prosecutors to deliver our business in both the magistrates' courts and Crown Court and what financial savings this generates
Change Priorities |
|||
Change Issue |
Senior Owner(s) |
Outcome(s) |
Milestones |
Extension of Associate Prosecutor Powers |
Mike Kennedy, COO
|
Increased AP deployment in a wider range of cases will provide an efficient and effective use of a skilled workforce It will also release lawyer time to focus on other work including higher court advocacy |
April to September 09 – test new powers in four Pathfinder CPS Areas (from February 09) |
Advocacy Quality Management Strategy |
Mike Kennedy, COO
|
Improved quality of advocacy performance; consistency in the standards to be applied when assessing advocacy performance; and, cashable efficiencies arising from deployment of Crown Advocates |
April 09 – start appointment of Group based advocacy assessors
|
CPS Strategic objective: Magistrates' Courts
Through the implementation of Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary (CJSSS), Streamlined Process, the Optimum Business Model (OBM) and Statutory Charging, we have put in place the building blocks for much more effective working in the magistrates' courts In 2009–10 we will continue to drive out the benefits of these initiatives But we recognise that there is more to do Whilst charging has brought many benefits to the CJS, we need to look again at the business model to ensure that it is providing justice and value for money together We also want to extend the lessons learned from OBM to all parts of the country and into the Crown Court where appropriate In common with other areas of the business, we will be working to set clear standards for casework management and decision making.
For this year we will measure our success by reducing the average number of hearings in the magistrates' courts for guilty pleas and contested cases.
Change Priorities |
|||
Change Issue |
Senior Owner(s) |
Outcome(s) |
Milestones |
Modernising Charging |
Mike Kennedy, COO
|
Achievement of higher standards of service, through a new way of working able to deliver:
|
April 09 onwards – continued monitoring of charging performance to ensure we maintain benefits and development of new quality service standard |
OBM & Paralegal Career Family Structure |
Mike Kennedy, COO Ros McCool, HR Director
|
A more efficient and cost–effective running of magistrates' courts and Crown Court processes, leading to a reduction in ineffective trials and adverse outcomes A more highly skilled workforce, ensuring the right people doing the right job at the right levels Paralegal Officer time released for Crown Court and summary trial case preparation; and so prosecutor time released for charging and advocacy |
April 09 onwards – continue reviews and sign–offs of Magistrates' OBM, with a maintenance programme to ensure continuous improvement in performance |
CPS Strategic Objective: Lead, Manage, Engage
The People Strategy for CPS sets out a programme for developing and engaging staff to support the delivery of business now and in the future There needs to be a continued momentum behind this transformational work and in this year, to support the creation of a modern public prosecution service and ensure we deliver on our priorities, we will give renewed focus to leadership and staff engagement Key to engagement will be ensuring effective appraisal and development for all staff, including excellent induction into the business for new starters.
We will measure our success by monitoring the number and quality of staff performance and development reviews and inductions; tracking our progress on key questions in our staff survey and acting to improve staff wellbeing and reduce absence.
Change Priorities |
|||
Change Issue |
Senior Owner(s) |
Outcome(s) |
Milestones |
Management |
Ros McCool, HR Director
|
Improvement in managers skill, confidence and effectiveness Increase in staff confidence in managers as measured by staff survey |
April 09 onwards – deliver training to all existing managers, including:
May 09 – start New Manager Foundation Programme |
Leadership |
Ros McCool, HR Director
|
Improvement in consistency and effectiveness of leadership across CPS Succession and talent management in place to provide a degree of 'future proofing' |
April 09 – report on 360° exercise for senior managers |
CPS Strategic objective: Wider CJS
The CPS has become a key, respected partner in the CJS and plays a vital role in the achievement of PSAs 23 and 24, as well as the wider success of the system The challenge for us is to continue to work in partnership to deliver the PSAs in a time of decreasing resources for all partners.
For this year we will measure our progress by monitoring our contribution to bringing offences to justice and depriving criminals of the proceeds from their crimes.
Change Priorities |
|||
Change Issue |
Senior Owner(s) |
Outcome(s) |
Milestones |
Streamlined Process (SP) |
Mike Kennedy, COO |
A more proportionate prosecution file preparation for straight forward volume guilty plea cases suitable for sentencing in the magistrates' court, and the production of a file sufficient for the first hearing in likely contested or more complex cases to enable the court to make effective case management decisions to support CJSSS |
June 09 – rollout completed across all Areas June 09 onwards – conduct Post Implementation Review evaluation to follow (details to be confirmed) |
Programme plan for 2009–10
Click on the image below for a full size version of the Programme plan for 2009–10 table
Risks for 2009–10
Our risks for 2009–10
We face a range of risks and threats to the delivery of our strategic objectives and other commitments The most important of these are outlined in our corporate risk register. For 2009–10 we are carrying forward the key risks we faced last year and these are set out below. As these risks reflect the wider threats to the service, they necessarily span two or more of the priorities. The countermeasures we employ therefore represent actions both to deliver the strategic objectives and those that address wider corporate exposures. Where an action has a direct impact on a priority, this link is shown in the risk register. In the coming year our plans to reshape the modern prosecution service will engender changes to our structure and scope of delivery and we will carefully monitor the exposures within the programme.
Identifying and management of corporate risks is the responsibility of the Board and Corporate Delivery and Management Group which supports the Board.
The 2009–10 strategic risks to be actively managed at Board level are:
No |
Risks |
Owner |
1 |
Arrangements for delivering the portfolio of CPS change and the management of programmes and major projects do not deliver planned business and VFM benefits |
John Graham, Finance Director |
2 |
Significant or widespread interruption to our capability to deliver core business |
Mike Kennedy, |
3 |
Capacity and capability impact on delivery of the PSA targets and business change commitments |
Ros McCool, |
4 |
Changing CJS and other stakeholder relationships at national, group and local level adversely impact on effective delivery of core business, PSA targets and business change commitments |
Mike Kennedy |
5 |
Damage to CPS public standing from adverse publicity in high profile cases |
Mike Kennedy |
6 |
Constrained funding in 2009–10 and later and under–realised efficiency savings do not sustain the change programme and service delivery commitments, and leads to a loss of stakeholder and public confidence |
John Graham |
7 |
Loss of charging responsibility undermines CPS efficiency and the quality of service delivery, and adversely impacts on the public, CJS and other stakeholder confidence |
Mike Kennedy |
8 |
CPS information is compromised, or inadequate/inappropriate data sharing leads to public censure and loss of public confidence in the CPS and CJS and/or avoidable case failures |
Mike Kennedy As SIRO |
Annex A: Group and area contacts
Group area map
Annex B: Organisation chart
Click on the image below for a full size version of the CPS Organisational chart
