Private prosecutions referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - 2021 to 2025

Request

For the years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and the first five months of 2025:

• The number of private prosecution referrals to the CPS
• The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS where the prosecutor was an individual
• The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS where the prosecutor was a company
• The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS that the prosecuting authority took over
• The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS that the prosecuting authority continued
• The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS that the prosecuting authority discontinued 

Are all private prosecutions referred to the CPS referred to the Special Crime Division pursuant to its quality assurance function or does this only happen with a fraction of the cases? In what context does it receive them?

Response

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds the following information in scope of the request.

The number of private prosecution referrals to the CPS 

The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS where the prosecutor was an individual 

The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS where the prosecutor was a company

The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS that the prosecuting authority took over 

The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS that the prosecuting authority continued 

The number of private prosecutions referred to the CPS that the prosecuting authority discontinued

Please note the following data caveats -

• The CPS is only made aware of a proportion of all private prosecution cases before the courts. As such, any figures the CPS could provide would not assist in identifying trends in the overall number of private prosecutions.
• While CPS prosecutors will record a decision in every case, once a private prosecution has been taken over by the CPS, there is nothing to distinguish it from other prosecution cases on the Case Management System. To identify the exact number of private prosecutions that the CPS has taken over would therefore require a manual exercise to review individual files of all prosecutions.
• This information is recorded for case working purposes and not for the purpose of official statistics. The data provided may be subject to possible errors with data entry and processing, and these figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded and updated.

CPS prosecutors should inform the Special Crime Division (SCD) of any private prosecution that has been referred to the CPS, before a decision is communicated to any of the parties. SCD must be provided with the decision contained in the written review, along with the written approval of the CCP/DCCP. This will include details of the relevant CPS Area, the court centre concerned and the proposed course of action in the case. SCD reviews private prosecution cases to ensure compliance with the CPS published policy. SCD’s role is to quality-assure the process that was followed by the Local Area, in deciding the outcome of the private prosecution referral. SCD does not make a final decision on the case.

The private prosecutor is not under a duty to inform the CPS that a private prosecution has commenced. The CPS may therefore find out about a private prosecution in the following ways:

• where the private prosecutor, or a representative of the private prosecutor, asks the CPS to take over the prosecution.
• where the defendant, or a representative of the defendant, asks the CPS to take over the prosecution.
• where extradition is required and the Home Office (directly or indirectly) refers the private prosecutor, or a representative of the private prosecutor, to the CPS.
• where a justices’ clerk refers a private prosecution to the CPS under section 7(4) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, because the prosecution has been withdrawn or unduly delayed and there does not appear to be any good reason for the withdrawal or the delay.
• where a judge sends a report to the CPS, or
• where the CPS learns of the private prosecution in another way, for example, from a press report.

You can find further information in the CPS published guidance on private prosecutions here: Private Prosecutions