Foreword
By the Director of Public Prosecutions
I am pleased to introduce my first Annual Report and Accounts for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Covering the 2023-24 financial year, the report outlines the challenges that we face but also our progress against the objectives set out in our CPS 2025 strategy and its five strategic aims: our people, digital capability, strategic partnerships, casework quality, and public confidence.
When I joined the CPS as Director of Public Prosecutions last November, I made it a priority to meet and listen to my new colleagues, to hear from them about their experiences on the frontline of delivering justice for victims. I have now spent at least two days in each of the 14 CPS Areas in England and Wales, taking the opportunity at the same time to meet police chiefs and Crown Court judges in those Areas.
These visits have brought home to me the determination and commitment of our people to delivering justice through independent and fair prosecutions, but also the scale of the challenge that we and our partners face. Despite considerable efforts, we know that victims, witnesses, and the public are still waiting too long to see justice. This is against the backdrop of a criminal justice system having to cope with persistently high caseloads and backlogs in the courts, rising demand, increased prosecution costs, and wider fiscal pressures – all of which adds to the strain on our people and impacts our ability to deliver the outcomes that we want.
Working system wide to find solutions is at the heart of what I want to achieve as DPP. In particular, major priorities for me are tackling delay and providing better support to victims. It is important that I emphasise that over the last year everyone in the CPS has worked exceptionally hard in difficult circumstances – and we in turn have continued to invest in our people. After growing substantially during the 2023-24 reporting year, our focus this year has been on developing and retaining existing talent and carefully deploying resources to meet growing demands. We are now redoubling our efforts to work as effectively as possible, thinking creatively about how we can reduce the obstacles we face every day and continue to support our people to be their best.
Embracing digital tools is essential in achieving this goal. This year we have invested in technology to reduce delays and collaborate more effectively with our partners. This includes increased digitisation of casework information and the launch of our new Casework App – helping our people spend less time navigating systems and more time delivering justice for victims. We have also secured further investment – alongside HM Courts and Tribunals Service – to develop and pilot digital jury bundles, which we expect will also contribute to reducing delay.
Many of the challenges we face are system wide – so working closely and collaboratively with our partners continues to be essential. This year we have focused on important joint initiatives to improve casework quality and timeliness, including the rollout of our new charging model, co-designed with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, which includes agreed timescales for CPS decision making. The model is now live in almost all CPS Areas and police forces, and we have already started seeing improved real-time police-CPS communication as we work more effectively together.
Our joint efforts to improve our response to rape and serious sexual offences also shows how effective we can be when we deliver change together. Alongside our police colleagues, we have rolled out the National Operating Model for prosecuting adult rape, ensuring a consistent approach based on best practice and experience of what works – including from independent academic research and lessons from our Police-CPS Joint National Action Plan. Since the launch of the joint plan in January 2021 there has been a 95% increase in quarterly receipts for a charging decision and a 152% increase in quarterly charge volumes for adult rape (based on Q3 2023-24 data) – but we know we have more to do, and I am focused on continuing to improve outcomes for victims.
I want us to do everything we can to reduce delays and to support victims to stay the course – improving their experience so that they can see cases through to conclusion. Work is ongoing to reform our service to victims – especially those with the greatest need. This year we have taken steps to improve how we communicate with and support victims. We also need to play a leading role on these issues within the wider system, working with criminal justice colleagues to improve the experience of the public and their confidence in us.
As we look ahead, we have significant opportunities to build on the progress we have made this year, continuing to transform our service for the better. Alongside my dedicated colleagues, I stand ready to meet that challenge.
Stephen Parkinson
Director of Public Prosecutions