Casework statistics
In these statistics, a defendant represents one person in a single set of proceedings, which may involve one or more charges. A set of proceedings usually relates to an incident or series of related incidents that are the subject of a police file. If a set of proceedings relates to more than one person then each is counted as a defendant. Sometimes one person is involved in several sets of proceedings during the same year: if so, they are counted as a defendant on each occasion. Cases involving mixed pleas of guilty to some charges while other charges proceeded to contest are treated as a single defendant case.
The annual casework statistics in this report comprise defendants dealt with by the 14 CPS Areas and the specialised casework handled by the Central Casework Divisions, which include those proceedings previously conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the former Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office.
Chart 1: Magistrates’ courts: caseload
Chart 1 shows the number of cases dealt with by the CPS in 2023-24 and in the two preceding years.
| Pre-charge decisions: | In around 35% of all prosecutions, Crown Prosecutors are responsible for deciding whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, what that offence should be in accordance with the Director’s Guidelines. The figures shown here comprise all such decisions, regardless of whether the decision was to prosecute or not. |
|---|---|
| Charged: | The prosecutor is satisfied there is enough evidence to provide a “realistic prospect of conviction” against each suspect and that the prosecution is in the public interest. |
| No prosecution: | A decision to take no further action for either evidential or public interest reasons. |
| Pending Response – Further Investigation: | Pre-Charge decisions recorded as Pending response – further investigation (formally known as Administrative finalisations) are finalised administratively where an early investigative advice has been sought by the police or, where there is insufficient evidence to bring a charge at first referral, the police have been asked to complete an action plan and no further evidence is forthcoming. These are not legal decisions and cases may be reopened if, at a later date, new material is provided to the prosecution enabling a charging decision to be made. The change in the term used is designed to allow better understanding by the public and provide a clearer explanation of what has happened to the case. This follows recommendations to change the terminology used by His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and in the November 2020 shadow report: The Decriminalisation of Rape. A report by The Centre for Women’s Justice, the End Violence against Women Coalition, et al. in response to the England and Wales Governments “end to end” Review of the Criminal Justice System’s Response to Rape. |
| Out of court disposals: | A simple caution, conditional caution, reprimand, final warning or TIC (taken into consideration) issued by the CPS at pre-charge stage. |
| Prosecuted by the CPS: | This figure comprises all defendants charged or summonsed whose case was completed in magistrates’ courts during the period, including those proceeding to a trial or guilty plea, those discontinued, and those which could not proceed. Cases committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court are not included in magistrates’ caseload data. Further information on the type of finalisations is shown at chart 3. |
| Other proceedings: | Non-criminal matters, such as forfeiture proceedings under the Obscene Publications Acts. |
2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-charge decisions | 188,541 | 194,351 | 204,772 |
| Charged | 123,988 | 130,143 | 134,848 |
| No prosecution | 36,608 | 34,358 | 32,753 |
| Pending Response – Further Investigation (formally known as Administratively finalised) | 25,962 | 28,059 | 35,609 |
| Out of court disposals | 1,605 | 1,400 | 1,252 |
| Prosecuted by the CPS | 362,906 | 341,940 | 348,268 |
| Other proceedings7 | 3,014 | 89 | 102 |
Chart 2: Magistrates’ courts: types of cases
Chart 2 shows the different types of cases dealt with by the CPS in magistrates’ courts. They are:
| Summary: | Cases which can be tried only in the magistrates’ courts. |
|---|---|
| Indictable only/either way: | Indictable only cases can be tried only in the Crown Court, but either way cases may be tried either in magistrates’ courts or in the Crown Court. |
2021-22 | % | 2022-23 | % | 2023-24 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 178,310 | 41.7 | 161,838 | 39.5 | 151,602 | 35.6 |
| Indictable only/either way | 249,021 | 58.3 | 247,571 | 60.5 | 274,063 | 64.4 |
| Total | 427,331 |
| 409,409 |
| 425,665 |
|
The above figures include cases committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court as well as prosecutions completed in magistrates’ courts. These volumes are higher than the prosecution volumes reported in chart 1 because a case committed or sent for trial is not finalised until the prosecution is completed at the Crown Court.
Chart 3: Magistrates’ courts: case outcomes
Chart 3 shows the outcome of defendant cases completed during the year. These are cases where a decision has been made by the police or the CPS to charge or summons. Cases may proceed to prosecution or be discontinued at any stage of the proceedings up to the start of trial.
| Warrants etc | When the prosecution cannot proceed because the defendant has failed to appear at court and a Bench Warrant has been issued for his or her arrest; or the defendant has died; or where proceedings are adjourned indefinitely. |
|---|---|
| Discharges | Committal proceedings in which the defendant is discharged. |
| Dismissals – no case to answer | Cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty and prosecution evidence is heard, but proceedings are dismissed by the magistrates without hearing the defence case. |
| Dismissals after trial | Cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty and proceedings are dismissed by the magistrates after hearing the defence case – a not guilty verdict. |
| Guilty pleas | Where the defendant pleads guilty. |
| Prosecutions dropped | Consideration of the evidence and of the public interest may lead the CPS to discontinue or drop proceedings at any time before the start of the trial. The figures include both cases discontinued in advance of the hearing, where the CPS offered no evidence, and those withdrawn at court. Also included are cases in which the defendant was bound over to keep the peace. |
| Convictions after trial | Cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty but is convicted after the evidence is heard. |
| Proofs in absence | These are mostly minor motoring matters which are heard by the court in the absence of the defendant. |
2021-22 | % | 2022-23 | % | 2023-24 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrants etc. | 11,863 | 3.3 | 11,186 | 3.3 | 11,402 | 3.3 |
| Discharges | 13 | 0.0 | 13 | 0.0 | 16 | 0.0 |
| Dismissals – no case to answer | 613 | 0.2 | 465 | 0.1 | 473 | 0.1 |
| Dismissals after trial | 9,328 | 2.6 | 8,803 | 2.6 | 8,337 | 2.4 |
| Guilty pleas | 276,351 | 76.1 | 263,866 | 77.2 | 272,040 | 78.1 |
| Prosecutions dropped (including bind overs) | 40,009 | 11.0 | 36,740 | 10.7 | 36,176 | 10.4 |
| Convictions after trial | 17,902 | 4.9 | 15,284 | 4.5 | 14,415 | 4.1 |
| Proofs in absence | 6,827 | 1.9 | 5,583 | 1.6 | 5,409 | 1.6 |
| Total | 362,906 |
| 341,940 |
| 348,268 |
|
During 2023-24, a total of 3,486 defendants pleaded guilty to some charges and were either convicted or dismissed after trial of other charges. To avoid double counting, and to ensure consistency with figures for previous years, the outcome for these defendants is shown as a guilty plea.
Chart 4: Magistrates’ courts: committals to the Crown Court
In addition to the above cases, which were completed in magistrates’ courts, the following numbers of defendants were committed or sent for trial in the Crown Court:
2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Committals for trial | 64,456 | 67,521 | 77,439 |
Chart 5: Crown Court caseload
Chart 5 shows the number of defendants whose case was completed in the Crown Court:
| Prosecuted by the CPS | This figure comprises all cases proceeding to trial or guilty plea in the Crown Court, together with those discontinued or dropped by the CPS after having been committed or sent for trial. The outcome of these proceedings is shown at chart 7. |
|---|---|
| Appeals | Defendants tried in magistrates’ courts or at the Crown Court may appeal to the Crown Court or Higher Appeal Courts (respectively) against their conviction and/or sentence. |
| Committals for sentence | Some defendants tried and convicted by the magistrates are committed to the Crown Court for sentence, if the magistrates decide that greater punishment is needed than they can impose. |
2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosecuted by the CPS | 63,918 | 60,112 | 71,133 |
| Appeals | 11,272 | 11,034 | 9,978 |
| Committals for sentence | 21,930 | 19,612 | 22,919 |
The central Casework Divisions handled 4,983 appeals against conviction and/or sentence or extradition, which are included in the table above.
Chart 6: Crown Court: source of committals for trial
| Magistrates’ direction: | These are either way proceedings which the magistrates thought were serious enough to call for trial in the Crown Court. |
|---|---|
| Defendants’ elections: | These are either way proceedings in which the defendant chose Crown Court trial. |
| Indictable only: | These are more serious cases which can only be tried in the Crown Court. |
2021-22 | % | 2022-23 | % | 2023-24 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magistrates’ directions | 36,945 | 58.1 | 34,199 | 57.1 | 39,895 | 56.3 |
| Defendants’ elections | 2,891 | 4.5 | 3,095 | 5.2 | 3,719 | 5.2 |
| Indictable only | 23,795 | 37.4 | 22,578 | 37.7 | 27,259 | 38.5 |
| Total | 63,631 |
| 59,872 |
| 70,873 |
|
Chart 7: Crown Court: case outcomes
Cases against defendants committed for trial in the Crown Court can be completed in several ways:
| Warrants etc | When the prosecution cannot proceed because the defendant fails to attend court and a Bench Warrant has been issued for their arrest; the defendant has died or is found unfit to plead; or where proceedings are otherwise adjourned indefinitely. If the police trace a missing defendant or fitness to plead is established, then proceedings can continue. |
|---|---|
| Judge directed acquittals | These are cases where, at the close of the prosecution case against the defendant, a successful submission of ‘no case’ or ‘unsafe’ is made on behalf of the defendant, and the judge directs an acquittal rather than allow the case to be determined by the jury. |
| Acquittals after trial | When the defendant pleads not guilty and, following a trial, is acquitted by the jury. |
| Guilty pleas | Where the defendant pleads guilty. |
| Prosecutions dropped | Consideration of the evidence and of the public interest may lead the CPS to discontinue or drop proceedings at any time before the start of the trial. The figures include cases discontinued in advance of the hearing; where the CPS offered no evidence; and those withdrawn at court. Also included are cases in which the defendant was bound over to keep the peace. |
| Convictions after trial | Cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty but is convicted after the evidence is heard. |
2021-22 | % | 2022-23 | % | 2023-24 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrants etc. | 1,010 | 1.6 | 1,073 | 1.8 | 1,186 | 1.7 |
| Judge directed acquittals | 251 | 0.4 | 203 | 0.3 | 238 | 0.3 |
| Acquittals after trial | 3,213 | 5.0 | 2,969 | 4.9 | 3,950 | 5.6 |
| Guilty pleas | 46,391 | 72.6 | 42,912 | 71.4 | 50,068 | 70.4 |
| Prosecutions dropped (including bind overs) | 8,680 | 13.6 | 8,934 | 14.9 | 10,618 | 14.9 |
| Convictions after trial | 4,373 | 6.8 | 4,021 | 6.7 | 5,073 | 7.1 |
| Total | 63,918 |
| 60,112 |
| 71,133 |
|
During 2023-24, a total of 1,978 defendants pleaded guilty to some charges and were either convicted or acquitted after trial of other charges. To avoid double counting, and to ensure consistency with figures for previous years, the outcome for these defendants is shown as a guilty plea.
Agent usage
The proportion of half day sessions in magistrates’ courts covered by lawyers in private practice acting as agents in 2023-24 was 22.6% compared with 26.8% in 2022-23.
- The volume of ‘Other Proceedings’ reported above for 2021-22 has been artificially inflated by the inclusion in the data of a number of Single Justice Procedure (SJP) cases which were sent to the CPS by the Metropolitan Police Force before the first hearing and plea had taken place. SJP cases (which involve low level criminal offending) should only be sent to the CPS if not guilty pleas are entered to charges. These cases should therefore have been deleted from the Case Management System. Unfortunately, before the issue was identified and a process to deal with these cases set in place, a number were finalised as ‘Other Proceedings’. Following finalisation, case records are uploaded into the Management Information System and it is not possible to subsequently amend case records. As a result, it is not therefore possible to meaningfully compare the 2021-22 data with other annual years.