His Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) have today issued a report following their inspection of the CPS approach to Crimes Against Older People.

This inspection follows the 2019 joint HMCPSI and HMICFRS review of the police and CPS response to crimes against older people, with three recommendations for the CPS. Those recommendations focused on improving consideration of special measures, clearer instructions regarding victim rights, and ensuring prosecutors had relevant information about older victims. In response, the CPS agreed a joint definition of an older victim with the police, published dedicated policy and prosecution guidance, and introduced an electronic case flag, meeting all recommendations directed to it.

The latest inspection assessed how effectively the CPS now supports older victims and found that, overall, prosecutors provide a good level of service. Vulnerability is generally well identified, and appropriate special measures and protections are sought. However, the inspection identified inconsistent and inaccurate case flagging and limited evidence that the specific older‑people guidance is routinely used. As a result, published data on crimes against older people could contain errors and might not provide an accurate picture of CPS performance. Importantly, prosecutors still delivered broadly consistent service regardless of whether a case was flagged.

Inspectorates' recommendations/issues to address

There are three recommendations that relate to the CPS. The CPS provides its responses below and will continue to work with CJS partners in order to deliver these recommendations:

1. By September 2026 to simplify the definition of a crime against an older person to anyone aged 60 or older who is a victim of crime and align the flagging requirement to the new definition.

CPS response:

The CPS accepts the recommendation to simplify the definition of a crime against an older person and will align our flagging approach to include all victims aged 60 or over by September 2026. We recognise the importance of clearer, more consistent identification of older victims to strengthen how we support them through the justice process. We will update our policy and processes to reflect the parameters set out in the report and ensure our approach is simpler, more accurate and easier to apply.

2. By September 2026 to simplify the crimes against older people guidance to remove the requirement to treat such offences as quasi hate crimes and instead focus on the need to consider vulnerability in all aspects of communication with and support of older victims throughout the prosecution process, providing links to and from other elements of relevant guidance and policy to enhance the experience of older victims of crime.

CPS response:

The CPS accepts the recommendation to simplify our crimes against older people guidance by removing the requirement to treat these offences as quasi hate crimes. We will instead focus on ensuring that vulnerability and support is considered throughout the prosecution process. By September 2026, we will update our policy and guidance to reflect this clearer approach and strengthen links with other relevant policies to enhance the experience of older victims of crime.

3. By September 2026 to ensure the accuracy of the flagging data is monitored and quality assured.

CPS response:

The CPS accepts this recommendation and recognises the importance of ensuring that our flagging and data capture are as accurate and reliable as possible to support meaningful insight and, ultimately, better outcomes for victims of crime. By September 2026, we will set clear standards for the data we collect and how it is assured and used to drive high quality casework for older victims. This work will strengthen our ability to understand the needs of older people and continuously improve the service we provide.