Crown Prosecution Service and National Police Chiefs' Council response to the "Joint case building by the police and CPS" report, 10 July 2025
His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) have today issued a report following a joint inspection of the building of prosecution cases by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The CPS and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) note the contents of the report and recognise the issues raised as indicative of the time the fieldwork was undertaken in 2022-2023. In the intervening period, however, the CPS and police have made positive progress, and substantial improvements have been made to the case building process. Both agencies know a positive relationship is vital and have worked collaboratively to establish the right environment for that to thrive; we continue to drive ongoing efforts to improve culture, collaboration and partnership working to provide a quality service to our criminal justice service (CJS) partners, victims, witnesses, and the public. The joint report rightly recognises the activity and commitment made by senior leaders in both agencies to address and mitigate some aspects that were creating tension and inefficiency, and we are grateful for this acknowledgement.
Since fieldwork was undertaken, and when the interim findings were published in January 2024, a significant amount of work has been jointly undertaken within the Joint Operational Improvement Board (JOIB), the senior strategic governance board between the police and CPS. JOIB addresses systemic issues impacting the CJS, focussing on aligning priorities, performance, and innovation. It seeks to improve outcomes and reduce inefficiency by fostering a culture of collaboration, underpinned by extensive partnership working at all levels across the CPS and policing.
Through this work, we have made tangible improvements to the partnership working involved in case building, including implementing collaborative solutions. This is creating a more positive and collegiate environment between CPS Areas and police forces who are working together to improve file quality. This is demonstrated through significant improvements over the past 17 months in the Director’s Guidance assessment performance data, the measure of police file quality, rising from 56% to 63%, and in the number of CPS lawyers conducting Director's Guidance assessments on eligible cases which increased from 73% to 82% over the same period.
Separately, a report undertaken by the University of Leicester (UofL) has today been published by the Home Office. The UofL report research primarily focuses on case progression up until a decision to charge or to take no further action by the CPS. Both agencies acknowledge the findings and note the strong similarities in the themes identified within the joint Inspectorate report. Although there are no specific recommendations set out in the UofL report, many issues identified are being addressed through our ongoing work to improve collaboration under the governance of the JOIB, and our response therefore intends to address both reports in parallel.
Both agencies recognise that whilst improvements have been made, there is still work to do. We will consider the recommendations relevant to the CPS and policing and remain strongly committed to working together to improve outcomes for victims, witnesses and the public.
Case Progression Portfolios, CPS & NPCC
10 July 2025