Press Release - Crown Prosecution Service: Effective use of
Magistrates’ Court Hearings
15 February 2006
£173 million was spent last year on trials and hearings in
magistrates’ courts that did not go ahead as planned. Of this,
nearly £24 million was due to the Crown Prosecution Service. The
National Audit Office calculate that 28 per cent (784,000 annually)
of all pre-trial hearings in magistrates’ courts do not proceed on
the scheduled day, and are adjourned to a later date. The defence
is responsible for more than half, while the CPS and the Police are
responsible for just over a fifth. The NAO estimate that just under
71,000 ineffective pre-trial hearings are directly attributable to
the CPS, together with about one in ten of all trials (19,500).
Individual prosecutors deal with a large volume of cases, often
at very short notice. This makes it difficult for them to prepare
cases in time, so trials and hearings do not go ahead as scheduled.
The NAO found, however, that problems with the Crown Prosecution
Service’s planning and preparation for magistrates’ court hearings
are a contributory factor. There is insufficient oversight of
cases; urgent cases may not be adequately prioritised; evidence is
sometimes incomplete; and files are mislaid.
The police and the courts also cause problems resulting in
prosecution delays. Often the police do not provide the evidence in
time for the hearing; and Her Majesty’s Courts Service staff move
cases around at the last minute, sometimes giving prosecutors only
a few minutes’ notice.
The CPS is seeking to improve its performance through
initiatives such as ‘No Witness, No Justice’, which aims to support
prosecution witnesses through the courts process, and the Charging
Initiative which passes responsibility for determining the correct
charge from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service. It also
plays a key part in Local Criminal Justice Boards to promote joint
working with other criminal justice agencies such as the Police and
Her Majesty’s Courts Service. We found good examples of local
action by CPS offices to improve performance at magistrates’ court
hearings, but generally the CPS needs to re-organise and modernise
its management of magistrates’ court casework.
The NAO report makes a number of recommendations to improve joint
working with other criminal justice areas; maintain proper
oversight of cases; make more prosecutor time available for review
and preparation; prioritise some cases to ensure that they are
ready when they come to court; and remove duplication and release
resources by updating case records electronically at court.
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn said
today:
“The Crown Prosecution Service is making efforts to
improve its performance in magistrates’ courts but needs to do more
to modernise the way in which it prepares and brings cases to
court. My recommendations will reduce the waste and delay caused by
ineffective hearings and trials.”
Notes for Editors:
- The Crown Prosecution Service is the principal prosecuting
authority in England and Wales. It has annual expenditure of £568m.
In 2004-05 it prosecuted around 1.25m people. Ninety-two per cent
of the CPS’ prosecutions were dealt with in magistrates’ courts in
2004-05.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 12/06
All enquiries to Mark Strathdene, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 7183
Mobile: 07748 181 693