The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advice to the police and other investigative agencies during the course of criminal investigations, to decide whether a suspect should face criminal charges following an investigation, and to conduct prosecutions both in the magistrates' courts and the Crown Court. The Attorney General for England and Wales superintends the CPS's work and answers for it in Parliament. However, the Attorney General does not influence the conduct of prosecutions, except when national security is an issue or for a small number of offences that require the Attorney General's permission to prosecute.
All prosecution work of the CPS is performed by its in-house solicitors or barristers known as crown prosecutors or crown advocates respectively.Crown Prosecution Service However, there are plans to expand eligibility to become crown prosecutors for CILEX lawyers and other non-solicitors and barristers.
History Historically, prosecutions were conducted through a patchwork of different systems. For serious crimes tried at the county level, justices of the peace or the sheriff would issue a presentment to a grand jury, who would either return a "true bill" resulting in an indictment, or not. If a true bill followed presentment, the individual would be tried by a petit jury by justices of the King's Bench, Common Pleas, or Exchequer as they toured the circuits conducting the assizes. Individuals could be prosecuted upon indictment by prosecutors ranging from the attorney general or solicitor general, king's serjeants or attorneys, prosecutors instructed by the sheriff or justice of the peace. It was more likely that the attorney general or solicitor general would be involved in prosecutions of serious crimes such as high treason at the Court of King's Bench at Westminster Hall.
The second means of prosecution was by "appeal", which was when the prosecution was initiated not by presentment to a grand jury but by direct private prosecution of an interested party. An "appeal of murder" prosecuted by the widow of a murdered man was typical of this form of prosecution. Sir John Maule was appointed to be the first Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales in 1880, operating under the Home Office; his jurisdiction was only for decisions as to whether to prosecute in a very small number of difficult or important cases; once prosecution had been authorised, the matter was turned over to the Treasury Solicitor. Police forces, which had their own teams of in-house prosecuting lawyers, continued to be responsible for the bulk of cases, sometimes referring difficult ones to the Director.
In 1962, a royal commission recommended that police forces set up independent prosecution teams so as to avoid having the same officers investigate and prosecute a case. Technical barriers were already in place so that those prosecuting did so as private citizens, rendering them open to the range of evidential offences imposable by the court. This royal commission's recommendation was not implemented by all police forces, however, and so in 1977, another was set up, this time headed by Sir Cyril Philips. It was reported in 1981, recommending that a single unified team, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), be made responsible for all public prosecutions in England and Wales. The example of the procurator fiscal system in Scotland was influential in encouraging this recommendation. A white paper was released in 1983, becoming the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, which established the CPS under the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions, consisting of a merger of his old department with the police prosecution departments. It became operational on 1 October 1986.
In 1997, the Home Office tasked Sir Iain Glidewell to inquire into the performance of and make recommendations for the CPS. The Glidewell Report of June 1998 found that 12% of charges by police were discontinued by the CPS and that there were failures to communicate between the two. It recommended the CPS:
focus resources more on serious crimes at the Crown Court level co-operate more with the police in each case concurring with an existing government plan, restructure the organisation into 42 regional branches, each with its own Chief Crown Prosecutor.
Employment tribunal claim Rebecca Lawrence, who was the chief executive of the CPS from 2019 to 2023, brought a claim against the organisation for age and sex discrimination. This was settled after the first day of the tribunal in November 2023. Lawrence then announced that she was leaving the organisation, saying this was a "natural transition point for the CPS".
Organisation The CPS undertook more than 800,000 prosecutions in 2012–13, approximately 700,000 of which were in the magistrates' courts and 100,000 in the Crown Court. The conviction rate was 86% in the magistrates' courts and 80% in the Crown Court.
The Spending Review undertaken by HM Treasury in 2010 (and revised in 2013) has led to a budget decrease of almost 30% between 2010 and 2014, resulting in a restructure of the organisation and a large number of voluntary redundancies. The CPS has implemented measures such as the Core Quality Standards with the intention of maintaining and raising standards.
People As of 2023, the CPS employs about 7,000 staff. They primarily prepare cases for internal and external advocates and liaise with police and third parties. Its approved external advocates number 2,900 solicitors and barristers, among which are specialists. Both sets of advocates include King's Counsel— concentrated externally.
Grades of staff Crown Advocates present cases in the Crown Court Senior Crown Prosecutors (also known as reviewing lawyers) provide advice to investigators, make charging decisions, and present prosecution cases in the Magistrates' Court. Associate Prosecutors represent the CPS in cases with guilty pleas in the magistrates' courts Paralegals/casework assistants provide clerical support and help with progressing cases.
Structure Headquartered in London and York, the senior management team sets policies and handles corporate matters such as finance and communications. The Director of Public Prosecutions is assisted by the CPS Chief Executive in running the organisation.
CPS Areas Most of its casework is dealt with by the fourteen CPS Areas, which are responsible for conducting prosecutions in specific parts of England and Wales; each area is led by a Chief Crown Prosecutor.
The areas are composed of police force areas, except in London, where the Metropolitan Police are split across two areas. They are: Cymru/Wales (Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales, South Wales) East Midlands (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire) Eastern (Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk) London North (Metropolitan) London South (City of London, Metropolitan) Mersey Cheshire (Cheshire, Merseyside) North East (Cleveland, Durham, Northumbria) North West (Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire) South East (Kent, Surrey, Sussex) South West (Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire) Thames and Chiltern (Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Thames Valley) Wessex (Dorset, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Wiltshire) West Midlands (Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia, West Midlands and British Transport Police) Yorkshire and the Humber (West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside)
Before a review, these numbered 42 to mirror the police forces (save that CPS London dealt with both of London's territorial police forces).
CPS Direct CPS Direct provides charging advice/authorisation by phone and electronically to police forces at all hours. Prosecutors assigned to CPS Direct are remote workers to provide support outside of normal business hours. Most charging decisions by the CPS are now made by CPS Direct, which then passes the prosecution to the appropriate CPS Area.
Casework Divisions The Casework Divisions deal with prosecutions requiring specialist knowledge and experience:
Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division – Appeals, counter-terrorism, and special crime, which includes deaths in custody, public corruption, and medical manslaughter. The division is also responsible for the Victims' Right to Review Scheme. Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate - This consists of the former Proceeds of Crime Unit, Specialist Fraud, and International Justice and Organised Crime Divisions
Oversight The Attorney General oversees the work of the CPS, meeting regularly with the DPP and requesting briefings on matters of public or Parliamentary concern. The Attorney General (or their deputy, the Solicitor General) answers for the CPS's performance and conduct in Parliament. However, the Attorney General has no role in the day-to-day running of the organisation or in deciding whether a suspect should be prosecuted. The CPS is an independent prosecuting authority, and government ministers do not influence its decision-making.
The only exceptions to this rule are when a case involves matters of national security or the Attorney General must personally consent to a prosecution (e.g., all Official Secrets Act prosecutions require the Attorney General's permission to proceed). Due to the Attorney General's limited role in the CPS's casework, the use of nolle prosequi (halting of proceedings on indictment; a prerogative of the Attorney General) is now rare. Questionable incidents, such as the dropping of the case against John Bodkin Adams for what was believed to be purely political reasons, have not been repeated in modern times.
Inspection His Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) is responsible for inspecting the work of the CPS. The current Chief Inspector of the CPS is Kevin McGinty. The HMCPSI is also responsible for the Serious Fraud Office. The HMCPSI is not a regulator and, as such, can only give recommendations, which are not enforceable.
Roles and responsibilities
Pre-charge advice The CPS will often provide confidential advice to investigators on the viability of a prosecution in complex or unusual cases. This includes clarifying the intent needed to commit an offence or addressing shortcomings in the available evidence.
Unlike in many other jurisdictions, the CPS has no power to order investigations or direct investigators to take action. Whether the CPS is asked for advice or a charging decision is entirely at the discretion of investigators (see for background on this division of responsibilities in England and Wales).
Charging decisions The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for charging suspects with indictable offences (e.g., murder, rape) and all other criminal offences that lie beyond the prosecutorial authority of the police. Police forces can charge suspects with less serious summary offences (e.g. common assault, criminal damage with a low value) but cannot charge suspects with indictable offences without authorisation from a crown prosecutor (except in certain emergencies).
The Code for Crown Prosecutors requires prosecutors to answer two questions in the "Full Code Test":
Is there sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction? In other words, is there sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge? The code outlines this means that an objective, impartial, and reasonable jury or bench of magistrates or a judge hearing a case alone, properly directed and acting in accordance with the law, is more likely than not to convict the defendant of the charge alleged.