CPS Direct
(asked on 10th July 2014) - View Source
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of charging decisions made by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2013-14 and each of the previous five financial years were made by CPS Direct.
The number and proportion of charging decisions made by CPS Direct in 2013-14 and each of the previous five financial years are as follows:
| 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 |
Number of finalised pre-charge decisions | 532,427 | 477,517 | 466,611 | 367,067 | 299,345 | 298,077 |
Number of finalised pre-charge decisions made by CPS Direct | 138,946 | 130,672 | 158,775 | 140,163 | 140,096 | 233,094 |
Proportion of finalised pre-charge decisions made by CPS Direct | 26.1% | 27.4% | 34.0% | 38.2% | 46.8% | 78.2% |
Up to the end of 2012-13 CPS Direct was a purely out of hours service (though assisting the daytime Area-based service during part of 2012/13). Since April 2013 CPS Direct has been a full 24/7 service and has also been piloting digital as well as telephone referral of cases.