HMCPSI inspectors have found that the new management of CPS North West have made a strong start, but more work needs to be done to raise casework standards across the board.

The Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) and several senior managers were newly appointed in 2017. Inspectors commended the Area’s managers for their effective leadership, staff engagement and use of resources. They also praised the Area’s efforts to build effective partnerships across the criminal justice system, which was having a positive impact on the system as a whole.

In the most serious and sensitive cases involving vulnerable witnesses the quality of witness care was found to be often of a very high standard, although not always consistent in the ‘volume’ cases in the Crown Court. The Area also needs to improve communication between staff and the Victim Liaison Unit.

Inspectors identified 12 issues to address. These included how communications with witnesses were recorded, referred and actioned by prosecutors, and management of staff sickness (which is above the national average). Inspectors also called for lawyers to address the views and interests of victims and give clear instructions to advocates.

The Area accepted that they needed to do more to communicate what they expected of the police regarding disclosure. In an examination of magistrates’ court cases, only 17 of the 51 relevant cases (33.3%) featured good use of handling of unused material and in 13 (25.5%) it was rated as poor. Although there were examples of good endorsement of the schedules and the recording of decision-making on the disclosure record sheet, in many cases there was a lack of evidence of effective control on the disclosure process. This was supported by the feedback from stakeholders, that there was a lack of confidence that disclosure was being ‘gripped’ properly by the Area and, where there was material to disclose, this only occurred very late in the day.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Chief Inspector Kevin McGinty said:

“The progress that the Area’s senior management has made is encouraging and to be commended. However, more work needs to be undertaken to ensure performance improves across key indicators, especially disclosure compliance.

“While witness care was found to be of a high standard, management of communications with witnesses needs to be improved and the views of victims taken into account more often. Inspectors also found that disclosure compliance was often problematic and happened late in the day. This impacts stakeholders’ and public confidence in the system and must be addressed as a priority.”

Notes to editors

Fieldwork took place during November and December 2017. HMCPSI spoke with members of the judiciary, representatives of partner agencies and CPS staff, both formally and informally. Court observations were undertaken to assess the effectiveness of case progression.

Inspectors examined 150 magistrates’ court and Crown Court files finalised between May and July 2017. The full findings, together with a detailed breakdown of the file sample, can be found at annex C of the report. The inspection report includes findings from a staff questionnaire.

In the 12 months to June 2017 the Area finalised nearly 38,000 magistrates’ court cases and over 7,900 Crown Court cases. During the same period it secured convictions (either after trial or by a guilty plea) against 87.1% of defendants in magistrates’ court cases and 81.3% of defendants in the Crown Court. Magistrates’ court performance was better than the national performance (84.9%). Crown Court performance was also better than nationally (79.0%); however, in the Crown Court this is a declining trend.

CPS North West has offices at Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and Barrow, and is aligned with Greater Manchester Police, the Lancashire Constabulary and the Cumbria Constabulary. It covers 15 magistrates’ courts and eight Crown Court centres.