A report from Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) has revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been sending unsatisfactory letters to victims of crime.

The report, into the effectiveness of Victim Liaison Units (VLUs) found too many letters contained simple errors including spelling mistakes that could have been picked up if the letters had been properly proof-read. Some were wrongly addressed, and incorrect cases were even identified.

VLUs were set up by the CPS in 2014 with the aim of providing a dedicated and professional service to victims to ensure that they received high quality, timely, effective and empathetic letters. Inspectors found that this was not the case.

Of the 340 letters inspectors looked at, only 75 met the quality standard expected. The letters encompassed 200 from the Victim Communication and Liaison scheme, 70 local resolution cases from the Victims’ Right to Review and 70 letters of complaint. Nearly half of these were rated by inspectors as being not empathetic enough.

Inspectors also found that legal managers had not received training in drafting or responding to complaints – which again had an impact on the quality of the letters sent out.

Although inspectors found that staff in the VLUs were committed to providing a quality service – the fact that there was not an effective level of quality assurance in place meant that too many letters were not meeting the standard expected.

Aspects for improvement included:

• The need to set up a clear and effective system for prosecutors to notify the Victim Liaison Unit of the reason for decisions in cases which could then be reflected in communications
• CPS needs to improve systems to track the timeliness of Victim Communication and Liaison scheme letters
• Effective quality assurance processes for the assessment of Victim Communication and Liaison scheme responses
• CPS should re-circulate and reinforce guidance on timeliness of complaints

HM Chief Inspector Kevin McGinty, said:

“Victims of crime should be treated sympathetically by the CPS and this includes ensuring that they are given the right information about decisions made about their case and that the information should be given in way that can be understood and which shows respect and empathy.  Our Inspection of the Victim Liaison Units, which were created to ensure a quality service for victims, sadly shows that the CPS are failing badly. It is to be regretted that this report highlights such short comings in performance with only 22.1% of letters being rated as being of the expected standard by my inspectors. The CPS must consider the findings of this report and take all necessary action to ensure that victims receive the right level of service they have been promised and which they rightly expect.”

The full report can be accessed here.

Notes

Six CPS Areas were visited by inspectors for fieldwork – CPS North East, CPS South East, CPS South West, CPS Cymru-Wales, CPS Wessex and CPS Yorkshire and Humberside. Inspectors spoke to a range of Area staff responsible for victim and witness issues.