Police and CPS “need more effective communication” to reduce inefficiencies

The inspectorates have pointed towards a lack of strategic governance and co-ordination, which has led to the duplication of effort, conflicting approaches and confusion about what to prioritise.

His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carried out a joint inspection of the building of prosecution cases by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The report on the interim findings was published in January 2024. Following that, the joint inspection team focused on the strategic oversight and development of the working relationship between the police and the CPS.

Despite recommendations made in previous reports and reviews, inspectors found that the fundamental issues in this area remain unchanged. This includes the effectiveness of communications between the police and the CPS on the front line and a lack of clear shared performance metrics and prosecution team priorities.

The inspection also found that overly bureaucratic systems, a lack of co-ordinated IT and processes, police file quality, timeliness of CPS charging advice and changes to what needs to be included in police files were causing inefficiencies and front line frustrations.

Local level

On a local level, inspectors said that these factors can have a significant impact upon the culture, communication and partnership working between the police and the CPS.

However, inspectors said that recent changes implemented at senior levels in both policing and the CPS have had a positive effect on the approach to joint working on the front line. The Strategic Joint Operational Improvement Board has driven changes, developed pilots and challenged current practices to address the factors causing the most significant problems.

Inspectors have made 18 recommendations, which if implemented, will secure major improvements in the efficiency of the criminal justice system. These include the National Criminal Justice Board:

*creating and publishing a clear strategy to oversee the delivery of improvement across the criminal justice system, but specifically the prosecution team

*creating a viable and realistic plan for securing a national joint police and CPS digital case management system or multiple, fully compatible systems

*commissioning a joint review (supported by independent expertise) of performance data in lieu of publishing a national set of common metrics to enable effective scrutiny of all relevant aspects of the police’s and the CPS’ performance in pre-charge and post-charge cases

Critical relationship

In a joint statement, Anthony Rogers (Chief Inspector of His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) and Sir Andy Cooke (His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary) have said: “The relationship between the police and the CPS is critical in an efficient and effective criminal justice system that increases public trust and provides better outcomes for victims. Over the years, we have seen many changes in the way they interact and work together. Most recently, we have seen changes made to disclosure and case building processes which have increased inefficiencies and tensions between policing and the CPS.”

The duo continue: “Successive inspections by HMCPSI and HMICFRS have identified the need to improve case management between the police and the CPS. This has been a complex inspection, with a number of issues needing to be examined further and to the degree necessary. However, it’s clear that fundamental issues remain unchanged, including on joined-up processes and priorities. There is no clear strategy for improvement being driven across the system and there continues to be a lack of shared performance metrics.”

Further, the statement reads: “Since our interim inspection, we have seen changes at senior levels in both policing and the CPS, which have led to much more effective senior joint relationships. We are seeing early signs of senior collaboration having a positive impact on the approach to joint working at the front line. We are encouraged by the work to address some of the inefficiencies, including the approach of trying and testing innovative ways in which to improve how the police and the CPS work together.”

The joint statement adds: “We cannot view the police and the CPS in isolation, and we are deeply concerned there is a lack of strategic governance and co-ordination across the criminal justice system. That is why we are calling on the National Criminal Justice Board to publish a clear strategy to ensure all parts of the criminal justice system are aligned and working towards the same goal of improving performance and delivering justice for victims.”