By Gabriel Princewill
The CPS has responded to charges of incompetence and sub standard performance by the Inspectorate last week, stating that a lot of the contents of the report actually predates developments on the ground.
The CPS said they have produced a Service Level Agreement which articulates the way in which all highly sensitive material ought to be handled, and which also clarifies the roles and responsibilities between the prosecutor and the investigator.
These Service Level Agreement will be applied in forces and CPS Areas over the course of this year. The CPS also said that they are embedding the use of the Disclosure Management Document into the Better Case Management processes, including a section on the Plea and Trial Preparation Form.
Speaking to The Eye Of Media.Com, a spokesperson for the CPS explained that longstanding issues between the CPS and the police have sometimes complicated ideal outcomes, but that major changes have taken place as part of an improvement process .
”Major changes to working practices to help drive improvements in the disclosure process have taken place across the country as project work reaches its second milestone”.
”The National Disclosure Improvement Plan (NDIP) was launched in January 2018 and saw the CPS, The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and College of Policing come together to tackle the long standing issues with the disclosure of unused material”, the CPS said.
The CPS said that there are numerous work programmes running with a focus on improving operational delivery to make sure police and prosecutors are working better together to embed meaningful change.
”This includes upgrading our case management system to drive better record keeping of disclosure decisions”, the CPS said.
”Disclosure Management Documents which are served on the court and defence to achieve greater transparency are being piloted on a wider scale.
In addition, police forces around the country are also trialling several new IT packages to help us meet the challenge of advancing technology.
The CPS also made reference to a drafting of the revised Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure, on which there is to be a public consultation later this year
Proposed changes to the Streamlined Disclosure Certificate which will also be the subject of consultation. And as figures released today by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) show, progress has been made.
Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions said:
“Working with the police, we have left no stone unturned in the last two years analysing both investigations and prosecutions to see where changes are needed. It is encouraging to see progress is being made but clearly, much work is still to be done if we are to provide the service the public rightly expect.
“We have always been clear that these significant cultural changes will not happen overnight – but as we reach this two year milestone, our commitment to get this right remains as strong as ever. Thanks to an £85 million investment in CPS we are also starting to recruit more prosecutors to future proof our work around disclosure and fully meet the challenges we face.”
Phase one of NDIP work focused on training needs and putting national structures in place. Phase two saw the focus switch onto making sure learning spread wider across the country as well as to youth and magistrates’ courts.
Phase two, which was launched in October 2018, focussed on operational delivery and developing both national and local approaches on issues such as handling sensitive material and extending the use of the Disclosure Management Document.
National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Criminal Justice, Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said:
“Police and prosecutors have been working together to make lasting improvements to how we handle disclosure of evidence throughout the criminal justice process over the past two years.
“Alongside the CPS, we have embedded new guidance on early investigative advice and reasonable lines of enquiry to ensure we build strong cases from the outset, worked together to help the public understand the impact of digital evidence and worked in partnership with specialist services to ensure victims receive the right information and support.
“We welcome HMCPSI’s recognition of the progress that has been made so far but recognise that there continue to be areas for improvement and work to be done to embed these changes. We are committed to continuing our work with the CPS and College of Policing to ensure long-term culture change.”
MILESTONES
The CPS also said that in 2018, the updated the Code for Crown Prosecutors to include disclosure obligations for the first time. They have also brought forward disclosure to pre-charge to make sure that where there is something within the evidence that means the Code Test is not met, it is identified from the outset rather than later in the proceedings.
” The CPS upgraded its case management system to assist prosecutors with recording decisions taken on disclosure and activities to identify how technology can be used to drive improvements in investigations have continued at pace, coordinated by the cross-agency working group.