Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate (HMCPSI) has today
published its latest report on the handling by the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS) of the disclosure of unused material in
the Crown Court.
The report found that although there has been some signs of
improvement, including with the completion of disclosure
management documents by the police and CPS, and in the timeliness
of serving initial and continuing disclosure, the CPS is
responsible for a number of disclosure failings, and much more
needs to be done.
Since the last inspection in January this year, performance had
declined in a number of aspects. These included the service
provided by the police to the CPS, and the quality of the
prosecutor’s review at charging. Compliance by the CPS with the
statutory disclosure regime at the initial and continuing
disclosure stages also showed slight a decline from the
performance levels in the last report.
Inspectors noted that some of the findings set out in this report
were likely to be impacted by the service provided by the police,
for example, in cases where the police do not identify what is
and is not disclosable. However, the inspection also showed that
the rate of CPS feedback to the police had declined since it was
looked at in January.
The report highlights a number of issues that were set out
previously, inspectors therefore includedfour recommendations for
the CPS:
- that a joint inspection of the handling of disclosure is
added to the Criminal Justice Joint Inspection Business Plan for
2021-22;
- that the CPS Areas work with the police on a local level to
identify and address deficiencies in file quality;
- that the CPS should develop a clear strategy to improve the
quality and standard of pre-charge reviews and case file reviews
including the expectation for reviews to consider and address
disclosure issues; and
- that the CPS should improve the capability and capacity of
legal managers to understand and set clear expectations for
disclosure review records and provide clarity of expectations at
all stages of review.
Commenting on the report, Chief Inspector, Kevin McGinty said:
“Although the CPS has made some improvements, many of the issues
highlighted in this report just repeat past concerns.
“Once again there are some clear weaknesses with how the CPS
makes effective decisions about the handling and management of
disclosure.
“Given this inspection assessed pre-COVID cases and the police
and the CPS had secured more resources, it’s disappointing we did
not see more of an improvement in casework quality.
“The CPS needs to look at how it can develop a clear focus on
quality – and review whether the arrangements it has in place are
the right ones.”
Note to editors
- HMCPSI inspects prosecution services, providing evidence to
make the prosecution process better and more accountable. We have
a statutory duty to inspect the work of the Crown Prosecution
Service.
- The cases examined in this inspection were all charged on or
after 1 August 2019 and listed for Crown Court up to Friday 20
March 2020.
- HMCPSI previously published a report on the handling of
disclosure in January 2020. That report examined CPS disclosure
performance over an 18 month time period and mainly included
cases that were completed in 2018 and 2019. The report is linked
here:
- Inspectors examined 20 cases in all 14 CPS Areas, making a
total of 280 cases. These ranged from serious sexual offences or
child abuse cases to theft and public order cases.
- The file sample did not contain any rape cases due to the
joint Rape inspection with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and
Fire and Rescue Services that was underway.
- Disclosure of unused material is a key component of the
investigative and prosecution process. When conducting
investigations, the police have to retain every item which is not
been used as part of the prosecution’s case against the defendant
but which is still relevant to an investigation. Each item is
then reviewed to see whether it is capable of undermining the
prosecution case or assisting the defence case. If either factor
applies it must be disclosed to the defence.
