‘Blunders in court’ as CPS cuts costs

Attempts by local Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) managers to make savings are leading to in-house prosecutors having to rely on notes, being unable to anticipate likely questions and being of little use to judges in sentencing hearings.

Michael Fuller, Chief Inspector of Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI), warned that the cost of lawyers’ fees was being put before quality, damaging cases.

“Efficiency and quality can be delivered at the same time but the CPS needs to ensure its in-house prosecutors aren’t just used to save money, as the pursuit of good quality advocacy is paramount,” he said.

In one instance, “an otherwise competent Crown advocate was let down by a silly slip in opening, necessitating the jury being discharged”, the HMCPSI report found.

“The chances of this occurring are increased with the need for last-minute preparation, leaving little time to focus calmly on the case.”

It went on: “At times in-house advocacy tended to be less persuasive, lacking elements of presence and confidence in both presentation and argument; this accords with general feedback received from the judiciary.”

The inspectors warned that the “overall decline in the performance of in-house advocates” in plea and case management hearings was a result of the increase in the number of cases they were required to present, late instructions and a lack of preparation time.

“In the Crown Court the continued focus on financial savings has resulted in late instruction of Crown advocates who do not for the most part have the tools to prepare cases out of the office, and late instructions to self-employed counsel who do not have time to remedy poor preparation,” they said.

The report added that “too frequently, inspectors observed (that) the Crown advocate failed to be of any real assistance in the sentencing process.”