Transforming Summary Justice

CPS leading the Transforming Summary Justice initiative

An HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate report published today has found that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is making a positive early contribution to the Transforming Summary Justice (TSJ) initiative, which was adopted by all criminal justice agencies in June 2015.

The report also warned that focus needed to be maintained, with further work still to be done, if the expected benefits are to be realised.

The aim of TSJ is to reform the way that criminal cases are handled in the magistrates’ courts and to create a swifter system with less delay and fewer hearings, which will reduce the amount of distress that victims and witnesses suffer during the court process. One result of TSJ is the introduction of courts which deal only with guilty pleas allowing such cases to be dealt with much quicker. This should help the court service, the prosecution team and the defence to be better prepared for the cases that are denied resulting in more effective trials and less waste.

The HMCPSI report found a good level of buy-in among CPS staff and their criminal justice partners to achieve the aims of the initiative, with good legal training and strong governance arrangements already put in place. Under the initiative, all cases should be reviewed by a CPS lawyer and any work needed to improve a case is completed before the first hearing.
Inspectors assessed 81% of first hearings as effective, with the right people present and the prosecutors well prepared, robust and able to make decisions. The prosecution file was also found to be substantially digitised; meaning prosecutors could present their cases in the courts without paper copies.

Whilst the report found that CPS charging decisions were good, there was a failure to review the prosecution file in over a third of cases considered. Another aspect highlighted by the Inspectors was a need to find a more effective way of working with the police to improve the quality of the prosecution file.

Chief Inspector of HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Kevin McGinty said:

“Our inspection found that the CPS engagement with this initiative was positive, but it is essential that the focus is maintained and momentum is not lost. The initiative has to be given time to bring about a real culture change, which cannot happen overnight.

“It is too early to say if the initiative is leading to the level of improvement hoped for, as this will depend not only on an increase in the timeliness and numbers of guilty pleas but on a reduction in the numbers of trials and an increase in their effectiveness. It will be several months before this can be realistically and accurately judged.”

In carrying out this inspection, HMCPSI visited four CPS Areas (South West, West Midlands, London and East Midlands) during September and October 2015. Inspectors observed 19 magistrates’ courts sittings, and assessed 271 files from each CPS Area across England and Wales.

A follow-up inspection is planned within the next 12 months.