What is the CPS?

CPS stands for ‘The Crown Prosecution Service’. 

It’s a government department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the Police. The CPS is a national organisation that’s split into 42 Areas across England and Wales. Each Area is headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor and works in partnership with the area police force. CPS Lancashire is headed by Robert Marshall and works closely with the Lancashire Constabulary.

The purpose of the CPS is to look independently at each case and decide whether there’s enough evidence to prosecute a person.  They then have to decide if it is “in the public interest” to go ahead with a case investigated by the Police. Although the CPS works in partnership with the police, it’s totally independent of them. The independence of the CPS is really important as it makes sure that decisions taken on cases are fair and impartial.  This makes sure justice is served for everyone – victim’s, witnesses, defendants and the public.

The CPS employs around 8,775 people throughout England and Wales. These people are employed mainly in three different roles: prosecutors, caseworkers and administrators.

• The Prosecutors are fully qualified solicitors or barristers and are responsible for going into court and prosecuting criminal cases in Magistrates Courts and, more recently, the Crown court too.
• Crown Court Caseworkers provide support at court to the barristers and are responsible for preparing cases for hearings.
• CPS Administrators support the work of the CPS by managing financial, administrative and IT tasks. They’re responsible for making sure the right cases get into the right court on the right day!

Have you got a burning question for the CPS?  Get in touch with LimaCharlie here.

How the CPS works with the Police?

Although both the CPS and police are independent of each other they work closely on cases usually from a very early stage. 

In all but the most minor cases the police will investigate an incident then gather all the evidence and discuss it with a CPS prosecutor.  CPS prosecutors are based in the main police stations across Lancashire.  They are also available by telephone 24 hours a day through a service called CPS Direct.  Police officers can telephone the CPS Direct number and get advice through the night and at weekends 365 days a year. The prosecutor will look at the evidence and advise the police officer on whether it’s “sufficient” to provide a realistic likelihood of conviction.  The prosecutor will then carry on working with the police through the life of a case file to make sure the evidence is always adequate for trial and will use their knowledge of the law to look at ways to strengthen the arguments of the case.           

How the CPS comes into contact with young people?

The most common way for a young person to come into contact with the CPS is through the criminal justice system.  Young people as victims of crime or witnesses to a crime will often come across a CPS prosecutor or crown court caseworker if a case goes to trial and they are called as prosecution witnesses.   Young people who are prosecuted for a crime will have a CPS lawyer prosecute their case.

Another way a young person may come into contact with the CPS is through careers fairs at local schools/colleges, to show young people what the CPS is all about, what kind of careers are available at CPS and show how important the role of the CPS is in the community.

The CPS also works with local schools and colleges to provide work placements to young people who are looking at a future career either in CPS or law. These work placements are available all over Lancashire and give young people a chance to get an insight of the workings of the CPS at each level, legal and administrative and gain valuable skills.

LimaCharlie will soon be catching up with a CPS work experience student to find out what their placement was like.

Do you want take your work experience at the CPS?  Get in touch.