Victim Not Suspect

CPS

CPS Area

CPS South East

Baseline report published October 2021, publication CP001:1288

Which forces this Area prosecutes

The CPS describes its Areas by county. This mapping lists police forces, because a force is what a reader is likely to know. The territory is the same. Where a CPS page lists several counties that are policed by one force, such as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire under Thames Valley Police, this mapping names the force.

Crown Prosecution Service, The CPS Areas, CPSD, CPS Central Casework Divisions and CPS Proceeds of Crime, cps.gov.uk. Individual CPS Area pages were also checked and agreed with it. The division of the Metropolitan Police area between CPS London North and CPS London South is not stated in either source.

Added value and grip

HMCPSI scored each Area on two measures. Added value is the difference made by prosecutors through proactive decision making. Grip is the effectiveness of case progression and management.

  • Magistrates' courts, added value

    Baseline
    67.4%
    Follow-up
    59.9%
    Movement
    −7.5ppdeclined

  • Magistrates' courts, grip

    Baseline
    66.8%
    Follow-up
    60.7%
    Movement
    −6.1ppdeclined

  • Crown Court, added value

    Baseline
    61.2%
    Follow-up
    62.5%
    Movement
    +1.3ppimproved

  • Crown Court, grip

    Baseline
    74.1%
    Follow-up
    64.3%
    Movement
    −9.8ppdeclined

HMCPSI treats movement under one percentage point as static.

RASSO

Measured once, 2021-22

Added value
70.7%Fully meeting
Grip
80.7%Fully meeting
Why there is no follow-up figure

RASSO casework was assessed in the 2021-22 baseline and was not re-assessed in the 2024 follow-up. HMCPSI's stated reason is that too few RASSO cases from the relevant period had reached a conclusion for a meaningful sample to be drawn, a consequence of the Crown Court backlog. The 2025 thematic inspection of early advice and pre-charge decision making in adult rape cases does not fill the gap: HMCPSI had intended to compare its findings against the baseline and abandoned that comparison, stating the approach had changed too much for a direct comparison to be fair.

The eight themes

Pre-charge

Post-charge

  • Code compliance after charge

    Magistrates' courts

    Baseline
    96.7%
    Follow-up
    96.7%
    Movement
    ±0.0ppno material change

    Crown Court

    Baseline
    90.0%
    Follow-up
    93.3%
    Movement
    +3.3ppimproved

  • Case analysis and strategy after charge

    Magistrates' courts

    Baseline
    60.8%
    Follow-up
    46.8%
    Movement
    −14.0ppdeclined

    Crown Court

    Baseline
    51.6%
    Follow-up
    61.2%
    Movement
    +9.6ppimproved

Victims and witnesses

  • Victim and witness issues

    Magistrates' courts

    Baseline
    76.0%
    Follow-up
    61.1%
    Movement
    −14.9ppdeclined

    Crown Court

    Baseline
    74.0%
    Follow-up
    65.2%
    Movement
    −8.8ppdeclined

Other aspects

What this record does not show

These figures cover magistrates' courts and Crown Court casework at baseline and follow-up, and RASSO casework at baseline only.

Phase 3 of the Area Inspection Programme visited two Areas and produced no new added value or grip scores. No third round is scheduled.

What happened to the programme

Sources

  • HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, baseline assessment of CPS South East, October 2021, publication CP001:1288.
  • HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Area Inspection Programme, follow-up of the 14 CPS Areas in England and Wales, January 2025, publication CP001:1320.

Each Area was assessed on 90 cases at baseline: 30 magistrates' courts, 40 Crown Court and 20 RASSO. Percentages are the total points awarded expressed as a share of the maximum available, with two points for fully meeting the expected standard, one for partially meeting it and none for not meeting it. Answers recorded as not applicable are excluded.

This page is part of the VNS CPS monitoring section.