CPS inspection
Early advice and pre-charge decision making in adult rape cases
HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, July 2025, publication CP001:1325
Scope
This inspection covered adult rape only, meaning both the victim and the suspect were over 18. The RASSO strand in the Area Inspection Programme is wider, covering rape and serious sexual offences against adults and children. The two are not the same population and should not be compared directly.
No comparison with the Area Inspection Programme baseline
HMCPSI had intended to assess whether the quality of early advice and pre-charge casework in adult rape cases had improved against the 2021-22 Area Inspection Programme baseline. At paragraph 4.2 of the report it states that it abandoned that comparison, because the approach had changed so significantly between the 2021-22 cases and these that any direct comparison would be unfair. The report therefore makes no judgement about whether performance has improved or worsened since the baseline.
What the inspection covered
90 pre-charge advice files, 15 from each of six CPS Areas, all submitted after August 2023. The six Areas are anonymised in the report as Area 1 to Area 6, chosen to span original Operation Soteria pathfinders, later joiners and Areas that came in at national rollout. HMCPSI also interviewed CPS and police staff in each Area and national leads including the NPCC RASSO lead.
Early advice and the pre-charge decision only. The inspection did not cover charged cases, trial, or the service given to victims. HMCPSI records at paragraphs 2.7 and 2.8 that separate inspections of the service to victims of rape and of casework quality after charge were in its business plan.
Caseload and prosecutor numbers
| Year | Caseload | Prosecutors FTE |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 759 | 201 |
| 2020-21 | 1269 | 204 |
| 2021-22 | 1637 | 242 |
| 2022-23 | 2260 | 266 |
| 2023-24 | 3263 | 293 |
| 2024-25 | 3813 | 284 |
HMCPSI gives the rise in caseload across this period as 402.3%. The caseload figure counts charged cases only. Adult rape is one part of a RASSO prosecutor's workload, which also carries child rape, child sexual abuse and other serious sexual offences, so these two series describe related but not identical things.
Adult rape referrals to the CPS rose 152%, from 590 in quarter 3 of 2020-21 to 1,488 in quarter 1 of 2024-25.
Charge volumes rose 168% over the same period, from 254 to 681.
Early advice receipts fell 19.1%, from 554 in quarter 2 of 2023-24 to 448 in quarter 2 of 2024-25. HMCPSI notes this decline coincides with the national rollout of the operating model in July 2023.
Paragraph 3.21 of the report gives the 2019-20 quarter 2 caseload as 756 in the body text and 759 in the table immediately below it. The table figure is used here. Anyone quoting the 2019-20 figure should note the discrepancy, or use the percentage HMCPSI states rather than the underlying number.
Police file quality
These findings relate to the quality of files submitted by police forces to the CPS, not to CPS decision-making.
Pre-charge files not complying with the National File Standard
63 of 90, 70%
Early advice files not complying with the standard
27 of 36, 75%
Compliance where the force had a gatekeeper
38.9%
Compliance where the force had no gatekeeper
24.1%
Quality of CPS pre-charge decision making
Pre-charge case analysis and strategy
Fully met
“under 2 in 10”
Not met
“just under 2 in 5”
Recorded by HMCPSI as a compliance issue.
Suspect-centric approach at pre-charge
Fully met
“about 1 in 4”
Not met
“just under 4 in 10”
The suspect-centric approach is the principle the national operating model was built on.
Bad character considered where relevant
Fully met
“under 2 in 10”
Not met
“just under half”
Disclosure duties at pre-charge
Fully met
12.3%
Not met
26.2%
Suspect's bail status addressed
Not met
“two thirds”
Recorded by HMCPSI as a compliance issue. The report does not state a fully met figure.
Applications and ancillary matters to support victims
Fully met
“under 3 in 10”
Quality of the early advice given, 36 cases
Fully met
12 of 36, 33.3%
Not met
6 of 36, 16.7%
Early advice action plans, 36 cases
Fully met
8 of 36, 22.2%
Not met
6 of 36, 16.7%
Charging decisions timely, or delay immaterial
Fully met
71.1%
What HMCPSI recorded as working
- Early advice meetings were offered in 85.7% of relevant cases, and 83.3% of those offers came within the 21-day standard. HMCPSI identified both as a strength.
- Early advice cases reached an immediate charging decision in 47.2% of cases, against 22.2% of cases without early advice.
- Early advice cases needed two or more action plans in 22.5% of cases, against 50.0% of cases without it.
- No disclosure management document was prepared in three quarters of cases.
- Sexual harm prevention orders were barely addressed at the pre-charge stage.
- In 14 of the 54 cases that had no early advice, 25.9%, HMCPSI concluded the case would have benefited from it.
Recommendations and deadlines
The CPS accepted all eight recommendations in full on 15 July 2025.
- Recommendation 1Deadline passed
Offer and record a meeting in every early advice case.
Deadline September 2025, embedded by November 2025
- Recommendation 2Deadline passed
Offer and record a meeting before every pre-charge decision where none took place at early advice.
Deadline September 2025, embedded by November 2025
- Recommendation 3Deadline passed
Invest in RASSO prosecutor skills for suspect-centric decision making.
Deadline July 2026
- Recommendation 4Deadline passed
Significantly improve the quality of early advice and pre-charge reviews.
Deadline July 2026
- Recommendation 5Deadline passed
Decide whether a letter to the victim explaining a charging decision should be compulsory.
Deadline October 2025
- Recommendation 6Deadline passed
Scrutinise pre-charge cases with three or more action plans at RASSO joint operational improvement meetings.
Deadline October 2025
- Recommendation 7Deadline passed
Record issues, actions and impact consistently at those meetings.
Deadline October 2025
- Recommendation 8Deadline passed
Implement a quality assurance regime for rape cases.
Deadline December 2025
The CPS accepted all eight recommendations in full on 15 July 2025. HMCPSI's business plan for 2026-27, published in March 2026, lists a follow-up inspection of rape pre-charge casework to assess progress against them, with activity due to commence in the first half of 2026. As at the date of this page no follow-up report has been published.
Sources
- HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, An inspection of early advice and pre-charge decision making in adult rape cases, July 2025, publication CP001:1325.
- Crown Prosecution Service response to the inspection, 15 July 2025.
- HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Business Plan 2026-27, March 2026, publication CP001:1336.
This page is part of the VNS CPS monitoring section.