Victim Not Suspect

CPS

CPS Area Inspection Programme

Case analysis and strategy after charge

HMCPSI assessed whether post-charge reviews contained a clear analysis of the case and a cogent case strategy, including decisions on custody and bail. Read our explainer.

The national position at baseline

Magistrates' courts
58.6%
Crown Court
57.0%
RASSO
56.2%

How each Area moved

Movement chart. Case analysis and strategy, post-charge, magistrates' courts. 14 CPS Areas, each showing the 2021-22 baseline score and the 2024 follow-up score out of 100, sorted by follow-up score, highest first. Highest is East Midlands at 68.8 percent, lowest is South East at 46.8 percent. Band boundaries sit at 60 and 70 percent.

baseline 2021-22follow-up 2024rosefellunder 1pp
  • East Midlands+4.368.8%
  • North West+0.765.8%
  • West Midlands−4.665.2%
  • East of England+4.664.9%
  • London North+10.659.4%
  • Yorkshire and Humberside−0.558.1%
  • Mersey-Cheshire−13.357.9%
  • South West+0.957.8%
  • Cymru/Wales−3.354.7%
  • Wessex−3.554.7%
  • London South+11.153.8%
  • North East−2.652.8%
  • Thames and Chiltern−4.147.1%
  • South East−14.046.8%
Each row runs from the 2021-22 baseline dot to the 2024 follow-up dot on a 0 to 100 scale. The two faint guides mark 60 and 70, the boundaries between not meeting, partially meeting and fully meeting the standard.
Fully meeting
0 of 14 Areas
Partially meeting
4 of 14 Areas
Not meeting
10 of 14 Areas

At follow-up in the magistrates' courts, 0 of the 14 Areas fully met the standard, 4 partially met it and 10 did not meet it.

The RASSO strand

56.2%Rape and serious sexual offences, baseline

Measured once, 2021-22

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.

How the scores are read

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.

  • FMFully meeting the standard, 70% and above
  • PMPartially meeting the standard, 60% to 69.99%
  • NMNot meeting the standard, below 60%

Sources

  • HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, baseline assessments of all 14 CPS Areas, published October 2021 to November 2022.
  • HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Area Inspection Programme, follow-up of the 14 CPS Areas in England and Wales, January 2025, publication CP001:1320.

The Area Inspection Programme narrowed after the follow-up. What happened to the programme.