Prosecuting crimes 24-7

Who we are

CPS Direct is made up of over 200 CPS staff, including prosecutors and caseworkers, who are available throughout the day and night, during weekends and bank holidays.

We’re based all over England and Wales and are pioneers of working from home, having done so since before the pandemic.

What we do

We provide advice to the police on whether they can charge a suspect who is in custody. We do this by reviewing evidence gathered by police and deciding whether the suspect should be prosecuted, using the test set out in our Code for Crown Prosecutors.

We deal specifically with cases where the suspect cannot be released on bail because they pose a risk to the public – it’s our job to respond quickly to the most serious crimes and dangerous offenders.

Last year, we gave advice on over 86,000 cases including domestic abuse, sexual offences, hate crime, violent crime, and drug offences.

What happens when a case comes in

When a case is referred to us by the police, our triage team are the first point of contact. Hannah Barras, a charging manager in our triage team explains:

“I receive cases either by phone or through the digital system. First, I scan them to find out how long the suspect has been in custody. Police have a limited time that they can legally detain a suspect so it’s important that we prioritise cases carefully.

“I then check that we have all the relevant information and that all the documents are in order – working with the police to make sure it’s all there - before allocating the case to a prosecutor.”

A rewarding job

“It’s rewarding knowing that, because of my work, a prosecutor is looking at the case as soon as possible when the clock is running. Each case that comes to us is a real team effort between the police and the CPS - together we try to make each shift as successful as possible for the result that evening, but also for the prosecution of the case going forward so we can deliver justice for victims.

“Some evenings can be quieter, and others are extremely busy – no two shifts are ever the same!”

Reviewing the evidence

Sheila Graham, a duty prosecutor in CPS Direct tells us what happens next.

“My first job is to review all the evidence. Evidence takes a range of different forms – forensic evidence, 999 call recordings, CCTV and body worn video footage from police officers.

“At CPS Direct we deal with cases in real time and there can often be a lot of case material, especially when dealing with the most serious and complex cases. In these cases, I’ll speak with the police officer to find out what case material we can prioritise to make an informed and timely decision and charge the right offender with the right offence at the outset of the case.

Applying the legal test

“First we ask, is there enough evidence against the suspect to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. That means, is a court more likely to find the defendant guilty than not. To answer this, I assess the reliability and credibility of the evidence – asking whether there’s enough evidence to prove all the elements of the offence and whether it’s admissible in court.

“If this first test is passed, I then consider whether it is in the public interest to charge the suspect with an offence.

“Once I’ve decided based on our legal test, I’ll speak to the police officers to let them know whether they can charge their suspect or whether they need to gather more evidence."