§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Attorney-General what policy the Crown prosecution service has developed in respect of applications for prosecutions costs.
§ The Attorney-General:[pursuant to his reply, 26 October 1987, c. 13–14:] The policy of the Crown prosecution service is that an application for costs against convicted defendants should be made in all cases, unless in the particular circumstances of an individual case it is apparent that such an application would lack merit or that an order for costs would be impractical.
§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Attorney-General what policy the Crown prosecution service has developed in respect of prosecution of petty offences.
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§ The Attorney-General[pursuant to his reply, 26 October 1987, c. 13–14]: The general principles applied by the Crown prosecution service when considering the prosecution of any criminal offence are to be found in the code for Crown prosecutors, issued in accordance with section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.
Having satisfied himself that the evidence is sufficient to justify a prosecution, the Crown prosecutor must go on to consider whether the public interest requires a prosecution. Whilst each case will be assessed in the light of its own particular circumstances, paragraph 8(i) of the code enjoins Crown prosecutors when considering offences, the circumstances of which are not particularly serious, to consider carefully whether the public interest would be better served by a prosecution of some other form of disposal such as, where appropriate, a caution. This applies particularly where the offence is triable on indictment, when Crown prosecutors should also weigh the likely penalty with the likely length and cost of the proceedings.
In deciding whether or not to recommend to the police that a caution might be an appropriate method of disposal, Crown prosecutors will be guided by the criteria set out in Home Office circular 14/1985 on the cautioning of offenders.
§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Attorney-General what policy the Crown prosecution service has developed in respect of breach proceedings.
§ The Attorney-General[pursuant to his reply, 26 October 1987, c. 13–14]: As a general rule the Crown prosecution service will not be involved in proceedings for breaches of probation, supervision or community service orders. The exception to this is that the Crown prosecution service has a role in such matters where the breach consists of the commission of a further offence and the proceedings are associated with a prosecution for a criminal offence which the Crown prosecution service is conducting.
§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Attorney-General what policy the Crown prosecution service has developed in respect of supplying of information to the probation service.
§ The Attorney-General[pursuant to his reply, 26 October 1987, c. 13–14]: Although the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 does not confer any statutory duty upon the Crown prosecution service to supply information to the probation service, the Crown prosecution service endeavours to assist the probation service wherever possible. The supply of information will be one of the matters which will be discussed at a forthcoming meeting between representatives of the Crown prosecution service, Home Office and the probation service.
§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Attorney-General what, at the latest date available, was the establishment of lawyers, lawyers' clerks and administrators in each of the 31 areas of the Crown prosecution service.
§ The Attorney-General[pursuant to his reply, 26 October 1987, c. 13–14]: I take the hon. Gentleman's question to refer to the complement of the relevant categories.
The establishment of lawyers, law clerks and administrators in each of the 31 areas of the Crown prosecution service as at the end of October 1987 is given in the table.
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Establishment 28 October 1987 Staff in post 30 October 1987 Lawyers Law clerks Admin.(support) Total Lawyers Admin. staff Total Avon and Somerset 42 17 45 104 30 48 78 Cambridgeshire-Lincolnshire 34 12 36 82 23 42½ 65½ Cheshire 31 9 31½ 71½ 24 38½ 62½ Cleveland-North Yorkshire 46 17 47 110 37½ 62½ 100 Derbyshire 28 9 32 69 20 39 59 Devon and Cornwall 37 14 29 80 31 36 67 Dorset-Hampshire 66 21 63 150 50 75 125 Essex 32 13 36 81 21 41½ 62½ Gloucestershire-Wiltshire 27 9 32 68 21 37 58 Greater Manchester 122 38 91 251 77 124 201 Hertfordshire-Bedfordshire 47 12 48 107 28 56 84 Humberside 25 8 34 67 18 40 58 Kent 44 17 44 105 30 58 88 Lancashire-Cumbria 66 17 59 142 57 70 127 Leicestershire-Northamptonshire 38 16 43 97 20 58 78 London (Inner) 130 124 209 463 86 266 352 London (North) 96 58 109 263 53 150 203 London (South and Surrey) 87 45 84 216 48½ 110 158½ Merseyside 74 30 77 181 57 105 162 Norfolk-Suffolk 34 10 35 79 28 40 68 North Wales-Dyfed Powys 40 9 45 94 35 50½ 85½ Northumbria-Durham 70 28 75 173 53 93 146 Nottinghamshire 39 12 42 93 37 49 86 South Wales-Gwent 76 23 80 179 63½ 94 157½ South Yorkshire 43 16 44 103 34½ 53 87½ Staffordshire-Warwickshire 41 15 43 99 29 57 86 Sussex 41 12 40 93 30½ 47 77½ Thames Valley 53 20 54 127 35½ 67 102½ West Mercia 32 8 30 70 15½ 37 52½ West Midlands 91 35 89 215 64 119 183 West Yorkshire 74 32 74 180 57 102 159 Totals 1,706 706 1,800½ 4,212½ 1,214½ 2,265½ 3,480
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Establishment 28 October 1987 Lawyers Law Clerks Administrators Total Avon and Somerset 42 17 45 104 Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire 34 12 36 82 Cheshire 31 9 31½ 71½ Cleveland/North Yorkshire 46 17 47 110 Derbyshire 28 9 32 69 Devon and Cornwall 37 14 29 80 Dorset/Hampshire 66 21 63 150 Essex 32 13 36 81 Gloucestershire/Wiltshire 27 9 32 68 Greater Manchester 122 38 91 251 Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire 47 12 48 107 Humberside 25 8 34 67 Kent 44 17 44 105 Lancashire/Cumbria 66 17 59 142 Leicestershire/Northamptonshire 38 16 43 97 London (Inner) 130 124 209 463 London (North) 96 58 109 263 London (South and Surrey) 87 45 84 216 Merseyside 74 30 77 181 Norfolk/Suffolk 34 10 35 79 North Wales/Dyfed Powys 40 9 45 94 Northumbria/Durham 70 28 75 173 Nottinghamshire 39 12 42 93 South Wales/Gwent 76 23 80 179 South Yorkshire 43 16 44 103 Staffordshire/Warwickshire 41 15 43 99 Sussex 41 12 40 93 Thames Valley 53 20 54 127 West Mercia 32 8 30 70 West Midlands 91 35 89 215
Lawyers Law Clerks Administrators Total West Yorkshire 74 32 74 180 Totals 1,706 706 1,800.5 4,212.5
§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Attorney-General what is the estimated annual cost of employing agent lawyers to cover shortages in Crown prosecution staffing.
§ The Attorney-General[pursuant to his reply, 26 October 1987, c. 13–14]: The cost of employing agent lawyers in magistrates courts in 1987–88 is expected to be some £14 million. Not all of this is attributable to staff shortages. Even if it had been fully staffed throughout the year, the Crown prosecution service would probably have found it cost-effective to spend some £4 million on agent lawyers.