§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Attorney-General if he will give the total numbers of staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in the year prior to the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, and for each subsequent year stating whether such staff are qualified or unqualified; and if he will give also(a) the number of cases reviewed and (b) the number of cases conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service in each such year.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Crown Prosecution Service did not employ any staff prior to its formation on 1 April 1986. The total numbers of staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service since April 1986 are:
Total staff Total lawyers included 1 April 1986 1,360 585 1 April 1987 3,374 1,245 1 April 1988 3,864 1,311 1 April 1989 4,322 1,398 The figures for the year of its formation reflect the fact that until 1 October 1986 the service was established only in the metropolitan counties excluding Greater London; elsewhere it operated in parallel with county prosecuting solicitors' departments. In addition to the lawyers in post on 1 April 1989, 133 unestablished lawyers were also employed, reducing the shortfall to 261 or 15 per cent.
The Crown Prosecution Service does not collect statistics on the number of cases received or conducted, but does collect statistics on the number of defendants. The available figures, based on the number of defendants, are: 271W
Received by Crown Prosecution Service Prosecuted in Magistrates Courts Prosecuted in Crown Courts 1 October 1986–31 March 1987 824,000 611,000 40,000 1 April 1987–31 March 1988 1,548,000 1,335,000 135,000 1 April 1988–31 March 1989 1,574,000 1,328,000 143,000