§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Attorney-General what proportion of cases were discontinued by the crown prosecution service on the grounds of(a) evidential insufficiency or (b) it being not in the public interest to continue for each year since the instigation of the crown prosecution service.
§ The Attorney-GeneralReasons for discontinuance are not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
5WThe total numbers of defendant cases discontinued in each year were as follows:
Year Number 1987–88 108,900 1988–89 120,714 1989–90 140,313 1990–91 151,236 1991–92 174,411 1992–93 193,774 The interim findings of Home Office research into the reasons for the termination of cases included 54 per cent. terminated on evidential grounds and 32 per cent. terminated in the public interest.
Table 1 Magistrates' Courts Cases 1987–88 Received1 Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Inner London 92,761 172,251 1,825 111,506 7,208 16,162 35,550 London North 41,369 75,557 1,425 46,379 4,895 8,709 14,149 London South 35,900 67,720 1,670 50,677 5,749 6,236 3,388 Avon/Somerset 18,373 35,649 1,234 28,099 2,138 3,417 761 Herts/Bedfordshire 16,029 28,091 1,465 21,441 1,942 2,239 1,004 Cambridge/Lincolnshire 14,791 28,914 916 23,182 1,783 2,396 637 Cheshire 11,849 24,956 1,423 19,248 1,754 1,765 736 Cleveland/North Yorkshire 18,808 37,889 3,554 27,296 2,390 3,024 1,625 Cumbria/Lancashire 31,247 64,617 12,125 41,663 4,430 4,773 1,626 Derbyshire 13,666 29,377 730 24,390 1,789 1,977 491 Devon/Cornwall 16,433 31,040 2,409 23,336 2,837 2,211 247 Dorset/Hampshire 26,960 51,736 1,663 40,369 4,113 4,753 838 Durham/Northumbria 33,070 62,742 2,124 41,703 4,659 7,030 7,226 North Wales 16,263 29,036 1,069 23,534 2,249 1,425 759 Essex 14,671 27,554 223 21,299 2,908 2,311 813 Gloster/Wiltshire 14,090 27,237 633 21,677 2,299 1,858 770 Greater Manchester 46,451 82,736 689 64,604 6,249 8,565 2,629 Gwent/South Wales 37,610 70,943 2,023 55,724 7,010 4,315 1,871 Humberside 11,753 25,095 1,049 18,483 1,019 3,421 1,123 Kent 17,872 37,448 997 28,444 3,798 3,423 786 Leicester/ Northamptonshire 21,223 36,919 607 28,012 3,018 3,471 1,811 Merseyside 25,296 48,442 821 35,456 4,415 5,460 2,290 Norfolk/Suffolk 18,656 36,066 2,510 27,698 2,578 1,952 1,328 Nottinghamshire 17,560 37,200 843 33,064 890 2,955 2552 South Yorkshire 19,933 36,511 1,624 26,610 2,483 4,207 1,587 Staffordshire/Warwickshire 19,934 37,446 2,196 28,461 2,937 2,788 1,064 Sussex 20,242 41,593 1,791 32,375 4,622 2,289 516 Thames Valley 26,708 45,981 3,110 36,271 2,584 3,008 1,008 West Mercia 12,877 27,148 1,163 20,352 2,052 2,269 1,312 West Midlands 38,060 70,346 2,210 53,333 2,453 8,900 3,450 West Yorkshire 35,878 72,732 639 52,799 9,649 7,584 2,061 Total Field 786,333 1,500,972 56,760 1,107,485 108,900 134,923 92,904 1 October 1987 to March 1988 only. 2 Minus value. Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).
The minus value for Other Disposals in the Nottinghamshire Area is produced because the sum of advice only, completed, discontinued and committed to the Crown Court cases is greater than the total number of cases recorded as finalised. This result is produced because of limitations in administrative arrangements for obtaining the basic data in the Area at that time. The occurrence of such circumstances is now avoided by validity checks and controls which have since been introduced.
6W
§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Attorney-General how many cases were(a) received by the crown prosecution service from police, (b) completed in the magistrates court, (c) discontinued by the crown prosecution service before or at the magistrates court hearing, (d) committed to the Crown court by the magistrates court or (e) otherwise disposed for each year since the instigation of the crown prosecution service in each crown prosecution service region.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe tables show the numbers of defendant cases in each category dealt with in the 31 areas of the crown prosecution service for each year since April 1987. Cases received for pre-charge advice are also shown. "Other proceedings", such as forfeiture under the Obscene Publications Act, have been recorded separately since 1991.
7W
Table 2 Magistrates' Courts Cases 1988–89 Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Inner London 176,686 169,844 1,263 107,070 10,683 16,073 34,755 London North 83,399 74,351 1,363 47,041 5,978 9,321 10,648 London South 73,715 73,877 1,712 52,558 6,839 6,036 6,732 Avon/Somerset 38,258 37,629 1,065 29,775 2,573 3,076 1,140 Herts/Bedfordshire 32,735 31,600 1,946 24,167 2,211 2,612 664 Cambridge/Lincolnshire 28,438 25,930 1,132 19,565 1,864 2,419 950 Cheshire 24,291 23,850 1,093 18,400 2,055 1,951 351 Cleveland/ North Yorkshire 38,637 35,958 2,327 26,500 2,435 3,271 1,425 Cumbria/Lancashire 57,891 58,937 7,310 41,361 3,648 5,079 1,539 Derbyshire 24,487 24,510 2,418 18,014 1,653 2,147 278 Devon/Cornwall 31,393 31,521 2,510 23,457 2,419 1,875 1,260 Dorset/Hampshire 59,983 57,588 1,474 46,198 3,759 4,660 1,497 Durham/Northumbria 67,852 64,376 2,827 41,463 5,778 6,476 7,832 North Wales 32,068 30,284 1,038 24,273 2,793 1,558 622 Essex 30,179 30,193 469 21,549 3,572 2,433 2,170 Gloster/Wiltshire 25,960 26,156 884 20,321 2,492 1,731 728 Greater Manchester 94,678 89,938 2,209 68,370 8,207 8,622 2,530 Gwent/South Wales 72,264 70,254 2,361 53,192 7,307 4,325 3,069 Humberside 27,276 26,591 1,320 19,309 1,715 3,458 789 Kent 34,392 34,807 1,116 26,216 3,719 2,999 757 Leicester/Northamptonshire 38,384 35,616 1,022 28,046 3,186 2,487 875 Merseyside 51,872 50,438 815 38,133 4,419 5,225 1,846 Norfolk/Suffolk 37,690 37,247 3,075 29,091 2,660 2,284 137 Nottinghamshire 38,507 36,464 618 30,304 956 3,324 1,262 South Yorkshire 44,934 41,685 5,045 28,502 2,866 4,101 1,171 Staffordshire/Warwickshire 40,008 38,935 1,897 29,351 3,236 3,012 1,439 Sussex 34,598 34,527 2,480 24,671 2,385 2,456 2,535 Thames Valley 48,547 45,479 3,189 34,056 2,748 3,051 2,435 West Mercia 26,777 25,946 932 20,567 2,241 1,787 419 West Midlands 79,276 77,450 2,125 61,123 3,029 8,526 2,647 West Yorkshire 78,941 66,367 603 45,877 11,288 7,352 1,247 Total Field 1,574,116 1,508,348 59,638 1,098,520 120,714 133,727 95,749 Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant). 8W9W
Table 3 Magistrates' Courts Cases 1989–90 Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Inner London 166,374 169,577 2,522 105,622 12,756 16,497 32,180 London North 82,137 73,167 1,920 46,689 7,236 8,484 8,838 London South 67,902 71,849 1,816 48,947 6,925 5,757 8,404 Avon/Somerset 37,910 38,190 1,225 29,238 2,965 2,918 1,844 Herts/Bedfordshire 32,376 32,535 1,851 23,836 2,694 2,565 1,589 Cambridge/Lincolnshire 32,495 30,527 1,020 23,591 2,410 2,559 947 Cheshire 25,452 24,749 1,143 18,664 2,369 1,978 595 Cleveland/ North Yorkshire 36,699 36,378 2,964 25,802 2,816 3,272 1,524 Cumbria/Lancashire 61,369 58,902 2,924 44,422 4,555 5,272 1,729 Derbyshire 26,755 25,840 4,264 17,096 1,798 2,282 400 Devon/Cornwall 34,051 33,937 2,320 25,240 2,518 2,606 1,253 Dorset/Hampshire 63,602 61,892 1,853 48,706 3,826 5,098 2,409 Durham/Northumbria 68,322 65,455 2,441 42,777 7,602 5,141 7,494 North Wales 34,621 32,937 865 26,121 3,477 1,597 877 Essex 34,542 34,109 176 24,359 4,592 2,432 2,550 Gloster/Wiltshire 28,221 27,270 840 20,857 2,989 1,626 958 Greater Manchester 101,713 98,186 3,099 74,557 9,143 7,756 3,631 Gwent/South Wales 76,175 71,402 3,721 52,209 8,311 4,787 2,374 Humberside 26,797 26,430 1,223 19,343 2,047 3,059 758 Kent 36,291 36,180 1,253 26,921 4,081 3,193 732 Leicester/ Northamptonshire 35,756 33,427 797 24,999 3,186 2,812 1,633 Merseyside 60,932 56,517 841 43,944 4,324 4,896 2,512 Norfolk/Suffolk 39,843 38,450 2,885 29,984 2,702 2,595 284 Nottinghamshire 41,323 39,371 894 32,848 1,674 2,811 1,144
Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals South Yorkshire 48,632 46,277 5,669 31,325 3,468 4,188 1,627 Staffordshire/Warwickshire 45,379 43,401 1,665 32,672 3,878 3,420 1,766 Sussex 36,267 35,364 1,641 25,567 2,737 2,562 2,857 Thames Valley 49,572 49,830 2,331 32,833 2,726 2,700 9,240 West Mercia 26,363 26,149 932 20,558 2,568 1,825 266 West Midlands 80,785 77,601 1,806 59,803 4,621 8,586 2,785 West Yorkshire 82,691 79,148 5,223 50,850 13,319 7,473 2,283 Total Field 1,622,347 1,575,047 64,124 1,130,380 140,313 132,747 107,483 Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).
Table 4 Magistrates' Courts Cases 1990–91 Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Inner London 149,066 154,355 2,518 90,613 12,507 15,997 32,720 London North 79,181 80,764 2,260 48,806 8,350 8,274 13,074 London South 65,872 65,781 1,882 43,195 6,775 6,121 7,808 Avon/Somerset 37,379 37,139 1,247 28,560 3,295 2,667 1,370 Herts/Bedfordshire 32,858 34,002 1,731 23,002 3,018 2,032 4,219 Cambridge/Lincolnshire 31,521 30,363 1,090 22,933 2,906 2,689 745 Cheshire 25,526 24,440 1,055 18,491 2,423 1,921 550 Cleveland/ North Yorkshire 38,070 36,286 2,119 25,948 3,117 3,612 1,490 Cumbria/Lancashire 63,795 59,425 1,946 43,834 5,118 6,184 2,343 Derbyshire 24,356 23,549 2,517 16,410 1,743 2,190 689 Devon/Cornwall 33,629 33,169 1,797 25,139 2,730 2,618 885 Dorset/Hampshire 62,045 61,971 1,180 48,603 3,784 5,531 2,873 Durham/Northumbria 73,573 71,632 2,725 46,092 9,319 5,425 8,071 North Wales 37,353 35,587 708 28,531 3,983 1,752 613 Essex 37,378 37,346 561 22,638 4,828 2,642 6,677 Gloster/Wiltshire 29,938 29,526 722 22,400 3,637 1,923 844 Greater Manchester 103,485 98,847 3,242 77,492 9,226 7,323 1,564 Gwent/South Wales 80,708 80,575 4,135 58,331 8,910 5,246 3,953 Humberside 27,952 27,283 1,407 19,269 1,999 3,282 1,326 Kent 33,685 34,183 1,276 24,030 4,844 3,266 767 Leicester/ Northamptonshire 36,957 38,676 922 28,211 4,128 2,870 2,545 Merseyside 61,576 58,631 671 44,591 5,236 4,800 3,333 Norfolk/Suffolk 38,674 37,232 3,453 26,968 3,142 2,561 1,108 Nottinghamshire 41,615 42,852 589 35,018 1,632 2,827 2,786 South Yorkshire 51,699 53,383 5,518 37,773 3,991 4,345 1,756 Staffordshire/Warwickshire 44,463 43,132 1,674 31,393 4,048 3,410 2,607 Sussex 35,943 35,466 1,572 25,590 2,627 2,899 2,778 Thames Valley 48,018 49,072 2,346 33,314 3,915 2,990 6,507 West Mercia 27,241 26,392 1,175 20,510 2,511 1,959 237 West Midlands 78,970 80,803 1,272 62,133 5,146 8,025 4,227 West Yorkshire 92,531 90,567 17,441 50,491 12,348 7,306 2,981 Total Field 1,625,057 1,612,429 72,751 1,130,309 151,236 134,687 123,446 Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant). 10W11W
Table 5 Magistrates' Courts Cases 1991–92 Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Other Proceedings Inner London 147,693 145,829 2,421 85,120 19,029 14,383 23,867 1,009 London North 79,637 74,897 2,233 47,219 11,778 7,480 5,307 880 London South 60,768 60,537 1,932 39,940 7,674 5,609 4,961 421 Avon/Somerset 36,472 36,832 1,074 25,461 4,550 3,042 2,174 531 Herts/Bedfordshire 31,273 33,392 2,272 20,148 4,228 1,597 4,383 764 Cambridge/Lincolnshire 29,788 28,562 1,311 20,291 3,142 2,668 908 242 Cheshire 24,766 24,901 849 17,792 2,701 2,050 850 652
Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Other Proceedings Cleveland/North Yorkshire 39,989 39,471 1,686 25,401 4,371 3,865 2,149 2,000 Cumbria/Lancashire 61,855 61,726 2,428 43,100 5,914 6,293 3,625 366 Derbyshire 24,801 25,054 4,031 14,984 1,595 1,958 2,144 343 Devon/Cornwall 33,194 34,170 1,297 25,541 2,747 2,271 1,898 416 Dorset/Hampshire 63,300 65,363 1,524 49,598 4,862 5,135 3,497 747 Durham/Northumbria 67,866 66,196 2,235 44,431 9,825 5,575 3,561 569 North Wales 38,774 37,161 810 28,426 3,693 1,670 2,028 534 Essex 41,888 38,387 1,454 27,537 3,333 2,410 3,319 414 Gloucestershire/Wiltshire 32,823 32,991 964 23,292 3,826 1,818 2,570 521 Greater Manchester 102,983 102,507 2,624 71,969 9,904 7,818 6,410 3,782 Gwent/South Wales 76,878 76,416 4,147 53,035 8,648 5,089 4,262 1,235 Humberside 26,238 26,158 1,557 17,702 1,792 3,109 743 1,255 Kent 29,179 29,907 1,072 19,502 4,848 3,025 1,182 278 Leicester/ Northamptonshire 37,856 42,023 1,288 28,766 3,807 3,162 4,537 1,046 Merseyside 56,711 61,230 762 44,812 6,428 5,321 3,453 454 Norfolk/Suffolk 38,188 38,695 3,254 27,715 3,434 2,706 1,200 384 Nottinghamshire 28,302 32,536 577 22,877 4,339 2,482 1,767 394 South Yorkshire 43,538 47,227 5,317 28,105 4,652 4,322 4,343 197 Staffordshire/ Warwickshire 45,059 45,261 2,068 32,713 4,643 3,404 1,696 737 Sussex 36,194 36,320 1,878 25,557 3,664 2,709 2,145 366 Thames Valley 41,994 41,889 2,342 28,095 5,717 2,810 2,394 530 West Mercia 25,094 26,379 1,748 18,444 2,829 1,652 1,310 359 West Midlands 77,827 70,992 709 50,197 7,984 7,028 4,184 890 West Yorkshire 90,247 85,844 15,473 50,877 8,454 7,206 3,408 436 Total Field 1,571,175 1,568,853 73,337 1,058,747 174,411 129,667 110,275 22,752 Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant). 12W13W
Table 6 Magistrates'Courts Cases 1992–93 Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Other Proceedings Inner London 146,480 148,352 2,749 80,785 22,538 11,440 29,075 1,765 London North 76,838 73,918 3,781 44,749 12,284 5,556 6,498 1,050 London South 58,390 58,182 2,322 37,363 8,481 4,720 4,845 451 Avon/Somerset 34,379 34,049 1,283 22,485 4,549 2,650 2,611 471 Herts/Bedfordshire 30,415 30,408 1,814 19,159 3,881 1,787 2,757 1,010 Cambridge/Lincolnshire 31,326 28,325 1,669 20,255 3,328 2,173 720 180 Cheshire 26,300 25,749 1,478 17,752 2,653 1,976 951 939 Cleveland/North Yorkshire 40,663 40,418 2,135 26,210 5,480 3,655 1,636 1,302 Cumbria/Lancashire 62,616 61,486 2,398 43,497 6,625 5,097 3,281 588 Derbyshire 23,285 23,613 3,967 14,200 2,062 1,711 1,386 287 Devon/Cornwall 30,174. 30,985 1,428 23,106 2,659 2,026 1,394 372 Dorset/Hampshire 58,043 59,271 1,750 43,874 4,724 3,913 4,330 680 Durham/Northumbria 68,353 69,382 2,151 44,856 12,478 4,748 4,656 493 North Wales 36,250 36,436 1,218 27,077 4,175 1,665 1,757 544 Essex 39,869 41,670 2,030 28,385 3,064 1,974 6,065 152 Gloucestershire/Wiltshire 33,417 33,434 1,168 22,858 3,835 1,496 3,014 1,063 Greater Manchester 105,716 103,350 2,382 71,911 10,541 7,568 6,202 4,746 Gwent/South Wales 75,537 77,529 5,083 50,273 9,395 4,684 6,647 1,447 Humberside 24,139 24,042 1,382 16,536 1,949 2,320 379 1,476 Kent 28,463 27,643 1,125 17,907 4,865 2,366 1,156 224 Leicester/Northamptonshire 38,202 40,406 2,334 26,174 4,773 3,104 2,973 1,048 Merseyside 54,586 56,090 1,099 41,584 5,960 4,835 2,238 374 Norfolk/Suffolk 36,760 37,951 3,484 26,610 3,156 2,244 1,651 806 Nottinghamshire 27,794 28,837 523 19,876 4,083 2,530 1,501 324 South Yorkshire 39,155 39,885 5,257 22,839 6,342 3,106 2,049 292 Staffordshire/Warwickshire 46,806 45,895 2,741 33,027 4,981 2,872 1,383 891 Sussex 32,739 32,186 1,719 22,082 4,011 2,049 2,038 287 Thames Valley 45,320 45,489 3,108 28,714 6,201 2,449 4,231 786
Received Finalised of which: Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other Disposals Other Proceedings West Mercia 27,614 26,977 1,198 19,200 3,833 1,544 908 294 West Midlands 76,593 74,305 1,545 48,616 9,986 6,524 6,095 1,539 West Yorkshire 74,364 76,249 6,228 48,403 10,882 7,300 3,212 224 Total Field 1,530,586 1,532,512 72,549 1,010,363 193,774 112,082 117,639 26,105 Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).
§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Attorney-General what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of victims who are consulted when a case is discontinued by the crown prosecution service.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe crown prosecution service does not consult victims directly. Where appropriate the victim's views are made known to the CPS through the police, who are consulted before a case is discontinued and to whom the victims charter assigns the role of keeping victims informed about proceedings. The interests of the victim are an important factor in determining the balance of the public interest.