§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated average time required is for a police officer to complete the formal documentation of criminal evidence following an arrest for(a) burglary, (b) car theft and (c)criminal damage; and what steps he has taken to monitor the time spent on procedural rather than operational tasks and to reduce it. [127344]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Manual of Guidance for the preparation, processing and submission of files, which is issued by the Trials Issues Group, sets out what information the police must supply to the Crown Prosecution Service (CRS) to ensure a successful prosecution. The number of documents required depends on the nature of the individual case, as does the time it394W takes to complete them; an average time would not be meaningful and has not been estimated. In straightforward cases in which a guilty plea is expected (which accounted for more than half the cases in the pilot last year of the Narey measures for reducing delay) it is sufficient to prepare an 'expedited file' consisting of no more than five or six forms. The national introduction of those measures in November 1999 is expected to reduce the volume of cases requiring full files, and should also lead to an improvement in the timely delivery of case files to the CPS. Getting the file right first time, and on time, significantly reduces administrative burdens.
The Home Office is committed to looking at ways of reducing administrative burdens on the police where it is possible to do so consistently with the interests of justice, and will continue to collaborate with forces to that end.