Crown Prosecution Service (Hansard, 23 May 2002)

§ 37. Mr. Mike O'Brien
To ask the Solicitor-General what action she has taken to introduce anti-discrimination policies within the Crown Prosecution Service. [56382]

§ The Solicitor-General
Anti-discrimination measures already implemented include:

(1) training over 6,000 members of staff in equality and diversity, all staff have diversity objectives measured through the performance appraisal system,

(2) the appointment of 11 regional officers,

(3) campaigns on "dignity at work"

(4) a raft of community engagement initiatives across the country,

(5) all personnel procedures have been reviewed to ensure they are not discriminatory,

(6) a new complaints procedure has been written, and there is a review of 15,000 cases to see whether there are indicators of discrimination in any part of the prosecution process.

All these measures are already paying dividends: the CPS now has a representative workforce—11.6 per cent. of staff are from minority ethnic groups, this is higher than the percentage in the population. In London the figure is 30 per cent. This compares very well with other Government Departments.

§ 39. Mr. Kidney
To ask the Solicitor-General what arrangements she has made for the Crown Prosecution Service to support the Government's aim of reducing street crime. [56384]

§ The Solicitor-General
The Crown Prosecution Service is committed fully to playing its part in the street crime initiative. With police it developed the Premium Service. This is designed to deliver a premium service of best practice in investigation and prosecution.
The premium service targets particular crime areas and will ensure that offenders are investigated and prosecuted with skill and determination. Experienced lawyers and detectives will handle cases and they will work closely together. An extra £6 million is being allocated to the CPS to free up experienced lawyers to concentrate on this work.
Key features of the Premium Service include: early CPS advice to get the charge right first time; working closely with the police throughout the preparation of the case and the court hearing; 470W speeding up the criminal justice process by using measures such as Narey courts, telephone advice, urgent conferences and simple, unbureaucratic procedures; more careful consideration given to discontinuing prosecutions; extra care for victims and witnesses; use of videos in court to show the court the full picture of a robbery; opposing bail when appropriate and being robust about appealing against decisions to grant bail; presenting full evidence of previous convictions.
In addition, Premium Service arrangements have been made in relation to the care of victims and witnesses.
The Crown Prosecution Service has also been at the forefront in developing area protocols in partnership with criminal justice agencies at a local level. These protocols are designed to ensure that there is engagement all the way through the criminal justice system and with the local community.
The CPS has engaged fully with its criminal justice partners, meeting regularly at local levels and nationally at strategic levels. It has taken national areas of concern, such as those surrounding bail, and worked towards solutions that benefit the whole of the criminal justice system.
Both the Attorney-General and I are being briefed regularly by the CPS about progress on this initiative. The Attorney-General attends the ministerial meetings, which the Prime Minister chairs, together with the DPP and the chief executive.