Counsel Magazine

The Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association welcome the publication of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee’s report on the Work of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The report, entitled The Crown Prosecution Service: Gatekeeper of the Criminal Justice System, highlights areas for attention which include consistency, the piecemeal way in which its functions are developing and the proportion of cases taken by in-house advocates.

The report calls for the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions to define the role of the prosecutor in the criminal justice system. That role has evolved incrementally, with no clear framework in which their roles have developed, and as a result it is recommended that the CPS needs to be given direction to ensure that it provides a defined, efficient and effective service.