Two of Britain’s most senior police chiefs have accused prosecutors of “cherrypicking” cases to prosecute in court and warned that victims were being let down.
The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorises charges in England and Wales, was picking the easier cases to secure convictions and dropping other cases, rather than letting juries decide.
Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands police, revealed officers had had to take emergency measures last week to make a charge in a firearms case themselves, and said the CPS – which suffered cuts during austerity – was spread too thin.
Among police chiefs there have been years of frustration that they get the blame for victims being failed when in fact – as they see it – decisions by prosecutors are to blame.
Rowley told the Evening Standard: “When you look at the fact that the cases the CPS prosecute, 80% of them are successful, guilty pleas or convictions, that suggests that we’re not taking on the harder cases, cherrypicking the easy cases rather than trying to get as many cases [to court].”
On Thursday evening, Britain’s top prosecutor hit back at Rowley’s comments, calling them “inaccurate”, and said they risked “damaging further the public’s confidence in reporting crime and their confidence that justice will be done”.
Max Hill, the director of public prosecutions, said: “I am surprised and disappointed by the inaccurate comments made by the Metropolitan police commissioner.
“It is not true that prosecutors ‘cherrypick’ cases to improve prosecution rates. We are proud of our high conviction rate, which currently sits at 82%, but this is not a target.
“We understand the extreme pressures and criticism the Met has come under in recent years and remain committed to working together to see all criminals held to account.
“Yet, it is unfortunate and concerning that the commissioner’s comments risk damaging further the public’s confidence in reporting crime and their confidence that justice will be done. The CPS remains steadfast in its commitment to working with all police forces in bringing criminals to justice.”
The CPS was introduced as an independent prosecution service for England and Wales to improve the integrity of prosecutions in court.
Rowley said that in domestic abuse cases, charging decisions took longer compared with before Covid. Increased home-working may be a factor, Rowley said, adding: “A large proportion of domestic abuse cases that we could have charged on the night the person was arrested pre-Covid, we [now] have to bail for 28 days pending a CPS decision when we know victims are particularly anxious about these cases and a charged offender is a sign that the criminal justice system, we’re collectively taking it seriously.”
Britain’s most senior police officer added: “When someone is bailed, you increase the risk – we used to be able to charge them more often but there’s now different CPS working arrangements to manage their workloads and that creates a slower process for victims.”
The Met commissioner accepted police also had to “improve our support to victims and the evidence files we submit” to the CPS, which complains that too many files from police are substandard.
The experience of the CPS is not limited to London. Guildford, chief constable of West Midlands police, the second-biggest force in England, said: “I welcome Sir Mark’s comments and would echo their intent.”
He said the justice system needed a review, with it taking too long to get charging decisions for offences such as domestic abuse: “Victims seeking justice are being delayed by the system. I think the CPS have had to rationalise their resources.”
In February, Guildford and the chiefs of the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire forces told the Guardian they wanted the vast majority of charging decisions to return to the police, with the CPS concentrating on the most serious and complex cases.
Guildford revealed that recently, police who wanted to charge a suspect for a firearms offence had not been able to find a CPS lawyer to authorise a charge before custody time limits ran out. A detective had to step in and make an emergency charging decision.
Guildford said: “We should reserve the CPS for the serious and complex cases and use the police for the bulk cases.”
