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The Role Of Headquarters And Areas


Principle

The Head of The Crown Prosecution Service is the Director of Public Prosecutions (the Director). The Director is superintended by the Attorney General who is accountable to Parliament for the Service. The post of Chief Executive was created in 1998 to enable the Director to concentrate on prosecution and legal processes. Five functional Directors, of Casework, Policy, Finance, Human Resources and Business Information Systems, and the Heads of Communication, Equality and Diversity and Management Audit Services, support the Director and Chief Executive.

From April 1999, the Service was re–organised from 13 into 42 Areas, aligned to police boundaries, each headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor. Chief Crown Prosecutors are supported by Area Business Managers, reflecting the greater separation between legal and management processes.

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Guidance

The Role and Function of the CPS Board

The CPS Board (the Board) is chaired by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Board reflects the collegiate style of management adopted by the Director and Chief Executive.

Board members are responsible corporately for all decisions taken at Board meetings.

Membership of the Board is as follows:

Director of Public Prosecutions (chair)
Chief Executive
Director, Policy
Director, Casework
Director, Finance
Director, Human Resources
Director, Business Information Systems
Director, Business Development Directorate
Head of Communications
Head of Equality and Diversity Unit
Head of Strategic Planning Unit
Chief Crown Prosecutor, London
Nine other Chief Crown Prosecutors, on a rotating basis, each representing a group of CPS Areas based on Wales and the nine Government Offices for the Regions in England.
The Board also has, usually two, non-executive Directors from outside the Service.
HM Chief Inspector of The Crown Prosecution Service attends Board meetings as an observer.

The objectives of the Board are as follows:

  • Leadership
  • to be the CPS opinion former;
  • to promote/champion performance improvement, innovation, vision and values, diversity, and good communications;
  • to oversee the external image of the Service;
  • to be the hub of the collegiate network.
  • Decision taking
  • to be the Service’s main decision maker
  • to set the direction (strategic plan, business plan, priorities)
  • to ensure governance structure is fit for purpose
  • to determine key strategies (eg IT, people, approach to resource allocation)
  • to allocate work to standing committees and groups
  • Review
  • to monitor progress against strategic plan/programmes
  • to monitor performance regularly
  • to adjust priorities if necessary
  • to respond to HMCPSI’s quarterly and thematic reports.

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Headquarters

The Private Office (PO)

Private Office provides administrative support to the Director and the Chief Executive of The Crown Prosecution Service across a wide range of duties – for example, management of all correspondence received by the Director and Chief Executive, management of their diaries, providing advice to the CPS Areas. PO is the main point of contact between the CPS and Law Officers, our superintending Ministers, and other departments within Whitehall.

Customer Service Unit/Public Enquiry Point

The CPS Customer Service Unit also forms part of PO. It is responsible for the operation of the Public Enquiry Point, management of parliamentary correspondence sent to the Law Officers, Director and Chief Executive and briefing the Law Officers in relation to parliamentary questions. The Unit is also required to consider complaints made by member of the public.

Equality and Diversity Unit

This is a stand-alone unit reporting directly to the Chief Executive and the DPP. The Head is a standing member of the CPS board. The Unit is responsible for enabling the organisation to ensure that the Equality standard becomes a reality. The unit remit covers both employment and service delivery (prosecutions).

The Unit has specific responsibility for:

  • leading in equality and diversity, including championing equality & diversity within the CPS and representing the CPS on equality & diversity issues;
  • advising on equality and diversity in relation to new legislation (e.g. the Race Relations (Amendment) Act); policy development on equality and diversity; engaging with diverse communities, including women’s groups, disability groups, lesbian and gay communities; and advising the Director, the Chief Executive, the Board, Headquarters, Areas, Ministers and other organisations; and
  • tackling discrimination, including challenging employment policies and practices; and challenging prosecution policies and practices both in terms of discrimination within the prosecution of crimes (issues of race, gender, disability and sexuality within prosecutions) and the prosecution of crimes of discrimination (domestic violence, rape, racist incidents, homophobic attacks, and elder abuse).

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The Headquarters Directorates

Each Directorate is led by an HQ Director, and staff within each Directorate are arranged into divisions or branches according to their principal functions or location. The DPP and HQ Directors make regular liaison visits to Areas, to maintain contact with CCPs and to discuss area performance. <see also the Role and Function of the CPS Board, above in this section>

The six HQ Directorates are:

  • Business Development Directorate (BDD);
  • Business Information Systems Directorate (BIS);
  • Casework Directorate (CD);
  • Finance Directorate (FD);
  • Human Resources Directorate (HR);
  • Policy Directorate (PD);

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Business Information Systems Directorate (BIS)

The role of the Business Information Systems Directorate (BIS) is to modernise and improve the prosecution of crime by the CPS, and the creation of a more joined-up CJS, through the provision of improved information and communications services.

BIS will deliver this through the Compass partnership, working with Logica under the 10-year Private Finance Initiative contract, and with other suppliers – such as Damovo for telecommunications technology.

Information and communications technology is increasingly being used to modernise the prosecution process. As this move towards electronic delivery of prosecution services gathers momentum, the role of BIS is to look to anticipate and identify new opportunities for reacting quickly and flexibly to changing customer and business requirements. It is therefore necessary that everyone involved in prosecuting crime makes BIS fully aware of all new initiatives and change in the prosecution process at the earliest opportunity, to ensure we can properly contribute and provide the necessary service.

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Business Development Directorate (BDD)

The main purpose of the Business Development Directorate is to play a leading role in delivering the Service’s challenging and demanding reform programme. Its key role is, through working with others in the CPS and CJS, to transform the CPS into a modern, esteemed and responsive public service. It will support the Areas in the delivery of the PSA targets, represent the voice of the Areas in the CPS and elsewhere, and own the CPS business processes.

The Directorate is organised into four divisions – Resources and Performance Division; Charging Division; Business Improvement Division; and Corporate Communications Division.

Resources and Performance Division

The Division includes two branches – External Resources and Performance Management Branch (ERPMB), and Internal Resources and Performance Management Branch (IRPMB).

External Resources and Performance Management Branch

ERPMB has responsibility for setting policy and providing guidance on cost and performance issues at a national level arising from CPS relationships with external service providers, including the Bar, solicitors, witnesses, the courts and the police.

Internal Resources and Performance Management Branch

IRPMB is responsible for performance management relating to Areas; maintaining an audit trail of all Area budget allocations; allocating non ring fenced Area budgets; reviewing and reporting on Area performance, seeking to improve performance in Areas; agreeing Area Business Plans; and maintaining and developing the Corporate Information System.

Business Improvement Division

Business Improvement Division helps people in the CPS continue to successfully deliver major reforms and change initiatives and to provide to customers through active promotion and innovation, the best quality Audit and Assurance, Activity Based Costing and Risk and Management consultancy.

Corporate Communications Division

Corporate Communications Division promotes the CPS to both national and local media and leads on internal communications; ensuring a consistent focus on delivery of the PSA targets, with a specific aim of improving the confidence of external stakeholders and the public in the CPS and the wider CJS; developing better use of the CPS Internet and intranet websites, ensuring that all CPS communications are clear, consistent and co-ordinated.

The E-communications team is responsible for disseminating electronic news and other information – words and pictures – across the CPS web services. These comprise the CPS Intranet web site and internet web site at www.cps.gov.uk .

The Gateway/Information Team help manage internal communications. They run the ‘Gateway’– a facility for quality checking, distributing and effectively managing internal communications addressed to larger internal audiences The team are responsible for information and forms audits in line with the Information Asset Register and Freedom of Information Act Publications Scheme; maintenance of the National Forms Register, design and production of forms, and the maintenance and distribution of CPS Manuals.

National Prosecution Team

Charging Division

Charging Division has responsibility for the work arising out of the responsibilities under the amendments to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 for the CPS to determine the charge in all but the most straightforward cases; works with ACPO and HO to support the national statutory charging scheme across England and Wales; supports the parallel establishment of Glidewell collocated CJUs and TUs, and management of the CMF challenge fund; and owns the business processes for assuring the business requirement for Compass Case Management.

Conditional Cautioning

The Prosecution Team also has responsibility for the operational implementation of the charges brought about by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in relation to Conditional Cautioning. It supports the roll-out of this statutory diversion process nationwide.

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Casework Directorate (CD)

The Director Casework is responsible for Casework Directorate.

Casework Directorate, which has branches in London, York and Birmingham, deals on a national basis, with the most serious, complex and sensitive casework handled by the CPS. For categories of cases to be referred to CD, see <Casework Levels and Locations, elsewhere in this guidance>

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Finance Directorate (FD)

The Finance Directorate is responsible for developing and managing the CPS’s planning, financial and performance management framework; setting budgets for administration costs, capital and prosecution costs; managing the performance of Areas and HQ Directorates and managing the department’s procurement and estates business. The Directorate is organised into three groups: the Estates and Procurement Division, the Strategic Planning Unit and the Finance and Accounts Branch. The main activities of the four groups are described below:

Estates and Procurement Division

The Division includes two Branches – the Departmental Procurement Unit (DPU), and the Central Property Unit (CPU).

The Departmental Procurement Unit

The DPU provides advice and assistance to Areas and Headquarters on all aspects of procurement including the commercial approach, terms and conditions of contract, developing specifications of requirement, evaluation of tenders and the EU Procurement Directives and contract management. The DPU is responsible for setting up and maintaining framework and other high value contracts for the provision of supplies and services for the Department as a whole and manages individual procurement projects on behalf of Areas and Headquarters.

The Central Property Unit

The CPU is responsible for strategy, policy and procedures for the management of the CPS estate including health and safety, facilities management and green issues. The Unit is also responsible for the delivery of facility managements services for HQ buildings in London and York.

The Strategic Planning Unit

The SPU advises the CPS Board <refer to The Role and Function of the CPS Board, above in this section> on the CPS’s strategic direction and priorities, manages the business of the Board, produces the Director’s Annual Report and produces the CPS’s Corporate and Business Plans. The Unit also co-ordinates the development of, and reports against, the CPS’s Public Service Agreements and Service Delivery Agreements for Spending Review Periods.

Finance and Accounts Branch

The Finance and Accounts Branch (FAB) is responsible for Spending Reviews and relationships with the Treasury on the level of overall funding available in the department; HQ budgets and overall monitoring of departmental expenditure; costing the resource implications of legislative and other changes, and managing the CPS’s accounting, cashier and banking systems. The Branch produces the CPS’s Resource Accounts, the Departmental Report, Parliamentary Estimates and is responsible for the implementation of resource budgeting.

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Human Resources/Personnel Directorate

The Director, Human Resources is responsible for developing, implementing and administering CPS personnel, training and development policies, procedures and systems. Staff in the Directorate work in Branches and Units as follows:

Personnel Branch 1 (P1)

P1 is responsible for staff development issues including competence frameworks, appraisal, promotion, transfer and personnel security policy. P1 also liaises with other government departments and the private sector regarding staff development initiatives. Other functions include interchange of staff, succession planning, security and NIS clearances, 360degree feedback, Fellowships, Trawls, transfers, loans and secondments.

Training Branch maintains and develops legal training material, manages the training course brief database and the learning resource centre. It also deals with Higher Court Advocacy training issues and COTS.

Personnel Branch 2 (P2)

P2 is responsible for terms and conditions of service, other than pay and superannuation. It deals with matters of conduct, discipline and probity, equal opportunities, liaison with Departmental Trade Unions via Whitley Council meetings, and through the Counselling and Support Services, provides advice, support and guidance to staff and management on welfare issues.

The Staff Management Unit deals with recruitment policy and linked issues, conduct and discipline, inefficiency, childcare, career breaks and special or maternity leave. It also maintains the Personnel Management Manual and operates the Keeping in Touch scheme newsletter.

Personnel Branch 3 (P3)

P3 is responsible for pay and pensions administration, travel and subsistence policy and co-ordination of personnel management information. The Pay Unit deals with all aspects of pay authorisation and operations for Areas and HQ and for policy and planning. It also deals with Senior Civil Service pay. The Allowances and Superannuation Unit operates the pension scheme for CPS staff, public expense transfers, excess fares operations and HQ claims. It also provides policy advice on excess fares and travel and subsistence matters.

The Personnel Information Management System (PIMMS) Administration Team deals with the staff records policy, staff resource statistics, management of personnel files, the payroll replacement project and management of human resource policy files.

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Policy Directorate (PD)

The Director, Policy is responsible to the Director for identifying and progressing CPS policy interests. The Director Policy takes a long-term forward view of the role and needs of the Service, carrying out appropriate research and establishing CPS strategic policy objectives. He is responsible for identifying the need for and development of new initiatives to improve the criminal justice process and the role and contribution of the CPS within it. The Director Policy establishes and maintains policies for the conduct of CPS statutory functions, include the maintenance and interpretation of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

The Director Policy also liaises with other criminal justice departments, organisations and professional bodies on matters affecting the Service, including new or proposed legislation.

Within the Directorate, staff work in Divisions as follows:

Prosecution Policy Division (PPD)

PPD has responsibility for developing prosecution policy, setting standards and giving guidance to CPS staff on the criminal law generally. The Division also influences and contributes to the development of the criminal law, by liaising with other Government departments and criminal justice agencies on new legislative proposals and initiatives. It maintains close links with the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, (LSLO), and Private Office, <see Private Office, above in this section>

Criminal Justice Policy Division (CJPD)

CJPD has responsibility for policy issues on a range of topics, including Bar standards and Bar issues, Children (as victims and witnesses), Crown Court Case Preparation, Custody Time Limits, Domestic Violence, Mode of Trial, Race Issues, and Victims and Witnesses issues.

In addition the Division takes the lead in responding on behalf of CPS to the recommendations contained in the report by Lord Justice Auld: A Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales.

Within CJPD is the Trials Issues Group (TIG), which includes senior representatives of the CPS, the courts, the police and others. The role of the group is to agree and nationally co-ordinate the implementation of practical measures to improve the criminal justice system. TIG is supported by a network of 42 local inter-agency groups.

European and International Division (EID)

The European and International Division reviews and co-ordinates activity that supports or contributes to the Service’s strategic aims in relation to European, international serious and organised crime initiatives.

EID’s role is to develop the CPS and its staff to meet the new domestic, European and global challenges of crime by developing policy; responding to domestic, European and international consultation papers; giving advice and guidance; and devising strategies to equip the CPS to deal efficiently and effectively with cross border, serious and organised criminality.

EID supports and contributes to domestic and international policy-making and criminal justice system performance by the co-ordination of a network of overseas liaison positions.

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The Role of CPS Areas

CPS Areas are responsible for making casework decisions and where appropriate, prosecuting all cases referred to them by local police forces, except where national policy dictates that certain cases must be considered by Casework Directorate in HQ <see Casework – Levels and Location, elsewhere in this guidance>.

A Chief Crown Prosecutor, who is ultimately responsible to the Director of Public Prosecutions for the quality of casework decisions and the Area’s operational effectiveness, heads each Area. The boundaries of each area are co-terminus with that of the local police force.

CCPs rotate on a selective basis as members of the CPS Board see <CPS Board above in this section> which meets regularly to discuss national issues and contribute to the formulation of national policy. This ensures that the CPS is a national unified service and that the policies which Areas implement are consistent throughout England and Wales.

Each Area is responsible for managing its own resources and planning future needs within the constraints of its allocated part of the national budget.

The Areas each have an Area Management Team or Group (AMT/AMG), chaired by the CCP with senior area staff as members, including Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutors, (Sector Directors in London), Heads of Branches or Units, and the Area Business Manager as members. The AMT/AMG meets regularly to determine the Area’s policies, taking account of local and national factors.

Following recommendations made in the Glidewell Report in 1997, Areas are currently re-organising into Criminal Justice Units and Trial Units, some of the former being located in police accommodation, and some of the latter being located in court buildings. These units are the key operational unit within the Area and have an important role in forging close links with other criminal justice agencies and with the local community.

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Levels of Decision Making

The effect of section 1(6) and 1(7) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 is that Crown Prosecutors have all the powers of the Director as to the institution and conduct of proceedings. However, these powers are to be exercised under the direction of the Director.

Casework and operational decisions are to be made by staff of appropriate experience and under appropriate supervision relative to the complexity and sensitivity of the decision to be made. In certain circumstances guidance prescribes that either a member of staff of a specific grade or level must be notified of particular matters or that a decision must be taken by a member of staff of a specific level.

Where it seems likely that staff located in Units may be of a level lower than that required for the most sensitive decisions, CCPs must ensure that local arrangements exist for such decisions to be taken without delay, either by reference to the CCP, or to an officer specifically designated by the CCP for the purpose concerned.

In other situations, however, decisions are taken at the appropriate level within the Service, consistent with maximum delegation of decision making to staff and proper supervision of staff.

Where a decision needs to be made by a member of staff of a particular level, and that member of staff is away from the location concerned, the decision may be taken by a member of staff who is formally deputising for the absent officer, or by a member of staff who has been temporarily promoted to the same level. Where no deputy has been appointed, the decision may be taken by a member of staff who is sharing the work of the absent officer.

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Useful links

www.cps.gov.uk
<Role and Function of the CPS Board, above in this section>
<Casework Levels and Locations, elsewhere in this guidance>
<Fees, elsewhere in this guidance>
<Costs, elsewhere in this guidance>
<Witness expenses and allowances, elsewhere in this guidance>
<Payment of witness expenses and allowances, elsewhere in this guidance>
<Private Office, above in this section>
<Casework Levels and Locations, elsewhere in this guidance>
<Role and function of CPS Board, above in this section>

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