Watchdog finds CPS victim policies not followed in a third of cases

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is insufficiently resourcing and staffing its Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) units, a new report has claimed.

The report from HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) found there were significant problems with the CPS's handling of rape cases, such as that it failed to follow its own victim policies in a third of cases.

Since RASSO units were rolled out across England and Wales, different operating models have been developed in each area, creating a lack of consistency in cases.

HMCPSI also recommended significant improvement to what was described as 'limited compliance' with 'minimum standards'.

The inspectorate said that RASSO casework was not always handled by specialists, nor was there an end-to-end approach with continuity of prosecutor throughout many of the cases examined.

Only 53 of the 85 cases reviewed were found to be dealt with by a rape specialist.

Continuity of prosecutor occurred in only 44 of the 72 relevant cases, while files dealt with by a dedicated RASSO unit occurred in only 42 cases.

A further eight cases highlighted where the information was unknown.

Kevin McGinty, the chief inspector of HMCPSI, said that while he acknowledged the work undertaken by the CPS to improve rape prosecution outcomes, the inspection showed that the level of care provided to victims was falling short of what was expected.

'Each CPS area has devised a different operating model for how it handles its RASSO casework, and this lack of a central operating model means RASSO cases are not always being handled by specialists or even by a specialist unit,' he said.

'It is essential that the CPS makes sure that the minimum standards required for these units are met more consistently to ensure they provide a better service to victims and witnesses in these sensitive cases. The level of performance must improve.'

The watchdog made a number of recommendations, including that CPS headquarters provide detailed guidance of the recommended national model to be deployed locally and that all RASSO lawyers undergo refresher training.

Responding to the report, Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), said that most of HMCPSI's recommendations had already been identified by the CPS following an internal review and were being addressed. She admitted, however, that there was always more the CPS could do.

'The report examined files from 2014 and noted that our policies were not always applied - performance in this area must improve,' she added.

'To address this, the CPS is already giving greater focus to evaluating whether our policies are happening in practice so that we can continue to improve performance across the country.'