Independent, fair and effective

Two decades after its formation, the Public Prosecution Service continues to have a pivotal role to play in positive, transformational change, writes Stephen Herron, Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

This year marks a milestone 20 years since the formation of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for Northern Ireland.

Back in June 2005, this organisation replaced the Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which had existed since 1972. The primary reason for creating the PPS was to secure greater independence in prosecution decision making, and hence the need to be independent, fair and effective underpins our approach to delivering a vital public service.

I have been a prosecutor since 2002, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) since 2018, so I have seen many changes regarding the nature of our work and the challenges we face. It surprises many that I am only the fourth DPP since 1972. In that time there have been 11 Chief Constables and six Chief Justices, which perhaps illustrates how the DPP is a ‘quasi-judicial’ post, intended to provide consistency and stability through what were undoubtedly difficult times for the justice system.

While I therefore appreciate the importance of my role (like my predecessors) in continuing to robustly protect our independence, I have also long recognised the need for the PPS to work in partnership with other stakeholders to deliver improvements in service delivery.

Victims rightly expect a high level of care and sensitivity from the time they initially report a crime to police to the disposal of any subsequent proceedings at court. They are also entitled to have a justice outcome within a reasonable timeframe, as indeed are defendants.

The current fiscal challenges for policing and the justice system are well documented, and the reality is that the available resources have not been enough to keep pace with the changing nature of crime, and the increased complexity of prosecution work for both legal and administrative staff, that we have seen in recent years.

By way of illustration, the number of more serious offences referred to the PPS for a prosecution decision has increased by around 30 per cent since 2014/15. Within this rise in caseload, the number of serious sexual offence cases received has increased by over 50 per cent. There have also been significant rises in the number of domestic violence cases being reported, alongside the introduction of new offences to deal with these, such as that criminalising coercive and controlling behaviour.

These cases are more resource intensive for the PPS to deal with due to the type of material that has to be processed. There are often large amounts of third-party material (medical records and counselling notes, for example) which have to be considered. There has also been an exponential increase in the amount of digital material requiring review, including CCTV and body worn camera footage, mobile phone data, and material from social media activity.

Across the United Kingdom and Ireland, there appears to be enhanced victim confidence in reporting sexual and domestic violence, even where the offending may have taken place many years previously. This is clearly welcome, and I encourage victims, always, to come forward. However, the PPS, like other stakeholders, has struggled with the resource requirements to deal with this rise in serious and complex casework and to process cases at the pace we would wish. This has also had an impact on our ability to quickly progress decision making in other high-profile areas of work such as “legacy” cases.

Although I have advocated and will advocate for more funding due to historical under-investment against the backdrop of increased demand, I also want to champion modernisation and transformation. The PPS sits at the heart of the justice system, as the gateway between investigators and courts, so we have a pivotal role to play in positive, transformational change.

In 2023/24 the PPS took 48,655 prosecution decisions. The conviction rate in the Crown Court was 87 per cent and in the Magistrates’ Court 79.1 per cent.

I believe that if we are to tackle longstanding issues around delay then we will need to be innovative in finding solutions, but also compassionate in placing the needs of victims at the forefront of any changes.

Our own strategic vision, PPS 2030, sets out a programme of work over the next five years to deliver a more efficient Public Prosecution Service, that will target its resources to those areas of greatest priority and where greatest value can be added.

The over-arching objectives of the programme are to:

• redesign and optimise our service delivery model and processes to deliver our business more effectively;

• develop arrangements to allow cases to be dealt with proportionately and contribute to the reduction of avoidable delay;

• support staff and key stakeholders to work in a changing environment; and

• achieve a sustainable financial operating environment for the PPS in the long term.

Delivery of PPS 2030 will be through the identification of a portfolio of projects based around one or more of the following themes: effective processes; proportionate processes; digital processes; and victim processes.

The above themes dovetail with broader work programmes being taken forward through the work of the Criminal Justice Board, whose membership includes the Justice Minister, Lady Chief Justice and the Chief Constable.

My aims for the PPS milestone year of 2025 are to ensure that the often difficult and complex work of prosecutors is better understood by politicians, the media, and the public; that we continue to modernise to meet the vision of PPS 2030, and Criminal Justice Board objectives; and that the commitment and hard work of all PPS staff is recognised more widely.

Although the independence of our decision making will remain a core principle, I hope this year starts to see more support for the programme of change we have embarked upon, particularly from politicians who have an important role to play in supporting criminal justice transformation. Whilst a properly functioning justice system will always have an element of challenge built in, I would also encourage more champions for the work of the PPS and hope others will join us as we celebrate the achievements and hard work of the last 20 years and look forward to building on this in the future.

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