Watchdogs warn of worrying levels of inexperience within criminal justice system

Victims are being failed by the criminal justice system because of widespread problems with hiring and keeping experienced staff and officers, a group of watchdogs has warned.

Inspectors who scrutinise the work of prosecutors, police forces, prisons and probation services have called for answers on why people are leaving their roles.

The joint report found the four corners of the criminal justice system all had positive examples of recruitment plans which have helped to increase the number of new staff and officers.

Most do their best to provide a good service in the wake of a backlog in court cases and other challenges amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the findings.

But the watchdogs warned “systemic” issues with recruitment and retention across the criminal justice system have “seriously hindered” its ability to deliver a “high-quality service” for victims.

Andrew Cayley KC, chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “An effective criminal justice system relies on each agency having a sufficient number of staff, with the requisite experience and skill sets.

“While we have seen each criminal justice agency respond positively to the pandemic and boost their numbers, they have also lost experienced staff who cannot be easily replaced.

“Inevitably, this has placed significant burdens on the shoulders of senior staff and ultimately, reduces the quality of service being provided to defendants, witnesses – and to victims of crime.

“To turn this around and deliver positive outcomes, especially for victims of crime, we are today calling on the police, CPS, prisons and probation service to better understand why staff are leaving and regularly review their outputs to guarantee better supervision and support for their staff.”

Inspectors found some “worrying levels of inexperience” across the criminal justice system as well as “significant problems” retaining staff in some areas – issues which were “deepened” in the wake of the pandemic, the report said.

Problems arising from the spread of Covid-19 “have not eased as anticipated”, with the outstanding number of cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts “remaining high”.

Police, prosecutors, prisons and probation services must “invest more in understanding why staff leave” and “regularly review caseloads, capacity, capability and productivity” to make sure there is “adequate supervision and support” for staff across the criminal justice system, the findings added.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) highlighted how more than 20,000 additional officers had been hired over the past three years in the wake of the Government’s recruitment campaign, as well as replacing a “substantial” number who have left or retired, and said this would help make sure there is a “healthy and thriving workforce”.

A spokesman added: “Policing is a rewarding but tough career. As with any industry, we know that if you are going to leave it is likely to be within the first couple of years, and the number of leavers is around what we had expected and planned for.”

A CPS spokesman said: “By hiring more legal staff in areas with high numbers of applicants and deploying them to areas with the greatest need, we have been able to respond to demand flexibly across the country – which this report rightly recognises.

“As the report highlights, we have been successful in growing our legal cadre and continue to do so by recruiting more legal trainees and crown prosecutors.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “As a direct result of boosting starting pay for prison officers to more than £30,000 and launching our biggest ever recruitment campaign, staffing and retention numbers are improving, with an extra 1,400 prison officers in place since last year.

“We have also recruited an extra 750 additional frontline probation staff, part of our extra £155 million investment every year into probation to reduce caseloads, steer offenders away from crime and keep the public safe.”