The Public Prosecution services in the UK present cases against people appearing in court so that judges, juries, magistrates and sheriffs can make a decision about guilt or innocence and determine appropriate sentences.

In England and Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) operates over 42 areas and is responsible for prosecuting people who are charged with a criminal offence.  Each area has a Chief Crown Prosecutor and corresponds to a single police force area.  The CPS employs lawyers, caseworkers and administrators.  In Northern Ireland there is a single independent prosecution service responsible for undertaking all criminal prosecutions.  In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) provides the national prosecution service.  It is made up of the Crown Office (the Headquarters) located in Edinburgh, which comprises: Operations, Policy Group, Management Services Group; and 49 Procurator Fiscal District offices.

There are approximately 10,200 employees working in public prosecution, in an estimated 60 organisations.  In terms of both the number of organisations and employment levels, it is the smallest sub-sector in justice.  All organisations are in the public sector.

Workforce profile:

• 67% of staff are female in England and Wales, 69% in Scotland
• 35% of the workforce in England and 31% in Wales are aged 16-34 years
• 34% of Scottish prosecution services staff are aged 31-40 years
• 39% of the workforce in Wales and 36% in England are aged 35-44 years
• 8% of staff in England and Wales are over 55 years of age
• 13% of staff in Scotland are aged 51-59 years
• 15% of staff in England are from a minority ethnic group, and only 2.2% in Scotland and 1.8% in Wales

Public prosecution employment levels are expected to increase slightly.  In England and Wales, prosecution services must make judgements to the type of offence committed, so staff have to be available 24 hours a day.

42% of the public prosecution strand workforce work within administrative/secretarial occupations, 36% are employed within associate professional and technical occupations and 17% are managers or senior officials.

Survey responses were limited so there is no reliable data on recruitment difficulties or skills gaps.

Source: Community Justice SNA 2006, Skills for Justice Briefing Paper 2006 and UK Skill Needs Assessment 2005