England: Police and prosecutors disclosed evidence in less than 60 per cent of cases

The Times reports that inspectors from HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) found that police complied with their obligations to disclose unused material in 734 of 1,290 sample cases and partially complied in a further 37 per cent of cases.

They found 556 cases did not satisfy the disclosure standard, with the inspectorate saying it saw “limited evidence” of prosecutors having identified police failure in reviews or elsewhere on files.

Prosecutors own compliance was “not much better than that of the police” – 58 per cent of applicable cases met requirements.

However, continuing disclosure was dealt with better: 65 per cent of relevant cases satisfied the disclosure standard.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “We are working with the police and partners across the criminal justice system to bring lasting improvements to the way we handle disclosure and a number of measures are already in place.”