Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office
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RCPO welcomes Inspector's report
David Green QC, Director of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, today welcomed the publication of a report on RCPO's prosecutor charging arrangements. The report followed an inspection by Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate HMCPSI. It makes two recommendations for improvement, and overall concludes that "the scheme has been implemented effectively" and has been "well received by both prosecutors and investigators"
David Green said "I am pleased with HMCPSI's report and conclusions concerning the new arrangements we introduced in April 2007. Prosecutor charging was a very important step in RCPO's history, when the decision to charge in all cases was moved from HMRC officers to our prosecutors. The skills involved in investigating and prosecuting are very different, and the system works best when the boundaries between the two responsibilities are clearly defined, allowing both sides to work together to build the best case possible."
The report recommends that:
1. performance information for
RCPO should include all cases submitted for a charging decision.
Improvements have been implemented to achieve this, with a 24 hour
time limit on the preparation of caseload information from duty
prosecutors and weekly monitoring of returns.
2. the Director should clarify guidance to prosecutors on the application of the full Code for Crown Prosecutors test where an immediate charging decision is required. This revision is underway.
Notes to editors
1. The Revenue & Customs Prosecutions
Office (RCPO) was created by the Commissioners for Revenue and
Customs Act 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO
reports directly to the Attorney General, and is responsible for
prosecuting some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK.
2. Copies of the full report are available on the Inspectorate's website, http://www.hmcpsi.gov.uk
3. For further information about the work of RCPO, contact Fiona Dick on 0207 147 7746.
