Police chiefs call for powers to charge suspects as CPS reaches 'crisis point'

West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford said police forces were better placed to make charging decisions than the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

He made the call alongside Greater Manchester chief Stephen Watson and West Yorkshire chief John Robins.

They said under the current system too many cases were getting bogged down by administration, resulting in fewer charges due to time delays and leaving victims with a feeling of being "unsupported by a seemingly faceless and insensitive system".

"The director of public prosecutions needs to give the right back to the police to make charging decisions there and then in far more cases: domestic abuse, harassment, burglary, robbery, theft, knife crime, violent crime," they said.

"We used to do this, officers want it, victims want it, defence lawyers want it, and we are sure the courts do too, but the system keeps saying no.

"We are trying to help free up CPS and partner agency work to do what they should be doing – prosecuting, not administration."

Just 5.6 per cent of crimes result in a charge or a summons, compared with 16 per cent in 2015. The chief constables said the CPS – which has huge backlogs amid years of funding cuts – should concentrate on only the most serious cases.

The call has been backed by the West Midlands Police Federation. Chair Richard Cooke said: "This is an important intervention by the chief constables because the situation has clearly reached crisis point and is having a huge impact on victims, suspects and police officers.

"We have called time and again for our members to be given the time and space to do their jobs properly as that has become increasingly difficult because of long and often unnecessary delays in the legal process.

"If officers were once again given powers to charge suspects it would remove layers of needless bureaucracy and free our frontline officers to tackle crime and better serve their communities."