To ask the Attorney General, what data her Department holds on the average length of time between (a) a suspect admitting committing an offence to the police and (b) that suspect being prosecuted for that offence.
Answered on
15 December 2022
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on the time between a suspect confessing to a crime and them being charged. The CPS is able to provide the average number of days between the first referral by the police for early advice or a charging decision and the CPS authorising charge. Once the CPS authorise charge the case is returned to the police to charge the defendant. In the 2021/2022 period, the average number of calendar days between when a referral is made to the CPS by the police and when the suspect is charged was 41.9 days. |