An inspection of the effectiveness of Crown Prosecution Service policy and guidance for the handling of cases involving the National Referral Mechanism
The illegal drug trading model known as “county lines” has been deployed for many years by criminal gangs. The gangs often exploit vulnerable individuals, including adults and children to distribute drugs to customers, as well as to move and store drugs and money. As the practice of establishing county lines networks has become more prevalent, inevitably a growing number of people have become victims of modern slavery and/or exploitation.
There are protections afforded under certain circumstances to support victims of modern slavery and/or exploitation. These protections include a possible legal defence for an accused to rely upon if their alleged criminal offending is due to them being the victim of modern slavery and/or exploitation.
A system of determination referrals are made through the National Referral Mechanism to the single competent authority, part of the Home Office, who decide whether they consider the individual to be a victim of modern slavery and/or exploitation. These determination decisions are an important factor in how cases are dealt with, and the Crown Prosecution Service play a key role in ensuring that determination decisions are effectively managed in relevant prosecution cases.
Given the impact of this serious offending, it is crucial that the right decisions are made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in cases where there has been a referral to the single competent authority and/or the legal defences are being relied upon by the accused.
This inspection examined the effectiveness of the guidance and support to prosecutors to perform their duties in cases involving the legal defences and determination decisions.
Our overall findings indicate that:
- A great deal of time and attention has been spent by CPS on drafting the key guidance documents for county lines and modern slavery casework and ensuring that policies are up to date and accurate. The CPS has worked with others across the criminal justice system and has taken the lead with partners to develop guidance, test, and develop the law in this space. We found that CPS policy and guidance has kept abreast of updates and developments. Our overall view is that guidance is effective and extensive, but there are some aspects that could be improved and enhanced.
- The guidance for cases in the pre-charge stage could be improved. Some additional practical advice, including how to manage delays in receiving a conclusive grounds assessment, would be helpful. This additional practical guidance would be beneficial for cases dealing specifically with the legal defences.
- The legal guidance itself is extremely lengthy which for prosecutors dealing with high volumes of cases may be impractical and daunting.
- National training, which was rolled out in 2021, covered county lines and the section 45 defence. A new training programme is being developed for delivery later this year. Inspectors also highlight a positive commitment in the CPS to developing prosecutor understanding of county lines and modern slavery.