‘Too many errors in CPS letters to victims of crime’

CRIME victims are receiving letters containing basic errors because of failings by the Crown Prosecution Service, a watchdog report has found.

Inspectors flagged up correspondence with misspelled names and references to the wrong cases or offences.

Letters also confused the victim with other witnesses or the defendant, used incorrect forms of address, or showed a lack of empathy, according to the assessment.

In some instances, mistakes resulted from cutting and pasting text.

HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate examined 340 letters and found that only 75 met the expected quality standard.

The inspectorate’s report into the effectiveness of CPS Victim Liaison Units (VLUs) found too many letters contained simple errors that could have been picked up with proper proof-reading.

HM Chief Inspector Kevin McGinty said: “Victims of crime should be treated sympathetically by the CPS and this includes ensuring that they are given the right information about decisions made about their case and that the information should be given in a way that can be understood and which shows respect and empathy. “Our inspection of the Victim Liaison Units, which were created to ensure a quality service for victims, sadly shows that the CPS is failing badly.

“It is to be regretted that this report highlights such shortcomings in performance, with only 22.1% of letters being rated as being of the expected standard by my inspectors.

“The CPS must consider the findings of this report and take all necessary action to ensure that victims receive the right level of service they have been promised and which they rightly expect.”

The letters reviewed by the watchdog included 200 from the Victim Communication and Liaison (VCL) scheme.

This is the mechanism through which the CPS informs victims of a decision not to prosecute, to stop a case or substantially alter a charge.

HMCPSI also analysed 70 letters sent at the local resolution stage of the Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) scheme and responses to 70 complaints.

The report said: “While inspectors found a number of very good letters, far too many included simple mistakes that would be likely to undermine the confidence of the person receiving the letter.

“Simple mistakes such as spelling, the wrong form of address and the incorrect name of the recipient were common.”

In one instance two different cases were incorrectly combined after a previous letter was cut and pasted, the inspection found.

In another example, there was evidence of cutting and pasting in relation to a letter which set out the wrong offence.

Nearly half of applicable VCL letters did not include a level of empathy expected given the circumstances of the case, according to the report.

This was also a common shortcoming in the VRR correspondence, while a lack of clarity in legal explanations was the most frequent failing in complaint response letters.

A CPS spokesman said: “Victims of crime deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and empathy and we are sorry the quality of our letters has not met the expected standard in every case.

“We are committed to communicating quickly, compassionately and clearly with victims and have already started putting urgent improvements in place.”