Crown Prosecution Service Caseworker

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) caseworkers — who may be qualified as paralegals, Chartered Legal Executives (CILEX), or trainee solicitors — prepare criminal prosecution cases for court, manage case files throughout the criminal justice process, and in some roles carry out advocacy in the Magistrates Court under designated caseworker status. The CPS is the independent public prosecution service for England and Wales, and employs a large workforce of legal professionals at all levels from caseworker through to Crown Advocate.

Case preparation involves reviewing police evidence packages (witness statements, CCTV, digital evidence, forensic reports), applying the Full Code Test (evidential sufficiency and public interest), making charging decisions in accordance with the Director's Guidance on charging, and preparing the case file for court. Caseworkers communicate with the police on requests for further evidence, liaise with victims and witnesses, manage Victims' Right to Review applications, and prepare skeleton arguments and case summaries for CPS advocates and Crown Advocates.

In the Magistrates Court, designated caseworkers (authorised under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, Section 7A) may present straightforward cases and guilty pleas before lay magistrates — conducting hearings, making submissions, addressing the bench on sentencing, and managing the court list. This advocacy function provides significant professional development in courtroom skills.

Case management systems work — using CPS systems (CMS and Compass) to manage case progress, disclosure obligations under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, and the Victim Contact Scheme — is a large part of the administrative role. CPS CILEX paralegals progress through CILEX Level 3 and Level 6 qualifications alongside their casework, with many progressing to Crown Prosecutor status after qualification and assessment under the CPS internal progression framework.

The CPS is a statutory prosecutorial authority whose existence and funding are required by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and constitutional conventions of the rule of law. Every Crown Court and Magistrates Court prosecution requires CPS involvement — without CPS caseworkers and prosecutors, the criminal justice system cannot function. CPS case volumes are driven by police charging, not political choice, and the complexity and volume of digital evidence, organised crime, and fraud prosecutions is creating growing demand for legal caseworker expertise.

The CILEX qualification route into CPS casework provides a graduate-accessible professional development pathway that differs from the high-cost solicitor training contract route, making CPS casework an accessible entry into legal career progression. The CPS's internal progression structure — from caseworker through to Crown Prosecutor — provides a defined long-term career framework within a permanent public sector institution.

Morning: reviewing five new police evidence packages received overnight — applying the Full Code Test to each, requesting further evidence on two cases (gaps in witness statements and missing CCTV), and making a charging decision on three cases that are evidentially sufficient. Afternoon: Magistrates Court designated caseworker session — presenting four guilty pleas, including addressing the bench on mitigation for a community order; managing a bail application for a remanded defendant; and noting a not guilty plea for trial listing. Late afternoon: preparing the disclosure schedule for a Crown Court trial listed next month — reviewing the sensitive material schedule and preparing the defence statement response.