Publication date:
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) today published its Statistical Bulletin 2024/25, which presents key statistics on the activity of the PPS including files received, caseloads and prosecutorial decisions. It also covers decision types, including reasons for no prosecution, and the outcomes of prosecutions at court.
The statistics relate to the 2024/25 financial year (i.e., 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025) and include comparisons with the 2023/24 financial year.
Key findings
During 2024/25:
- The PPS received a total of 38,682 files, a decrease of 12.0% on 2023/24 (43,977). Of these 38,682 files, 38,270 were received from Police.
- The majority of files received from Police were within two offence classifications 33.7% related to ‘motoring offences’ (12,899) and 24.7% related to ‘violence against the person’ (9,447). The classification ‘robbery’ saw the biggest decrease with a fall of 25.8% on the previous year.
- In addition to the files received from the PSNI, 413 files were submitted to PPS by government departments and agencies. Of these, 26.2% were received from the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, 18.4% were received from the Driver and Vehicle Agency, and 10.7% were received from the Department for Communities.
- A total of 45,222 prosecutorial decisions were issued by the PPS. The Test for Prosecution was met for 73.0% of cases which included 30,396 decisions for prosecution and 2,633 for diversion from the courts.
- Of the 12,193 decisions for no prosecution, the vast majority (97.5%) did not pass the evidential test. The remaining 2.5% did not pass the public interest test.
- Median calendar days required for the issue of an indictable prosecution decision (prosecution in the Crown Court) decreased during the current period to 197 days, down from 204 days during 2023/24. Summary prosecutions decisions (prosecution in the Magistrates’ or Youth Court) required a median of 13 days, which is higher than the previous financial year (12 days).
- There were 1,599 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court. This was a decrease of 2.8% on the previous financial year (1,645). The overall conviction rate in the Crown Court was 87.4%, compared with 87.0% in 2023/24.
- A total of 28,718 defendants were dealt with in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts, a decrease of 5.0% on 2023/24 (30,219). The conviction rate in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts was 79.0%, similar to 2023/24 (79.1%).
Welcoming the publication of the bulletin, the Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron said: “The PPS sits at the heart of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland and, in the interests of public confidence, openness and transparency, I warmly welcome the publication of this annual bulletin, and the resulting scrutiny and open conversations about our work. The bulletin also assists us in analysing our performance, planning for the future and maintaining and improving our services to victims and witnesses.
“Tackling the unacceptable delays victims and witnesses often endure while engaging with the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland is a key priority for me, and it is encouraging to see a modest decrease in the calendar days required for the issue of an indictable prosecution and that summary prosecutions decisions took an average of only 13 days.
“I want to assure victims and witnesses that we prioritise the most vulnerable victims and progress cases as quickly as we can while delivering a high-quality service. This work to reduce delay cuts across the criminal justice system from investigation stage, to prosecution decision-making, to disposal at court and we all are working together to improve our collective performance in this area.
“The PPS must consider every case we receive from police and other investigatory agencies and the Bulletin shows that last year we received over 38,500 files from investigators and issued 45,222 prosecutorial decisions.
“Our overall caseload has decreased in the past year and while it is difficult to definitively conclude why this might be, we know that the number of crimes reported to police decreased in 2023-24 and 2024-25, which would directly impact on the number of files forwarded to prosecutors from investigators.
“The introduction of the No File Decision pilot in 2024 is also a contributing factor. The pilot authorises the PSNI to take a ‘No File Decision’ (NFD) in cases involving certain summary offences and where appropriate to take no further action.
“While the volume of less serious casework has reduced, prosecutors are facing increasing demand, largely due to the more complex and changing nature of crime, and that some offence types are more resource intensive for the criminal justice system to deal with. For example, there has been a huge rise in recent years in digital evidence that must be gathered and considered in many cases. Some offence types, including domestic and sexual abuse, necessitate a high level of engagement with police and enhanced victim and witness care.
“It is not for the PPS to decide innocence or guilt, but to put cases that meet our legal Test for Prosecution before the courts. However, conviction rates are undoubtedly a key element that show the public that the system is working effectively. I am therefore pleased to see that our conviction rates remain high at 87% in the Crown Court and 79% in the Magistrates and Youth Courts. I hope this provides reassurance to the public that the system is working as it should and cases are being prosecuted fairly, but robustly.
“In the year ahead, our dedicated and committed PPS staff will continue to work hard to provide a high-quality, impartial and independent prosecution service to the people of Northern Ireland. We will continue to work towards maintaining our consistently strong conviction rates whilst ensuring the integrity of decision-making processes and improving services to victims.”
Notes to editors
- This summary should be read in conjunction with the explanatory notes and user information provided (see pages 14 - 19 of the Statistical Bulletin).
- These are ‘Official Statistics’ as defined in Section 6 of the Statistics and Registration Services Act 2007. Statisticians from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency are seconded to the PPS and are responsible for ensuring that the statistics produced comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
- The information presented in this bulletin is derived from the Case Management System, the main operational system within the PPS. This is a ‘live’ system with data being input on a daily basis.
- The full bulletin may be viewed on our website.
- For Media Enquiries please contact the PPS Communications Unit.