Date:
This bulletin 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 2025/26 financial year (i.e. 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) and includes comparisons with previous years.
Key findings
During 2025/26:
The PPS received a total of 37,481 files, a decrease of 3.1% on 2024/25 (38,682). Of these 37,481 files, 37,119 were received from Police.
The majority of files received from Police were within two offence classifications 36.2% related to ‘motoring offences’ offences (13,438) and 26.4% related to ‘violence against the person’ (9,809). The classification ‘possession of weapons’ had the largest percentage increase in files received (15.0%).
In addition to the files received from the PSNI, 362 files were submitted to PPS by government departments and agencies. Of these, 27.9% were received from the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and 18.0% were received from the Department for Communities.
A total of 40,336 prosecutorial decisions were issued by the PPS. The Test for Prosecution was met for 76.5% of cases which included 28,603 decisions for prosecution and 2,270 for diversion from the courts.
Of the 9,463 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 171 days, down from 197 days during 2024/25. Summary prosecutions decisions (prosecution in the Magistrates’ or Youth Court) required a median of 8 days, which is lower than the previous financial year (13 days).
There were 1,416 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court. This was a decrease of 11.4% on the previous financial year (1,599). The overall conviction rate in the Crown Court was 86.0%, compared with 87.4% in 2024/25.
A total of 26,406 defendants were dealt with in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts, a decrease of 8.1% on 2024/25 (28,718). The conviction rate in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts was 81.1%, compared with 79.0% in 2024/25.
Further information
This summary should be read in conjunction with the explanatory notes and user information provided (see pages 13 - 18 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.