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 2024/25 financial year (i.e. 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025) and includes comparisons with previous years.
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’ 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%).
Further information
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.