Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 creates the offence of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or public place. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of defendants charged with, or prosecuted for these offences. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.<\/p>
As Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is a specified offence large numbers of careless driving offences are charged and prosecuted by the police with no involvement from the CPS. The CPS only become involved if the defendant pleads not guilty to the offence after which, CPS prosecutors take responsibility for reviewing the case and preparing the trial. Figures on the number of people prosecuted and the outcome of the prosecution of careless or inconsiderate driving offences may be obtained from the official statistics held by the Ministry of Justice.<\/p>
The CPS does however maintain records of the number of offences in which a CPS prosecution commenced, including offences of careless or inconsiderate driving. The table below shows the number of these offences during each year between 2014 and 2017.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p><\/td> | 2014<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2015<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2016<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2017<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Road Traffic Act 1988 { 3 }<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 11,230<\/p><\/td> 9,730<\/p><\/td> 9,238<\/p><\/td> 8,350<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System<\/p> <\/p> It should be noted that the figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It is may be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence.<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of (a) car and (b) HGV drivers involved in an accident with a motorcyclist were charged with careless driving in each year from 2014 to 2017.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4478", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Royston Smith"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1011646", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Attorney General"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1011646/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " As of 30 September 2018, the CPS employed a total of 5,936 staff across its Area/Regional and HQ functions. A breakdown is provided in the following table:<\/p> Department<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Headcount Total<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> CPS Headquarters<\/p><\/td> 502<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Central Casework Divisions<\/p><\/td> 706<\/p><\/td><\/tr> CPS Direct<\/p><\/td> 181<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Cymru Wales<\/p><\/td> 275<\/p><\/td><\/tr> East Midlands<\/p><\/td> 318<\/p><\/td><\/tr> East of England<\/p><\/td> 258<\/p><\/td><\/tr> London North<\/p><\/td> 456<\/p><\/td><\/tr> London South<\/p><\/td> 476<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Mersey Cheshire<\/p><\/td> 235<\/p><\/td><\/tr> North East<\/p><\/td> 259<\/p><\/td><\/tr> North West<\/p><\/td> 464<\/p><\/td><\/tr> South East<\/p><\/td> 251<\/p><\/td><\/tr> South West<\/p><\/td> 219<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Thames & Chiltern<\/p><\/td> 271<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Wessex<\/p><\/td> 217<\/p><\/td><\/tr> West Midlands<\/p><\/td> 422<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Yorkshire & Humberside<\/p><\/td> 426<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Grand Total<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 5936<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> <\/p> As of 30 September 2008, the CPS employed a total of 8,768 staff across its Area/Regional and HQ functions. A breakdown is provided in the following table:<\/p> Department<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Headcount Total<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> CPS Headquarters<\/p><\/td> 587<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Central Casework<\/p><\/td> 233<\/p><\/td><\/tr> CPS Direct<\/p><\/td> 158<\/p><\/td><\/tr> East Midlands<\/p><\/td> 596<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Eastern<\/p><\/td> 432<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Greater Manchester<\/p><\/td> 498<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Lancashire & Cumbria<\/p><\/td> 331<\/p><\/td><\/tr> London<\/p><\/td> 1367<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Merseyside & Cheshire<\/p><\/td> 385<\/p><\/td><\/tr> North & West Yorkshire<\/p><\/td> 415<\/p><\/td><\/tr> North East<\/p><\/td> 462<\/p><\/td><\/tr> South East<\/p><\/td> 444<\/p><\/td><\/tr> South West<\/p><\/td> 370<\/p><\/td><\/tr> South Yorkshire & Humberside<\/p><\/td> 311<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Thames & Chiltern<\/p><\/td> 422<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Cymru Wales<\/p><\/td> 480<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Wessex<\/p><\/td> 392<\/p><\/td><\/tr> West Midlands<\/p><\/td> 885<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Grand Total<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 8,768<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> (Data Source Trent HR Database as at 22/11/2018)<\/p>"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 175908, how many staff the Crown Prosecution Service employed (a) in each region and (b) at CPS Direct as at (i) 30 September 2018 and (ii) 30 September 2008.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1011647", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Attorney General"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1011647/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, as a count of the number of defendants. The table below shows the number of prosecutions for both the 12 months ending September 2008 and September 2018 and the change in both volume and percent.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p><\/td> Year Ending September 2008 <\/strong><\/p><\/td> Year Ending September 2018 <\/strong><\/p><\/td> Volume Change <\/strong><\/p><\/td> Change % <\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> CPS Prosecution Caseload <\/strong><\/p><\/td> 1,051,047<\/p><\/td> 511,090<\/p><\/td> -539,957<\/p><\/td> -51.4%<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> (Data Source: Case Management Information System)<\/p> <\/p> The types of cases prosecuted by the CPS have changed significantly in the period between 2008 and 2018. Prosecutions for more serious and complex cases have risen, including a 5% increase in homicide, a 17% increase in fraud and forgery and a 28% increase in sexual offences cases. During the same period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 74% as responsibility for prosecuting some of these cases has transferred to the police.<\/p>"}
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, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 175908, during the same period what the change has been in the overall case load for the Crown Prosecution Service.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/298", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Steve McCabe"}
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