LONDON—Failures in the preparation of cases by prosecutors are leading to the release of criminals who should be in jail, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) inspector said on Tuesday.
Almost a dozen cases a day are being thrown out by courts as a result, an inspectors' report concluded.
More than 2,300 cases destined for Crown Courts, including serious crimes such as burglary, theft and assault, were dropped over the past year because they were not properly prepared, it found.
Asked in a BBC radio interview if it was the case that thousands of criminals were not in jail as a result, CPS Chief Inspector Stephen Wooler replied: "That is one of the consequences".
"That is one of the features of the report that we have produced that goes right across the 42 Crown Prosecution Service areas," he said.
"The picture on performance overall is varied but I think it is fair to say ... there has been a gradual improvement."
Wooler said the inspectors' report found a "weakening in the preparation" of cases in many regions.
In total, 2,325 cases were lost because prosecutors were not ready, the report found, which was down from 2,420 in 2005/06 and almost 3,500 the previous year.
Conviction rates, however, were higher.
As part of the legal process, criminal cases initially go through magistrates who must then decide if the offence is serious enough for the accused to face trial by jury at a Crown Court, which can impose stiffer sentences.
In effort to speed up the legal process, magistrates have been less willing to agree to repeated requests for adjournments, if, for example, papers are not ready or witnesses not able to attend court.
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