This is Magic Roundabout stuff (us old dynosaurs will remember those puppets). Define a 'high performing force' to the satisfaction of Could Not Prosecute Satan , the clowns in politics (nationally and locally) PCC's, the media and rent a mob. CPS will not surrender their control over their performance indicators on successful prosecutions by binning all cases without a 110% chance of a successful prosecution. So we go back to the calls for the police to prosecute themselves in local police courts with local magistrates who fully understand the local problems and are prepared to take positive action with the great unwashed to protect the general public. I know, no chance but one can dream. Now where did I put my teeth?

The end of British policing came about with PACE 1984 and the creation of Couldn't prosecute Satan. Ye God's anything from 4.8 to 23 hours to compile a simple crime file!! I could arrest, book into custody, go back out get the statement, interview charge and do the file in way less than 4 hours. Now it would take about 4 hours to get to the nearest custody suite and join the queue to book the prisoner in. Royal commission on the entire justice system is sadly way over due but with the current crop of politicians neither Conservative or Labour would dare for fear of offending all their lawyer mates

First find a high performing Force!

I wasn’t unaware of the Productivity Review but then again, I probably missed it, lurking at the mouth of my cave, waiting to smash a passing stegosaurus over the head and drag it inside for my dinner. But having read the PR’s fatuous comments – did we do things so very wrong? As a detective constable during the 1970s, taking my own cases to court, disposing of them in the quickest possible time (plus an impressive number of cases to be taken into consideration), the Magistrates’ Courts were a place where cases were dealt with – ‘Do you want it out of the way today or a lay-down? Your choice!’ deals were struck and informants recruited. That was 50+ years ago. Things were rough & ready (as indeed they were on the streets) – but the thing was –they worked.

Yup, lock em up on suspicion on Friday afternoon, get a three day lie down in police cells and by Sunday afternoon they were freely admitting the lot with a load of TIC's to get bail.

A bit of a non-committal response from Gavin Stephens. How about articulating precisely what NPCC are going to do to drive such a trial forward, to a measurable time scale and with clear and tangible outcomes. No, I thought not!