DPP file referrals peak amid staff cuts

THE Director of Public Prosecutions received a record number of files last year despite staff cuts which have placed a “heavier burden” on employees.

The DPP’s annual report, published today, also shows that a third of suspects were prosecuted in cases where files were processed, with no prosecution in another third of cases, while the remaining cases were the subject of summary disposal and heard at district court level.

The main reasons for no prosecution is insufficient evidence, accounting for 3,018 cases dating from last year, or 77% of all cases where there was no prosecution. The second main reason for a direction not to prosecute was public interest, in 284 cases. A smaller number of cases were not progressed because of an undue delay, the expiry of a time limit, or on sympathetic grounds.