A BRANCH of the Crown Prosecution Service has embarked on an initiative of charging suspects, it has been announced.

The chief Crown prosecutor for Northumbria Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Nicola Reasbeck, said it was the biggest single change in criminal justice in a generation.

The area launched the statutory charging scheme, meaning lawyers from Northumbria CPS will take over charging decisions from the police on a range of cases.

For the past few months, the area has operated a successful shadow scheme, where duty prosecutors have provided advice to police on how an offender should be charged.

But it will now be a legal requirement for CPS prosecutors to make these decisions.

During the first three weeks of this month, Northumbria Police officers referred more than 900 cases to CPS lawyers for advice prior to charge.

Since the shadow scheme started a year ago, more than 6,000 cases have been referred for pre-charge advice.

Early indications from the shadow scheme show a rise in the number of defendants who are pleading guilty at an early stage and a reduction in the number of cases being discontinued in court.