Latest news : CPS freezes trainee recruitment

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced a freeze on legal trainee recruitment for the second year running. The move comes in light of cuts to public funding.

The CPS is responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales, employs around 3,000 lawyers.

In the past the CPS has run an annual legal trainee scheme that included training contracts. In recent years the CPS has received around 2000 application for its programme, offering places to just 25-50 successful candidates.

However, the organisation was forced to cancel its trainee solicitor and trainee barrister programmes in 2009. This year’s more severe public sector crackdown has rung the death knell for recruitment in 2010/11.

Recruitment of legal trainees for 2011/12 is subject to review next year, but the CPS hopes that once budgets have been finalised for the four-year period of 2011-2015, they will be able to begin working on a viable alternative to the Legal Training Scheme.

‘We’d like to take this opportunity to assure you that we fully appreciate the critical importance of bringing in new talent to the Crown Prosecution Service whilst remaining committed to developing our existing staff,’ said a spokesperson.