The Criminal Case File: Evidence & Disclosure
Build prosecution‑ready criminal case files that meet the National File Standard and support prosecutors’ decision‑making in criminal investigations. This course is designed for investigators, enforcement officers, and those transitioning from traditional policing into regulatory work or seeking insight into practical, prosecution‑focused case file preparation.
Day 1 focuses on the evidential file, showing you forms, standards, and file structure, necessary and proportionate for the prosecutor, defence and court.
Day 2 focuses on disclosure schedules, giving you practical, step‑by‑step experience of building unused‑material schedules and related forms.
The course also highlights practicalities in case file preparation, including how to avoid inclusion of material that should not be submitted and how to support disclosure obligations in practice. Whether your work sits in safety, housing, environmental health, trading standards, planning or any other enforcement regime, you will leave with a clear and practice understanding of how to prepare prosecution files that comply with the National File Standard, support lawful disclosure and stand up to legal scrutiny.
Course Overview
Additional Focus
This is a hands on criminal casefile-building course in a regulatory setting, aimed at completing the key Manual of Guidance documents to meet the National File Standard, with only the relevant MG documents applied in this context.
You will work step‑by‑step through the MG forms and schedules that sit behind a prosecution‑ready file (the Evidential and the Disclosure Schedules), including the Investigations and Court Cost Schedule required for robust costs applications.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
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Explain how investigations become prosecution files that meet the National File Standard and support CPS charging and review, with reference to DG6 (Director’s Guidance on Charging) and the current CPS national casefile guidance
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Compile proportionate case files for first hearing, guilty plea and contested cases that contain what prosecutors need for charging, plea decisions and case management, in line with the National File Standard and Better Case Management principles.
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Apply the staged National File Standard approach so that files are built and developed appropriately for summary trial and Crown Court .
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Complete key Manual of Guidance documents and schedules, including the Investigation and Court Cost Schedule,.
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Record, retain and organise unused material to meet CPIA 1996, CPS Disclosure Manual and Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure 2024 requirements, including clear MG disclosure schedules and timely disclosure to the prosecutor.
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Avoid common pitfalls and prejudicial content so that casefiles remain neutral, defensible and auditable across safety, housing, environmental health, trading standards, planning and other regimes while complying with national casefile standards and the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
Resources
The National File Standard, as set out in Annex 5 of Director’s Guidance on Charging, sixth edition, December 2020, incorporating the National File Standard, specifies material and information which must be sent to the Prosecutor via the digital interface, unless this is not available, and not re-submitted unless requested by Prosecutor (the GAP and NGAP initial hearings requirements).
Complete list of MG documents (last update, early-2026):
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Form MG4C – Surety / Security (for police conditional bail only)
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Form MG4D – Written Charge(s) Attendance Required, Postal Requisition
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Form MG6B – Police Officer (Investigator) / Police (Investigator) Staff Misconduct Record
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Form MG6C – Schedule of Relevant Non‑Sensitive Unused Material
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Form MG16 – Evidence of Defendant's Bad Character And / Or Dangerous Offender Information
Further reading and helpful resources:
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CPS Disclosure Manual (Revised: 14 December 2018 (Refreshed: 14 July 2022)
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CPS Disclosure: Streamlined Summary Disclosure (Updated: 20 December 2018)
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