THE Thames Valley unit of the Crown Prosecution Service this week finds itself in the dock over its disturbing failings.

Even more worryingly, like so many dull-witted defendants it tries, the CPS has mistakenly decided the best course of action is to avoid answering any questions, instead relying on a press release and saying nothing more.

Today we report on the findings by the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate that show Thames Valley is one of the worst performing areas in the country.

Its staff are not picking up on wrong decisions over charges and it loses more cases in court than almost every other unit.

It also has a comparatively poor record on domestic violence cases, traditionally a difficult area to prosecute and one that desperately relies on victims’ confidence in the prosecution.

We should never have a 100 per cent success rate with prosecutions in court. There will be times when the evidence does not stack up or police have simply got the wrong suspect.

But there is clearly something wrong with our local CPS – a fact pointed to by concerns that its flaws should not be allowed to infect other offices.

While any organisation will occasionally make mistakes, when the CPS blunders it has huge effects. There are victims who are let down, there are innocent people put through the trauma of false allegations and there is the cost to the taxpayer of expensive failed trials.

When public bodies fail, reassurance that the matter is taken seriously and there will be tangible improvement will come from some openness, transparency and accountability. We hope the silence from the CPS to legitimate questions over its failings does not speak volumes on this point.