Fewer than half of the criminals brought to justice by authorities in England and Wales are taken to court, it was revealed today.

A watchdog said offences are increasingly being dealt with by a slap on the wrist or an on-the-spot fine.

Stephen Wooler, chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “There has been a decline in recent years in the number of prosecutions both in absolute terms and as a proportion of offences brought to justice.

“Typically, prosecutions now count for between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of the offences brought to justice within a criminal justice area.

“Enforcement is increasingly undertaken by alternative means such as cautions and fixed penalty notices.

Mr Wooler warned that the use of alternatives to prosecution had to be carried out with “appropriate discretion”.

So many organisations now have the power to impose fines that “over-zealous” use may alienate the public because they believe they are being targeted to raise cash, he said.

The inspector said such issues could be better examined if there was one inspector covering the whole of the criminal justice system.

Mr Wooler also raised concerns over wide variations in the Crown Prosecution Service’s success rate in its 42 areas.

In 2006/07, conviction rates in the magistrates’ courts ranged from 92 per cent to just 79 per cent, while in the crown courts the range was 90 per cent to 71per cent.

The proportion of cases which were discontinued ranged from 5.8 per cent to 14.4 per cent.

The inspector also voiced concern about the increasing length of time taken in some areas between the date of charge and trial in the magistrates’ courts.

It was becoming “commonplace” for offenders to wait three to six months for trial, he said.

Mr Wooler said the Government’s decision to abandon previous plans to merge all the criminal justice watchdogs into one organisation was a “lost opportunity”.

“The time may ... be right to revisit the proposal for a single inspectorate,” he said.

“I would favour a strong and independent body established as a non-departmental public body with a remit spanning all aspects of the criminal justice system and with no artificial distinctions.”

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• The best legal yarns this Christmas
• Legal school 'earned £1m by exploiting bar course'
• Axe may fall on 5,000 more City lawyers