the cps

• the crown prosecution service was established under the prosecution of offence act 1985 as the independent national prosecuting authority for England and Wales

  
  

  prior to this, prosecutions had to be brought by private citizens in practice, this meant they were brought by the police who were technically acting as private citizens
• problems prior to the CPS

  • it was suggested that the police were more concerned with winning cases than with finding out the truth, and that they were too involved in cases to be able to take an objective look at the prospects of a successful conviction
  • the Royal Comission on Criminal Procedure in 1981 found that the prosecution procedures were different in different parts of the country and that cases were in adequately prepared leading to inefficiency
• establishment of the cps

  • the CPS was established in 1986 as a prosecuting authority independent from the police
  • it is led by the director of public prosecutions (“the DPP”) who reports to the Attorney General, the government’s chief solicitor
• the cps is divided into 13 regional areas each overseen by a crown prosecutor
• CPS : the process (1)

  • when a cps receives file from police it follows the criteria code for crown prosecutors in order to decide whether to bring a prosecution this takes the form of a 2 stage test
  • first the cps must consider if there is a realistic prospect of conviction ( is the court more likely or not to convict ? ) - this test is based on the evidence and if it isn’t satisfied the prosecution will not proceed
  • secondly the cps considers whether or not it is in the public interest to prosecute ( less likely to be satisfied if token penalty likely or minor harm involved )
• CPS : the process (2)

  • ultimately the CPS can decide whether to either a prosecution, send file back to police for caution, or take no further action