Crown Prosecution Service

• Crown Prosecution Service

  Philosophy

  • Independence and fairness - prosecuting without bias and always seeking to deliver justice
  • Honey and openess
  • Treaty everyone the same
• Crown Prosecution Service

  Philosophy

  • Behaving protessionally and striving for excellence
  • Equality and inclusion - to inspire greater confidence in the CPS from victims and witnesses
• Aims and objectives:

  Set up in 1986 under Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and took over the police

  • Advises the police in their investigations about lines of inquiry and evidence needed to build a case
  • Prepares the prosecution case and presents in it court, using its own lawyers and self employed specialists
  • Assists, informs and supports victims and prosecution witnesses
• Funding

  CPS budget £500m per year

  • Most from central government
  • Recovers some of its costs when courts award costs against defendants
  • Recovers assets confiscated from criminals
  • 2018, reported budget fallen by 25%
  • Lost a third of its staff
• Types of criminality/offenders

  • CPS deals with full range of offence and criminals
  • Takes responsibility for all serious cases
  • Summary, triable either way and indictable offences
• Reach

  • CPS is a national body throughout England and Wales
  • Each one is headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor and works closely with local police forces and other criminal justice partners
• Reach

  • CPS direct a virtual 15th area providing charging decisions nationwide 24/7 1 year
  • Head of CPS, Director of Public Prosecutors (DPP) Stephen Parkinson (Nov 23)
• Decisions to prosecute

  Full Code test:

  • Evidential test
  • Public interest stage