AC 1.2

• 4 main parts of the UK criminal justice system

  Law creation and administration - laws are passed by Parliament and the justice system run by government departments.

  Law enforcment - by the police.

  The courts - decide the outcome of criminal cases.

  Punishment of convicted - HMPPS.
• The main agencies of the criminal justice system

  Law creation.

  Administration of the system.

  The police.

  The CPS.

  HM Courts and Tribunal Service.

  The courts.

  HMPPS.
• Law creation


  Parliament makes laws by passing legislations.

  Judges make laws by creating judicial precedents.
• Administration of the system (ministries responsible)

  Home Office and the Ministry of Justice oversee most of the justice system
• The police (role)


  The police are responsible fr enforcing the criminal law through investigating crimes, issusing cautions or fixed penalty notices in minor cases, sending files to the CPS in major to decide whether to prosecute. There are 43 regional police forces in England and Wales.
• The CPS (role, legislation, establishment, amount of cases p.a.)


  Independent prosecution service for England and Wales; deals with about 500k cases per annum. It was established in 1986 under the Prosecution of Offenders Act 1985.

  The CPS advises the police in their investigaions, assesses the evidence the police submit and decides whether to prosecute and what charges to bring. Its decisions are based on the Full Code Test. It prepares and presents the prosecution case in court.
• HM Courts and Tribunal Service (role)

  HM Courts and Tribunal Service is responsible for the administration of the courts and tribunals in England and Wales.
• The courts (role)


  Once the suspect is charged they are brought before a magistrates' court and pre-trial issues such as bail and legal aid will be decided. If they plead guilty the trial will go to a sentencing hearing. Otherwise a trial will be arranged.

  Magistrates' courts deal with summary offences - 95% of all cases.

  The Crown Court deals with indictable offences - triable by a judge and a jury.
• The HMPPS (makeup, roles)

  Consists of HM Prison Service and The NPS.

  HMPS supervises offenders in custody.

  The NPS supervises offenders who are serving their sentences in the community, including prisoners who had been released on licence.
• The police relationships


  The courts - give evidence as prosecutions witnesses; providing protection for vulnerable witnesses; holding defendants in custody and transport them to and from court.

  The CPS - providing evidence for prosecution; charging offenders with CPS instructions.

  HMPPS - police arrest prisoners who have been recalled to prison; as a result of Sarah's Law, the police also cooperate with the HMPPS in managing the list of child sex offenders living in their area.

  Voluntary organisation - e.g. referring victims and witnesses of crime to Victim Support, women's refuges, the Witness Service etc.
• The CPS relationships


  The police - advising the police in investigation and evidence needed to build a case; instructing them on charging suspects.

  The courts - prepating and presenting the prosecution case; prepating appeals against unduly lenient sentences.
• Government departments relationships


  HMPPS+HMCTS - the Ministry of Justice is the department responsible for them.

  The police - Home Office is the department responsible.
• The HMCTS relationships


  Courts and judges - supervising the efficient running of the courts system; funding the individual courts.

  HMPS - holding prisoners attending court, pending their transfer/return to prison; organising video recordings and live links for prisoners giving evidence from prison.
• The NPS relationships


  HMPS and the Parole Board - supervising prisoners who are released on licence.

  The courts - perparing pre-sentenceing reports on offenders; supervising offenders serving a community sentence; supervising drug testing under the court's orders.
• The HMPS relationships


  The courts - carrying out custodial sentences; supervising defendants who have been remanded into custody by the court; facilitating visits from defence lawyers to their clients in prison.

  The police - facilitating interviews with prisoners involved in ongoing police investigations.

  The NPS - liasing when a prisoner is to be released on licence.
• What are other parts of justice system?

  Voluntary organisations (e.g. NACRO) and campaigns (e.g. End Friday Releases).