What is the crown prosecution service?

Answer 1

The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. As the principal prosecuting authority in England and Wales, it is responsible for: * advising the police on cases for possible prosecution; * reviewing cases submitted by the police; * determining any charges in all but minor cases; * preparing cases for court; * presenting cases at court. The organisation consists of thousands of lawyers ('Crown Prosecutors') who advise, prepare and present cases every day. Legislation has enabled staff called 'Associate Prosecutors', who are not qualified lawyers (but who have appropriate training and experience), to review and present in magistrates courts a limited range of cases involving straightforward guilty pleas. These may include shoplifting, possession of cannabis and non-contentious motoring offences. The question of what the Crown Prosecution Service does on a daily basis is a very broad one. A typical week for a lawyer can involve a day working with the Police on an appointments basis, advising them whether or not there is sufficient evidence to be sure of a realistic prospect of conviction. If that standard is not achieved, advice may be given for further investigation or work to be completed. Alternatively it may be that the lawyer advises the Police that no further action should be taken in a case. When considering if there is sufficient evidence, the lawyer will not only apply the law to the case, but will also consider various 'Charging Standards' - guidelines written by the Crown Prosecution Service and published on their website. If there is sufficient evidence, the lawyer will go on to consider if it is in the public interest to pursue the prosecution. Further information on these stages can be found in the 'Code for Crown Prosecutors' which can be found on the CPS website at http://www.cps.gov.uk/victims_witnesses/code.html. If the evidential and public interest tests are met, the lawyer will advise the Police to charge the suspect, who will either be given bail to attend court on a later date, or may be held in custody (depending on the circumstances of the case and the suspect's previous offending) to be presented to the next available court. The same lawyer who advised on the charge may well be rostered, the following day, to present that day's cases in the local Magistrates' Court. If a defendant enters a guilty plea the lawyer will explain to the Magistrates what the evidence is in the case. Crown Prosecutors and Associate Prosecutors in England and Wales are not allowed to directly suggest a particular sentence; that is a matter for the Magistrates. However, the lawyer will illuminate any relevant previous offending (if any), aggravating features of the offence, relevant sentencing guidelines and so forth. If a defendant enters a not guilty plea, the lawyer will assist the court in fixing a date for the case to be heard in a trial, which usually involves witnesses attending to give evidence. In the time leading up to the trial, which can sometimes be a matter of months, the lawyer will prepare the case in the office. Each lawyer has a caseload of many such cases. Each case has its own specific issues which may require further attention. The defendant will have pleaded not guilty for a particular reason - the lawyer may identify further enquiries or actions for the Police to carry out as a result of that. It may in turn lead to a stronger case for the Crown Prosecution Service to present at trial. The implementation of charging advice at the Police Station has led to a decrease in the number of cases which are dropped after charge, and often, before trial. However, some cases are still dropped after charge if it later becomes clear that there is no longer sufficient evidence (for example, if a witness changes their account or no longer wishes to attend court to give evidence), or if it is not in the public interest to pursue the prosecution - for example, if the defendant pleads guilty to another much more serious offence that he/she faces which has resulted in a sentence that would far outweigh any sentence he/she is likely to receive for the more minor charge. As part of a drive to forge a closer relationship with victims and witnesses, lawyers are now also responsible for writing to them if a decision is made which substantially alters the level of a charge or explaining why a charge has been dropped. More serious cases, such as severe assaults, rape and murder, are dealt with in the Crown Court. The Crown Prosecution Service is implementing changes to achieve the aim of bringing 25% of all Crown Court advocacy work in-house, rather than instructing independent barristers to conduct the work. The changes not only involve recruiting qualified barristers into the Service on a salaried basis ('Crown Advocates') but also developing a full career path which would allow, for example, an administrator to receive training to become an Associate Prosecutor, then a Crown Prosecutor, and for Crown Prosecutors to become Crown Advocates. Crown Advocates present cases in a similar way as that described above in relation to Magistrates Courts, although the Crown Court is more formal, practice and procedure is more involved, and overall the role is more demanding given the nature of cases heard there. As well as lawyers the Crown Prosecution Service is also a major employer of support staff, typists, administrators, case workers, human resources and managers (both legally-qualified and non legally-qualified).