CPIA 1996

Question 1

CPIA 1996

Answer 1

Criminal procedures and investigation act 1996

Question 2

What is the purpose of the CPIA 1996

Answer 2

The CPIA 1996 regulates the procedures of investigation and prosecution of criminal offences. It’s aim is to provide a process for the disclosure of relevant unused material in criminal proceedings.

The guidelines under CPIA provide a fair system by assisting the defence in the timely preparation and presentation of its case and enable the court to focus on all the important issues in the trial.

Question 3

What is an OIC?

Answer 3

The Officer in Charge is generally referred to as the OIC. Their role is to direct a criminal investigation by ensuring all reasonable lines of enquiry are pursued and be accountable for any policies followed. They must retain relevant material for the disclosure officer.

Question 4

What is a DO?

Answer 4

The Disclosure officer is responsible for examining all material retained by the police during the investigation. They have a duty to:
- Reveal certain material to the prosecutor at the preparatory stage.
- Review and reveal material throughout criminal proceedings.
- Disclose material to the accused (or his legal representative) at the request of the prosecutor.

In smaller criminal cases, the investigator will also be the OIC and disclosure officer.

Question 5

Prosecuter

Answer 5

The prosecutor acts on behalf of the crown. They are responsible for the conduct of criminal proceedings resulting from an investigation and are responsible for disclosing relevant material to the defence throughout criminal proceedings.

Question 6

What is considered ‘material’ according to Section 2(1) of the Codes of Practice?

Answer 6

Material of any kind, including Information and objects of all descriptions.

This includes any material:
seized or inspected in the course of a criminal investigation
which may be ‘relevant’ to the investigation and
any material that has been generated by the investigator (i.e. interview records, etc.)
includes information given orally (but it must be provided in a durable format)

Question 7

How long can we retain material if 1. a person has been charged 2. Where a defendant has been convicted 3. If an appeal against conviction is in progress

Answer 7

(i) If an individual has been charged, it should be retained at least until the accused is either acquitted or convicted or CPS decide not to pursue a case.

(ii) Where a defendant has been convicted of an offence, it should be retained at least until:
the convicted person is released from custody, or discharged from hospital.
six months from the date of conviction, in all other cases.

(iii) If an appeal against conviction is in progress and this exceeds the six months period, then it must be retained until a decision is made about that appeal.

Question 8

What is unused material?

Answer 8

Unused material is material that may be relevant to the investigation but does not form part of the prosecution case against the accused.

Question 9

What is relevant material?

Answer 9

Relevant material is material that may have some bearing on:
Any offence under investigation.
Any person being investigated.
The surrounding circumstances of the case.

Question 10

What is the relevancy test?

Answer 10

The relevancy test is the process used to identify whether material is relevant to an investigation. It’s your duty to ensure that all of the material gathered during an investigation is collected and assessed appropriately.

If the disclosure officer is unsure whether to retain or record material, they should err on the side of caution, but if still unsure, consult with CPS. The test for relevance is contained within the Code and it is the responsibility of the investigator, OIC or disclosure officer to ensure they conduct a ‘relevancy test’ on all material gathered during an investigation.

Question 11

Information.

Answer 11

Information refers to all information obtained, recorded or processed for a policing purpose. It includes information which is processed (known as data, including personal data) and information which has been subject to a process of evaluation (known as intelligence).

Question 12

What are the 4 responsibilities as a disclosure officer under CPIA 1996 – known as the 4 Rs.

Answer 12

Record, retain, review, reveal

Question 13

What is unused material?

Answer 13

Material that may be relevant to the investigation but does not form part of the prosecution case

Question 14

Give examples of relevant material that must be retained in all cases.

Answer 14

• Crime reports, including any associated forms, parts of incident report books or PNBs.
• Custody records.
• Records which are derived from tapes of telephone messages (e.g. 999 calls) containing descriptions of an alleged offence or offender.
• Final versions of witness statements (MG11s) and any draft versions where details might differ from the final MG11.
• Any exhibits mentioned in MG11s, unless they have been returned to the owner.
• Interview records (written or otherwise) from suspects or witnesses.
• Communications between the police and experts, such as forensic scientists, reports outlining work carried out by experts and schedules of scientific material prepared by the expert for the investigator.
• Records of the first description of a suspect by each potential witness who purports to identify or describe the suspect.

Question 15

Other examples of relevant material that must be retained

Answer 15

Any material casting doubt on the reliability of a witness.
Any mitigation provided by the accused.
Any material casting doubt on the reliability of a confession.
Any material casting doubt on the reliability of a prosecution witness.
Any material which may point to another person, whether charged or not (including a co-accused) having involvement in the commission of the offence.
Any material casting doubt upon the accuracy of any prosecution evidence.
Any material that might support a defence that is either raised by the defence or apparent from the prosecution papers.
Any material which may have a bearing on the admissibility of any prosecution evidence.

Question 16

What is negative information?

Answer 16

Information which maybe relevant to the case but is unlikely.

• A CCTV camera that did not record the crime/location/suspect in a manner which is consistent with the prosecution case.
• Where a number of people present at a particular location at the particular time that an offence is alleged to have taken place state they saw nothing unusual.
• Where a finger-mark from a crime scene cannot be identified as belonging to a known suspect.
• Any other failure to match a crime scene sample with one taken from the accused.

Question 17

What is sensitive material, and give some examples of.

Answer 17

Sensitive material is material that the disclosure officer believes may give rise to a real risk of serious prejudice to an important public interest (known as ‘Public Interest Immunity’) and includes:

Material revealing, either directly or indirectly, techniques and methods relied upon by a police officer in the course of a criminal investigation (for example, covert surveillance techniques or other methods of detecting crime).

Material whose disclosure might facilitate the commission of other offences or hinder the prevention and detection of crime.

Material upon the strength of which search warrants were obtained.

Material containing details of persons taking part in identification parades.

Question 18

Chapter 5, Part 17 of the Disclosure Manual 2018 states that the duties of disclosure under CPIA are imposed upon two categories of person only; the investigator and the prosecutor. All other categories of persons are to be treated as third parties, rather than as belonging to the prosecution team. Third parties have no obligation under CPIA to reveal (or retain) material.

Give some examples of third parties.

Answer 18

Owners of CCTV.
Social workers and carers.
Forensic experts.
Medical authorities (including Police Surgeons).

Question 19

What can you do if third parties refuse to give you access to evidence?

Answer 19

If you get no response from a third party, a witness summons can be sought but it must be ‘likely to be material evidence’, and will require consultation between the investigator and prosecutor.

Question 20

What are the general principles of digital data handling?

Answer 20

• Do not access the media yourself unless you are trained and authorised.
• Access to original data should be made by a competent person.
• An audit trail of access should be created.
• Overall responsibility stays with the OIC.

Question 21

Common Law states that the police should reveal all relevant material to the CPS when preparing for trial, or at a bail hearing, and especially anything that might assist the defence or undermine the case. Give examples of material that might assist the defence.

Answer 21

Any mitigation provided by the accused.
Any material casting doubt on the reliability of a confession or a prosecution witness.
Details of previous convictions of a key prosecution witness, and if a prosecution witness has withdrawn their statement.
Material likely to meet the disclosure test.

Question 22

What is the ‘disclosure test’?

Answer 22

‘Prosecution disclosure’ refers to the duty of the prosecutor (CPS) to disclose material which they have in their possession or they have inspected and which might be capable of undermining or assisting the case.

This is referred to as the ‘Disclosure Test’.