CPS Flashcards

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1
Q

Why was the CPS established?

A

To take responsibility for making the decision whether to prosecute

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2
Q

Before the CPS who made the decision on whether to prosecute?

A

The police

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3
Q

What did the Justice Report 1970 ID?

A

Problems with the prosecution role of the police - they were bias towards prosecuting
A high number of cases had evidence tampered with IOT secure a conviction, miscarriages of J

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4
Q

What ID problems with the polices prosecution role?

A

Justice report 1970

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5
Q

What did the Phillips Royal Commission 1978 recommend?

A

Establishment of an independent agency - take charge of prosecuting suspects

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6
Q

What recommended the establishment of an independent agency?

A

Phillips Royal Commission 1978

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7
Q

What act established the CPS?

A

Prosecution of Offences Act 1985

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8
Q

Who is the CPS headed by?

A

Director of Public Prosecutions

currently Alison Saunders

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9
Q

Who is the current DPP?

A

Alison Saunders

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10
Q

When does the CPS take over a case?

A

As soon as the police have finished collecting evidence + investigating

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11
Q

What are the 5 roles of the CPS?

A
  1. Decides to bring prosecution against suspect
  2. Advise pol on the charges (CPS charging standards)
  3. Reviews cases presented by pol
  4. Prepares case for Ct
  5. Presents case in Ct - all CPS lawyers have rights of audience
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12
Q

How many areas are there in the UK?

A

42 - split into further branches (headed by Branch CP)

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13
Q

What do the 42 areas in the UK correspond to?

A

The number of police forces - each headed by Chief Crown Prosecutor

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14
Q

Who are each of the 42 areas headed by?

A

Chief Crown Prosecutor

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15
Q

What % of cases dealt with by the CPS in2008/9 resulted in a conviction?

A

80.7%

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16
Q

Where are the codes of practice contained?

A

s10 Prosecution of Offences Act 1985

17
Q

What are the 2 stages in deciding whether to prosecute?

A
  1. Evidential test

2. Public interest test

18
Q

What is the evidential test?

A

Stage 1
Realistic prospect of conviction?
Objective test - is evidence sufficient/ reliable?
If this test fails the case won’t proceed

19
Q

Examples of reliable evidence?

A

DNA
Voluntary confession
Eye witness from the scene of the crime

20
Q

Examples of unreliable evidence?

A

Blurred CCTV
Confession obtained by oppression
Eyewitness testimony of a child

21
Q

Where is the code contained which gives us factors which are in the public interest?

A

s10 Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 - sets out factors which determine whether it is in the publics interest to prosecute or not.

22
Q

What are the factors in favour of prosecuting?

Public interest test

A

Offence involve a weapon
Against a person serving the public
If the conviction is likely to result in a significant sentence

23
Q

What are the factors against prosecuting?

Public interest test

A

The suspects has put right any loss/ harm caused
If the offence was committed as a result of a genuine mistake
If the suspect played a minor role in the commission of the offence

24
Q

What are controversial cases when deciding whether to prosecute?

A

Mercy killings e.g. assisted suicides

25
Q

What are the 2 cases that involved assisted suicides?

A

Kay Gilderdale
Francis Inglis
- assisted suicide of offspring in difficult circumstances

26
Q

What did Kier Starmer (DPP) say about assisted suicides?

A

It will nearly always be in the public interest to prosecute.

27
Q

When is the threshold test applied?

A

When the case fails the evidential test but it is believed that the suspects is too much of a risk to be released.

28
Q

What are the 3 questions asked when applying the threshold test?

A
  1. Will the suspect be charged?
  2. Realistic prospect of prosecution?
  3. Any reasonable suspicion that the suspect committed the offence in question?

If these are satisfied, the public interest will be applied.

29
Q

What was the criticism made by the Narey Review 1997?

A

Lack of preparation + delays in bringing cases to Ct

30
Q

How has the Narey Review 1977 reformed the CPS?

A

Delays have been alleviated by employment of case workers - trained to review files + present straightforward G pleas to Ct, freed up CPS lawyers to deal with complex cases

31
Q

What were the 4 criticisms made by the Gildewell Report 1998?

A
  1. Discontinuance of too many cases (12% brought by pol)
  2. Downgraded charges in an alarming number of cases
  3. Tense Rship between CPS + pol (hostile blame culture) leading to poor prep + delays
  4. Unreliable witnesses = arriving in Ct/ not turning up at all.
32
Q

How has the Gilewell Rport 1998 reformed the CPS?

A
  • 13 areas has now been decided into 42

- CPS = based in pol station IOT make working Rship more amicable

33
Q

Have the Gilewell Report 1998 reforms been successful?

A

No there is still evidence of tension
In 2006 the police complained about the unwillingness of the CPS to prosecute Abu Hamza case despite the considerable evidence