Lecture 7 - Prosecution decision-making

Question 1

Historical context

Answer 1

• Newburn, 2017, said “Prior to formation of the CPS, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from 1879 pursued the most serious offences and the police dealt with the rest.
• CPS established in 1986 after a Royal Commission which found police failings, poor standards, etc…

Question 2

1985, 1986, 1986

Answer 2

1985 - Prosecution of Offences Act passed by parliament off the back of the Royal Commission.
1986 - As a result the Crown Prosecution Service was formed in 1986.
1986 - Also in 1986, the CPS handles 11,000 cases now it’s between 500-600,000 cases a year and has been as high as 1.4 million.

Question 3

Role of Prosecution:

Answer 3

The CPS have a duty to:
- “make sure the right person is prosecuted for the right
offence and bring offenders to justice wherever
possible” (CPS 2022)

Question 4

The Code for Crown Prosecutors (1-4)

Answer 4

1 - Introduction to what the code is designed for.
2 - General principles.
3 - The decision whether to prosecute.
4 - The full code test.

Question 5

The Code Continued…

Answer 5

• The Public Interest Stage - how serious is the level of the offence committed? Impact on community?
• Code 5: The Threshold Test - First, second, third, fourth and fifth condition - A charging decision can be made when there is reasonable suspicion, a realistic prospect of conviction with further evidence, justified seriousness, substantial grounds to deny bail, and it is in the public interest.

Question 6

The Code (6-10)

Answer 6

6 - Selection of charges
7 - Out of court disposals
8 - Court venue
9 - Accepting guilty plea’s
10 - Reconsidering a prosecution decision

Question 7

Structure of CPS

Answer 7

• Headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
• Approx 7,000 employees.
• Casework Divisions - 14 areas.
• Work with police forces across England and Wales.

Question 8

The CPS work on specific areas of crime, e.g.

Answer 8

• Cybercrime
• Domestic abuse
• Driving offences

Question 9

Differences in the UK and internationally:

Answer 9

• CPS covers England and Wales only.
• Scotland: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
• Northern Ireland: Public Prosecution Service.
• USA - Attorney’s Office.

Question 10

Rape Prosecutions

Answer 10

• Since 2016, successful rape prosecutions have dropped from over 5,000 to 1,600 by 2021.
• Police in England & Wales recorded 67,125 rape offences in the year 2021.
• But there were just 1,557 prosecutions and 2,102 in the previous year.
• 70% fall in just 4 years.

Question 11

Why has the number of rape prosecutions fallen?

Answer 11

• Evidence gathering major issue, victims private lives scrutinised more.
• Led to more victims withdrawing complaints - 57% in 2020, compared to 42% in 2016.

Question 12

Impact of COVID and cuts

Answer 12

• Backlog of cases set for trial and waiting for a date at Crown Court was approximately 45,500 in 2020.
• Now 66,000.