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Prosecuting Organised Crime

Drug trafficking, people trafficking, use of firearms, money laundering, internet crime, fraud, serious robbery and organised vehicle crime at home and internationally, are all dealt with by the Organised Crime Division. A specialist team of experienced prosecutors, the Organised Crime Division work closely with the police and international law enforcement agencies to bring criminals to justice.

Find out how we refer crimes to the Organised Crime Division

Home » News Centre » Press Releases » CPS will use new powers against serious and organised crime says DPP

CPS will use new powers against serious and organised crime says DPP

11/01/2005

Specialist prosecutors will make full use of important new legal powers to help smash organised crime gangs, the Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald QC said today.

"Organised criminals, alongside terrorists, pose the greatest current challenge to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and the wider criminal justice system," said Mr Macdonald. "Organised criminals are resourceful, well financed and innovative in their exploitation of new opportunities, new criminal markets and new technologies.

"We must be creative in developing robust prosecution structures to respond powerfully to the new challenges. We will provide an independent, world-class prosecuting service to SOCA through the provision of specialist prosecutors dedicated to SOCA cases.

"They will work shoulder to shoulder with SOCA, providing high quality legal advice from the earliest stages of investigations and helping to shape investigations to build stronger cases."

Speaking at an international conference on Serious and Organised Crime, organised by the CPS and the Customs and Excise Prosecutions Office (CEPO), Mr Macdonald welcomed the new powers in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, which creates the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

The new powers will:

  • Enable the DPP and prosecutors to issue disclosure notices compelling individuals to answer investigators' questions or produce relevant documents. It will be an offence to fail to comply with a disclosure notice;
  • Place the practice of defendants giving Queen's Evidence on a statutory footing in order to encourage offenders to plead guilty and testify against co-defendants. The system would be based on binding cooperation agreements between the prosecution and defendants in which the defendant would offer full co-operation with the investigation, testify if necessary and plead guilty to the offences he or she had committed.The prosecutor would then make an application to the judge for a reduced sentence, setting out the level of co-operation received;
  • Allow prosecutors to grant conditional immunities from prosecution or undertakings not to use particular evidence to defendants who give evidence against other criminals;

Mr Macdonald said similar powers were used effectively in other countries such as the USA and Australia, both of which were represented at the conference.

Mr Macdonald said the specialist prosecutors would exercise or supervise the proposed new powers, and provide specialist legal services to SOCA in areas such as extradition, obtaining evidence from abroad, asset recovery and providing targeted victim and witness care.

There will also be a greater use made of in-house CPS prosecutors to present cases in court. In time, Mr Macdonald said he wanted to see CPS specialist prosecutors acting as advocates in SOCA trials.

  1. Media enquiries to CPS Press Office on 020 7796 8106.
  2. A copy of the DPP's speech is available on request.