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The Role of The Crown Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service is the government department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales.

As the principal prosecuting authority in England and Wales, we are responsible for:

  • advising the police on cases for possible prosecution
  • reviewing cases submitted by the police
  • determining any charges in more serious or complex cases
  • preparing cases for court
  • presenting cases at court

Find out more about the role of the Crown Prosecution Service

International Crimes

In the modern world with increased communication and travel opportunities crime is increasingly an international issue. International crime includes: technology crime (such as money laundering, fraud, confidence tricksters or other internet scams), immigration offences, extradition (either into or out of this country). The Crown Prosecution Service cooperates with international agencies in order to effectively prosecute international crimes.

Investigation and prosecution of immigration offences

Legal guidance on Immigration offences and protocol

Factsheet about extradition

Home » News Centre » Press Releases » Direct Legal Advice speeds up Immigration Prosecutions

Direct Legal Advice speeds up Immigration Prosecutions

01/08/2005

A new system which gives immigration officers direct access to round the clock legal advice from Crown Prosecution Service lawyers comes into operation today.

The direct access arrangements have been successfully piloted in Croydon, where immigration officers and prosecutors reported fewer delays, fewer discontinuances and better case preparation. The system is now being introduced across England and Wales .

In the past investigators from the Immigration Service conducted enquiries and then prepared case papers for the police who would then pass them to the CPS for advice about charges. In order to ensure the speedier prosecution of better prepared cases, immigration officers will now be able to tap into the system of duty prosecutors based in local police stations across England and Wales . After a face to face or telephone consultation with the immigration officer at the beginning of a case, the CPS lawyer will provide advice, review the evidence and decide on the most appropriate charge in the same way as currently happens in other criminal cases.

At case conferences prosecutors and counsel are able to discuss directly with immigration officers the evidence required to prove specific offences. Out of office hours investigators can also use the CPS Direct service to contact a CPS lawyer for advice by telephone. A protocol signed by the CPS, the Immigration Service and Association of Chief Police Officers has formalised the process.

Ken Macdonald, QC, Director of Public Prosecutions said:

"Early contact between investigators and prosecutors improves the whole prosecution process, makes cases stronger and more effective from the start and means that evidential weaknesses can be addressed as soon as possible. We have seen the success of this in the past couple of years between police and CPS with duty prosecutors working full time in police stations.

"Giving immigration officers the same direct, face to face access to prosecution expertise and streamlining the administrative process will help bring immigration offenders to justice more quickly, more effectively. It reduces the administrative burden on police and frees up police officers and staff to concentrate on other criminal offences. The success of the pilots has been down to the hard work of the CPS and immigration service staff in Croydon. Now we can make sure that other immigration units around the country benefit from the model they have developed."

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC said: "Direct legal advice from CPS prosecutors to immigration service investigators means that robust cases move quickly to court. This ensures that effective action is taken against those who break our immigration laws."

Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said:

"It is vital to the integrity of our immigration system that those who seek to break the UK 's immigration laws or benefit from the misery of others are dealt with swiftly and effectively.  This is an excellent example of the joint working that is going on between agencies to ensure we bring immigration offenders to justice and, along with other measures in our five year strategy, will help ensure the public have confidence that our immigration system is robust and fair."

The Croydon pilot ran from May 2004 to December 2004. The cases handled during the pilot stage ranged from passport offences and using forged immigration documents to organised bogus marriage conspiracy cases. Although the police are now no longer involved in the process of investigating and prosecuting most immigration offences, they will continue to play a part in executing warrants and in major joint operations into serious organised immigration crime.

As part of the project CPS staff provided training to immigration officers on issues such as file building and disclosure of evidence and the Immigration Service trained CPS lawyers and caseworkers on immigration procedures. As a result of the scheme Croydon CPS now has a small team of prosecutors and caseworkers who have built up expertise in immigration law and procedures. The Crown Prosecution Service expects that it will deal with approximately 900 immigration cases a year across England and Wales.

  1. For further information about the prosecution matters contact CPS press office on 020 7710 6091.
  2. For further information about immigration matters contact 020 7035 4381.
  3. Section 164 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and Section 7 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 amend section 3 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and now enables an officer of the Immigration Service to a) submit files and b) seek pre-charge advice directly from the CPS. The legislation will be enacted from 1 August 2005 when the Immigration Service in England and Wales will have direct access to advice from the Crown Prosecution Service on a statutory basis.