7. Selection Of Charges

1. Crown Prosecutors should select charges which:
1. reflect the seriousness and extent of the offending;
2. give the court adequate powers to sentence and impose appropriate post-conviction orders; and
3. enable the case to be presented in a clear and simple way.

This means that Crown Prosecutors may not always choose or continue with the most serious charge where there is a choice.

2. Crown Prosecutors should never go ahead with more charges than are necessary just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a few. In the same way, they should never go ahead with a more serious charge just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a less serious one.
3. Crown Prosecutors should not change the charge simply because of the decision made by the court or the defendant about where the case will be heard.