The Code for Crown Prosecutors
All prosecutors follow The Code for Crown Prosecutors, which is a public document issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In most cases the CPS now decides whether a person will be charged with a criminal offence, and what this charge should be. Crown Prosecutors look at all the information about a case which has been given to them by the police. They then decide whether there is enough evidence against the defendant to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and whether it is in the public interest to bring that person to court.
We are responsible for:
- advising the police on cases for possible prosecution
- reviewing cases submitted by the police and deciding on the charge
- preparing cases for court
- prosecuting cases at both the Crown Court and magistrates' courts
The decision to charge
CPS Prosecutors work closely with police officers; reviewing the evidence gathered throughout the investigation and advising on the case. They are then responsible for deciding whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, determining what that charge should be.
Involving the CPS in criminal investigations at the earliest opportunity will help to ensure that all the necessary evidence is obtained before a suspect is charged. This will enable us to build a stronger prosecution case and determine the correct charge right from the outset.
We will also be in a position to identify those weak cases without a realistic prospect of conviction and make sure they are not pursued. Weeding out these cases as soon as possible will avoid unnecessary waste of police, CPS and court time.
The decision to prosecute
After the police have investigated a crime and passed the papers to the CPS, our lawyers carefully review the evidence to decide whether or not to go ahead with the case.
Crown Prosecutors are responsible for deciding whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, what that offence should be.
