Code for Crown Prosecutors

Download the Code for Crown ProsecutorsIn January 2010, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) merged with the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). It is the principal prosecution service for England and Wales.

The service is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions who is responsible for issuing the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code).

The Code gives guidance to prosecutors on the general principles to be applied when making decisions about prosecutions. This is the sixth edition of the Code and replaces all earlier versions.

Read the Code for Crown Prosecutors

Home » The Decision to Prosecute

Decision to Prosecute

In January 2006 sole responsibility for charging criminal suspects transferred from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), in all but the most minor and straightforward cases.

CPS lawyers work closely with police officers, reviewing the evidence gathered throughout the investigation and advising on the case. It is the responsibility of the lawyer to decide whether a person should be charged with a criminal offence and, if so, determining what that charge should be.

Lawyers also advise the police on what further lines of enquiry they should pursue and the evidence they should obtain to ensure that the most robust cases are built from the outset.

When making these decisions, lawyers follow the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The code has two stages:

  • The evidential stage: Lawyers must be satisfied that there is enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each defendant on each charge. If a case does not pass the evidential stage it will not go ahead, no matter how important or serious it may be.
  • The public interest stage: If the case passes the evidential stage lawyers then decide whether a prosecution is needed in the public interest. A case has to pass both stages before the CPS can start or continue a prosecution.

Involving the CPS in criminal investigations at the earliest opportunity helps to ensure that all the necessary evidence is obtained before a defendant is charged and also that the correct offence is determined.

The lawyer is also in a position to identify weak cases without a realistic prospect of conviction and make sure they are not pursued.