11 May 2023; 15 October 2024

This guidance identifies the principles relevant to the decision to prosecute, and any prosecution which follows, of individuals who have a mental disorder, as defined by the Mental Health Act 2007, a learning disability, a learning difficulty, Autism Spectrum Disorder, an acquired brain injury, dementia, other mental health, cognitive or neuro-diverse conditions.

Rewritten: 31 January 2025

This guidance concerns the handling of criminal allegations against the police. In addition to police officers, this may include allegations against those that come within the wider definition of a “person serving with the police".

Reviewed and udpated: 31/08/2019

The primary duty of the CPS is to deliver justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime. The purpose of making a charging decision is to determine whether a suspect should be subject to criminal proceedings. The charging decision is the gateway to the criminal justice system with all the protections that the process affords.

Formerly Youth Offenders: Updated: 17 May 2023; 13 July 2023; 4 August 2025

The CPS is committed to ensuring that the special considerations which apply to cases involving a young offender are enshrined in its working practices and form part of the training of its prosecutors.

updated 16 February 2022

Updated 15 January 2019 and 09 September 2022

The immunities granted to diplomatic staff, and their families, are set out in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR), the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 (VCCR) and Consular Relations Act 1968. The relevant provisions of the Conventions are applied in the UK by Section 2 of the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 (DPA 1964).

updated 11 November 2019