Press Release | The Crown Prosecution Service

Prosecutors to prioritise serious cases to manage impact of coronavirus pandemic

PROSECUTORS are being asked to prioritise more serious cases and consider the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic when weighing up whether criminal charges are in the public interest, in order to help the justice system continue effectively in the face of current challenges.

‘Coronavirus coughs’ at key workers will be charged as assault, CPS warns

Anyone using coronavirus to threaten emergency and essential workers faces serious criminal charges, the Director of Public Prosecutions warns today.

Beware fraud and scams during COVID-19 pandemic

Criminals are using the Covid-19 pandemic to scam the public - don’t become a victim.

CPS North East Hate Crime Sentence uplifts - February 2020

Under hate crime legislation the courts must pass increased sentences where prosecutors evidence that offences either demonstrate or have been motivated by hostility towards a person’s race, religion, disability, transgender identity or sexuality. Below are examples of hate crime cases recently prosecuted by CPS North East, each of which resulted in a conviction and an uplifted sentence.

Director of Public Prosecutions - concerns over knife imagery shared on social media

Social media is being used to glamorise gang lifestyle and the use of weapons, forthcoming CPS guidance on prosecuting gangs will say.

Images which show young people brandishing dangerous weapons and posts glorifying violent offending such as serious wounding and even murder are being used as evidence in court cases related to gang offending.

And threats to kill – also made on social media - have even been linked to retaliation offences according to Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions.

Hate Crime - Sentence Uplifts - February

First quarterly CPS prosecution data published

UPDATED prosecution data has been released by the Crown Prosecution Service today (30 January).

Corrected press release: Community order for man who secured unauthorised access to a hospital’s computer data

On 16 January 2020, a press release was issued following the conviction and sentence of Daniel Mooney before the Stoke-on-Trent Court on the same day. The release was inaccurate in part and we apologise for that error.

CPS to hire hundreds of new criminal lawyers across England and Wales

The body that prosecutes the majority of crimes in England and Wales has today launched a recruitment campaign to hire almost 400 new lawyers by the end of June.

CPS Yorkshire and Humberside: Hate crime sentence uplift examples, October-December 2019

Under hate crime legislation the courts must pass increased sentences where prosecutors evidence that offences have been motivated by hostility towards a person’s race, religion, disability, transgender identity or sexuality. Below are examples of hate crime cases prosecuted by Yorkshire and Humberside CPS between October 2019 and December 2019 which resulted in a conviction and an uplifted sentence.

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