NCJ Number
104657
Date Published
1986
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The British Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, which establishes the Crown Prosecution Service to conduct the prosecution of criminal cases formerly conducted by the police through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has stimulated concern about the structure of the new service, the operation of discretion, accountability, the organization of the legal profession, and benefits for defendants.
Abstract
The Crown Prosecution Service consists of the DPP as head of the service and of Chief Crown Prosecutors for areas based on existing police force jurisdictions. Barristers and solicitors employed by the service are Crown Prosecutors. Crown Prosecutors have all the powers of the DPP in the institution and conduct of proceedings but shall exercise the powers under the DPP's direction. Parliament has opted for an integrated national prosecution service, which is more likely than a locally based service to be independent of police influence. The new prosecution service will share the decision to prosecute with the police, as the police initiate the prosecution decision and the prosecution service may then proceed with or drop the prosecution. It remains to be seen whether the prosecution service will be but a 'rubber stamp' for the police prosecution decision. The prosecution service's only form of accountability is through an annual report of the Attorney General to Parliament. Barristers are concerned about the act's impact on their prosecution work, which includes worries about the erosion of the distinction between solicitors and barristers. The new system should bring greater uniformity in the prosecution of similar cases. 55 notes.