Witness Walkthrough - Will it go to court?
The Crown Prosecution Service
When a suspect is charged with a criminal offence or summonsed to appear in court, they become known as a 'defendant'. The police will send the case papers, including a copy of your statement, to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The CPS is the independent authority responsible for prosecuting most people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. The CPS is a public service and prosecutes defendants on behalf of the public, not just the victim.
The case will be passed to a Crown Prosecutor who will read the papers provided by the police and decide whether or not to continue with the prosecution. The prosecutor has to consider two important principles when making the decision to prosecute.
Deciding whether to Prosecute
Whether there is enough evidence against the defendant for there to be a realistic chance of getting a conviction and whether it is in the public interest to prosecute.
Whether or not a prosecution is in the public interest will depend on the particular case but, generally, the more serious the offence, the more likely it will be that a prosecution is in the public interest. A prosecution is less likely to be needed if the court is likely to fix a minimal or token penalty, or the loss or harm connected with the offence is minor.
The Interests of the Victim
The CPS take account of the victim's interests when they are considering whether it is in the public interest to prosecute. The Crown Prosecutor will consider the effect any decision would have on the victim, and will also take account of any views put forward by the victim or the victim's family.
Every Crown Prosecutor must make sure that the right person is prosecuted for the right offence. In doing so, they must always act in the interests of justice, not only for the purposes of getting a conviction. If the Crown Prosecutor decides that a prosecution should not go ahead, the case will be stopped, usually by what is called 'discontinuance'.