Will it go to court?
In undertaking this role, the CPS:
- advises the police on cases for possible prosecution;
- reviews cases submitted by the police for prosecution in accordance with the principles in the Code for Crown Prosecutors;
- considers the alternatives to prosecution in appropriate circumstances;
- where the decsion is to prosecute, determines the charge in all but minor cases,
prepares cases for court; and - presents those cases at court.
Once the Police have completed their investigations, they will refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice on how to proceed in all but the most minor and routine cases. The prosecutor will then make a decision on whether a suspect should be charged, and what that charge should be.
The prosecutor will read the papers in the file and consider the two tests laid down in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which sets out the basic principles that Crown Prosecutors must follow when making prosecution decisions. These tests must be applied in every case.
The evidential test
They must first decide whether or not there is enough evidence against the defendant for a realistic prospect of conviction.
This means that the magistrates or jury are more likely than not to convict the defendant of the charge alleged. If there is not a realistic prospect of conviction, the case must not go ahead, no matter how important or serious it may be.
The public interest test
If the prosecutor decides that there is a realistic prospect of conviction he or she must then consider whether it is in the public interest to prosecute the defendant. While the public interest will vary from case to case, broadly speaking the more serious an alleged offence the more likely it will be that a prosecution is needed in the public interest.
A prosecution is less likely to be needed if for example a court would be likely to fix a minimal or token penalty or the loss or harm connected with the offence was minor and the result of a single incident.
If a Crown Prosecutor decides that a prosecution should not go ahead, the case will be stopped, usually by what is called 'discontinuance'. Unless there are special circumstances which mean that it is not appropriate to do so, you will be told the reasons for the decision to stop the case.
The threshold test
The only time when the prosecutor does not have to apply the evidential test is where, if charged, it would be inappropriate to release a suspect on bail and crucial evidence is not going to be available before the time limit on detention expires. In such cases the prosecutor can decide to charge the suspect if he has a "reasonable suspicion" that the suspect committed the offence.
This is a lower standard than "realistic prospect of conviction" However, as soon as the evidence becomes available, the prosecutor must conduct a full review of the case in accordance with the evidential and public interest tests.
The interests of the victim
It is the duty of every Crown Prosecutor to make sure that the right person is prosecuted for the right offence. In doing so, Crown Prosecutors must always act in the interests of justice and not only for the purpose of obtaining a conviction.
The interests of the victim are an important factor and, when considering the public interest, Crown Prosecutors will always take into account the consequences for the victim of the decision whether or not to prosecute, and any views expressed by the victim or victim's family.