2.1 Explain the requirements of the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecuting suspects
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service was established in 1985 through the prosecution of offences
act. Before the CPS was established, police were the prosecutors which led to a
considerable amount of bias, as they would only take cases to court that would end in a
guaranteed conviction. Therefore it was best to move to an independent body. The role of
the CPS is to decide which cases should be prosecuted, determine the appropriate charges
in more serious or complex cases, prepare cases and present them at court and provide
information, support and assistance to victims and support witnesses. The police and CPS
work together, where the two personnel discuss evidence charging, bail and other issues
especially if the crime is serious and complicated. A good communication system between
the CPS and the police is vital, both will benefit from exchanging views and information.
The Full Code Test
A requirement for the CPS to bring a case to court is to carry out a “full code test”. This is
made up of two stages: The evidential test and the public interest test. During the evidential
stage prosecutors have to consider three aspects of evidence, the admissibility,reliability and
the credibility. Prosecutors must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a
realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge. Any case that fails the
evidential test is not allowed to proceed to court, no matter how big or small the crime
committed is. This was shown in the case of Stephen Lawrence, who was stabbed to death
by a group of up to six white youths in an unprovoked racist attack whilst he waited at a bus
stop. The sixth man held over the murder of Stephen Lawrence was not prosecuted due to
insufficient evidence. The public interest test is carried once the case has passed the
evidential test. There are seven aspects of the public interest test: The seriousness of the
crime, the level of culpability of the suspect, circumstances of the harm caused to the victim,
was the suspect under the age of 18, the impact on the community, is prosecution a
proportionate response and finally do sources of information require protecting. In the case
of Caroline Flack, the CPS decided it was in the public interest to charge Caroline with
assaulting her boyfriend due to the seriousness of the crime, despite initially deciding just to
caution her and the boyfriend asking to drop the case.
The Threshold Test
However, if the evidential requirements for the full code test cannot be met, a suspect can
still be charged through the threshold test. For this test there are five conditions to be met:
There must be reasonable grounds to suspect that the person to be charged has committed
the offence, there must be reasonable grounds to believe further evidence can be obtained
that will provide a realistic prospect conviction, the seriousness of the case justifies the
making of an immediate charging decision, there are continuing substantial grounds to
object the bail e.g. a suspect who is likely interfere with witnesses, it is in the public's interest
to charge the suspect. In the case of Liam Allen, he was accused of raping of his ex
girlfriend, this case passed the threshold test and went to court. However, evidence came
through of Liam's ex-girlfriend's messages to her friend saying “it wasn't against my will or
anything”. The case was dropped by the CPS as Liam was falsely accused of rape.
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service was established in 1985 through the prosecution of offences
act. Before the CPS was established, police were the prosecutors which led to a
considerable amount of bias, as they would only take cases to court that would end in a
guaranteed conviction. Therefore it was best to move to an independent body. The role of
the CPS is to decide which cases should be prosecuted, determine the appropriate charges
in more serious or complex cases, prepare cases and present them at court and provide
information, support and assistance to victims and support witnesses. The police and CPS
work together, where the two personnel discuss evidence charging, bail and other issues
especially if the crime is serious and complicated. A good communication system between
the CPS and the police is vital, both will benefit from exchanging views and information.
The Full Code Test
A requirement for the CPS to bring a case to court is to carry out a “full code test”. This is
made up of two stages: The evidential test and the public interest test. During the evidential
stage prosecutors have to consider three aspects of evidence, the admissibility,reliability and
the credibility. Prosecutors must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a
realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge. Any case that fails the
evidential test is not allowed to proceed to court, no matter how big or small the crime
committed is. This was shown in the case of Stephen Lawrence, who was stabbed to death
by a group of up to six white youths in an unprovoked racist attack whilst he waited at a bus
stop. The sixth man held over the murder of Stephen Lawrence was not prosecuted due to
insufficient evidence. The public interest test is carried once the case has passed the
evidential test. There are seven aspects of the public interest test: The seriousness of the
crime, the level of culpability of the suspect, circumstances of the harm caused to the victim,
was the suspect under the age of 18, the impact on the community, is prosecution a
proportionate response and finally do sources of information require protecting. In the case
of Caroline Flack, the CPS decided it was in the public interest to charge Caroline with
assaulting her boyfriend due to the seriousness of the crime, despite initially deciding just to
caution her and the boyfriend asking to drop the case.
The Threshold Test
However, if the evidential requirements for the full code test cannot be met, a suspect can
still be charged through the threshold test. For this test there are five conditions to be met:
There must be reasonable grounds to suspect that the person to be charged has committed
the offence, there must be reasonable grounds to believe further evidence can be obtained
that will provide a realistic prospect conviction, the seriousness of the case justifies the
making of an immediate charging decision, there are continuing substantial grounds to
object the bail e.g. a suspect who is likely interfere with witnesses, it is in the public's interest
to charge the suspect. In the case of Liam Allen, he was accused of raping of his ex
girlfriend, this case passed the threshold test and went to court. However, evidence came
through of Liam's ex-girlfriend's messages to her friend saying “it wasn't against my will or
anything”. The case was dropped by the CPS as Liam was falsely accused of rape.
