NCJ Number
104659
Date Published
1986
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article presents the views of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales on the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, which establishes the Crown Prosecution Service to conduct the prosecution of criminal cases formerly conducted by the police.
Abstract
Advocates of the new system argue the inherent superiority of a prosecution system independent of the police, the value of consistency in prosecutions nationwide, and the cost-effectiveness of the new system. In opposing the enactment of the new law, the Superintendents' Association argued that the high qulaity of police prosecutions did not warrant change, that nationwide consistency in prosecutions is not as desirable as prosecutions responsive to local public opinion, and that the new system will still require as many police resources as the old system. The Superintendents' Association sees some potential problems with the new system. These include the failure of the act to specify Crown Prosecutors' functions in providing legal advice to police, the absence of a mechanism for police to appeal a prosecutor's decision not to proceed with a case, and problems associated with an integrated national system of prosecuting cases as opposed to a locally based system. The association also desires to preserve a constable's right to act as a private citizen in instituting criminal proceedings. Other association concerns are whether the new system will properly take into account defendants' prior criminal records and the extent to which the new system will relieve police officers of their responsbility for warning witnesses at court. 6 notes.