DPP invites responses to proposed new Code for Crown Prosecutors

Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, has launched a consultation on a proposed new edition of the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code) in England and Wales. The Code is the overarching document that all prosecutors follow in deciding whether or not a suspect should be charged.

The draft of the version of the Code for public consultation includes:

• A more succinct format to avoid duplication with existing legal guidance in key areas;
• A new section bringing into sharper focus the need for considerations of the admissibility, reliability and credibility of evidence;
• A streamlined approach to deciding whether or not it is in the public interest for a suspect to be prosecuted, including broad questions to consider rather than a long list of particular factors;
• Questions for prosecutors about the seriousness of the offending, the culpability of the suspect and the impact on victims and community; and
• A question within the public interest section asking prosecutors to consider whether bringing a prosecution is proportionate to the likely outcome.

Speaking about the addition of proportionality into the Code, re-added having previously been in the versions of the Code in 1986 and 1992, Mr Starmer said:

"Proportionality is about ensuring that we and the police are choosing the right cases to prosecute from the start, and doing so in the most effective way. Where cases are complex prosecutors should ensure prosecutions are focused. There may be cases - for example where a court might convict a defendant but decide not to record that conviction by giving an absolute discharge - where police officers or prosecutors might anticipate that a prosecution is not a proportionate way to approach the criminality.

"A common sense approach will ensure the right cases are brought before the courts, and those that shouldn't be prosecuted are not introduced to the system only to later be withdrawn."