The Crown Prosecution Service is the indispensable heart of the Criminal Justice System (25)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for prosecuting cases in England and Wales. It is an independant organisation led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). It is currently Alison Saunders who was appointed in November 2013. The DPP has to report on the running of the CPS to the Attorney General, who is MP Dominic Griev.He is the chief legal advisor to the crown. There are certain offences that cannot be prosecuted without the Attorney General's permission, such as assising suicide which is laid out in the Suicide Act 1961.

Before the CPS, it was the police's job to investigate, charge and prosecute criminals. But this was outlined as a problem in the Justice Report 1970 and again in the Royal Phillips Commission in 1978. In this report it was stated that the police shouldn't investigate and prosecute, and problems were identified along with inconsistency across the country. This report recommended the establishment of the CPS. 

The CPS was established in 1985, under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.This meant vital changes for the criminal justice system (CJS). The previous practise was that the police would charge and prosecute. But the Criminal Justice Act 2003 ammended S37 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, moving the decision the charge a suspect away from the police and to the CPS.

Now, the police will investigate and gather evidence of the case and present the file to the CPS. Also, the CPS direct has been set up, and is available all of the time to the police, in order to advise police on whether to charge a suspect. 

The CPS has 5 main roles. The first is to advise to police on whether or not to charge a suspect. Secondly, they review files/cases given to them by the police. Thirdly, they prepare the case for court and the fourth role is to present the case in court as the prosecution of the trial. The last role is to decide if they are going to prosecute or not; this is their most important role. 

In order to carry out the final role, they look to the code for prosecutors in the CPS. This contins two tests they have to apply to the case before them. The two tests are evidential and public interest. 

The evidential test is where there must be sufficient admissible evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. If the case does not pass…