$Unique_ID{bob00521} $Pretitle{} $Title{United Kingdom Status and Duties} $Subtitle{} $Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC} $Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC} $Subject{court police crown prosecution appeal bail courts magistrates criminal england} $Date{1990} $Log{} Title: United Kingdom Book: Justice and the Law in Britain Author: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC Date: 1990 Status and Duties Police Discipline A British police officer may be sued or prosecuted for any wrongful act committed in carrying out duties. Police discipline codes are designed to prevent any abuse of the considerable powers enjoyed by a police officer and to maintain public confidence in the impartiality of the service. Statutory procedures, including an independent element, govern the way in which complaints from the public against the police are handled. The independent Police Complaints Authority has powers to supervise the investigation of any serious complaint against a police officer in England and Wales. In Scotland complaints against police officers involving allegations of any form of criminal conduct are investigated by an independent procurator fiscal service. The security forces in Northern Ireland are accountable to the law. If they break it, their members are liable to prosecution and, in some cases, this has led to conviction. The Northern Ireland Independent Commission for Police Complaints is required to supervise the investigation of a complaint regarding death or serious injury and has the power to supervise that of any other complaint if it so wishes. In certain circumstances, the Secretary of State may direct the Commission to supervise the investigation of matters that are not the subject of a formal complaint. Police Work Police work ranges from the protection of people and of property, street patrolling and traffic control to crime prevention, criminal investigation and arresting suspected offenders. In urban areas, particularly, police officers have to deal with social problems and may bring in other social agencies and expert help. Community Relations Because the police cannot do their job without public support, virtually all forces have community liaison departments designed to develop closer contact between the force and the community. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires arrangements to be made for obtaining the views of people about the policing of their area. Almost all of areas have police/community consultative groups. Particular efforts are made to develop relations with young people, through greater contact with schools; the Education Act 1986 places a duty on governing bodies and head teachers to describe in their annual reports the steps they take to strengthen their schools' links with the community, including the police. Emphasis is placed on improving relations with ethnic minorities. The Government believes that all police officers should receive a thorough training in community and race relations. The Home Office sponsors two national courses in these subjects for community liaison officers and police managers. There is also a national specialist support unit responsible for improving community and race relations training for the police. Discriminatory behaviour by police officers is an offence under the Police Discipline Code. The Home Office organises recruitment advertising campaigns in the press in order to encourage black and Asian recruits to the police. In April 1990 there were 1,339 ethnic minority police officers in England and Wales. To release as many uniformed police officers as possible for operational duties, police authorities employ over 42,100 full-time civilians in England and Wales and over 2,670 in Scotland. Traffic wardens-of whom there are over 4,610 in England and Wales and over 500 in Scotland-carry out duties concerned with traffic and parking. Wardens are under the control of the chief constable. Each force has an attachment of volunteer special constables who perform police duties in their spare time, without pay, acting mainly as auxiliaries to the regular force. In Northern Ireland there is a 4,600-strong part-time and full-time paid reserve. Members of the police service may not belong to a trade union nor may they withdraw their labour in furtherance of a trade dispute. All ranks, however, have their own staff associations to represent their interests. Co-ordination of Police Operations Several common services are provided by central government and by arrangements between forces. In England and Wales the most important of these cover forensic science, telecommunications and the central and provincial criminal records available to all forces. In Scotland the main common services cover centralised police training, the Scottish Crime Squad and the Scottish Criminal Record Office. Certain special services such as liaison with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) are provided for other British forces by the Metropolitan Police. The National Drugs Intelligence Unit assists police forces and the Customs service throughout Britain. The services of the Fraud Squad, which is run jointly by the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police to investigate company frauds, are available in England and Wales. Regional crime squads, co-ordinated at national level, deal with serious crime such as drug trafficking and are used whenever operations cannot be dealt with by individual police forces alone. In 1988 the specialist drug wings of the regional crime squads arrested and charged over 700 people, including 45 major traffickers. In all areas of police work the use of scientific aids is widespread. A national police computer helps to rationalise records and speed up the dissemination of information. Police Powers Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 a police officer in England and Wales has a general power of stop and search if he or she has reasonable grounds for suspicion that a person is carrying stolen goods, offensive weapons or burglary implements. The officer must, however, state and record the grounds for taking this action. The Act also defines police powers to arrest and detain people for questioning but provides a number of safeguards. In addition, there is a statutory right for suspects to have legal advice on arrest. The Act contains provisions for the tape recording of police interviews. Arrest In England and Wales arrests may be made with or without a warrant issued by a magistrate. The 1984 Act provides a general conditional power to arrest a person reasonably suspected of an offence, but this power can only be used where it is not possible or appropriate to proceed by way of summons to appear in court. The Act categorises certain offences as 'arrestable' or 'serious arrestable' and provides a full power of arrest without warrant in respect of them for the protection of the public. Detention, Treatment and Questioning A code of practice on detention, treatment and questioning is one of five codes which the Home Secretary has issued under the 1984 Act. Failure to comply with their provisions can render a police officer liable to disciplinary proceedings. An arrested person has an statutory right to consult a solicitor and to ask the police to notify a named person likely to take an interest in his or her welfare about the arrest. Where a person has been arrested in connection with a serious arrestable offence, but has not yet been charged, the police may delay for up to 36 hours the exercise of these rights in the interests of the investigation if certain criteria are met. The police must caution a suspect before any questions are put for the purpose of obtaining evidence. Questions relating to an offence may normally not be put to a person after he or she has been charged with that offence or informed that he or she may be prosecuted for it. Under the Act a person can be detained for up to a maximum of 96 hours without charge. A person can only be detained beyond 36 hours if a warrant is obtained from a magistrates' court. Reviews must be made of a person's detention at regular intervals-six hours after initial detention and thereafter every nine hours as a maximum-to check whether the criteria for detention are still satisfied. If they are not, the person must be released immediately. The Act provides for the tape recording of interviews with suspected offenders at police stations. This has already been adopted in some police authority areas, and will become standard throughout England and Wales by 1991. A code of practice governing these tape recordings has been approved by Parliament. The Government is encouraging the establishment of schemes in England and Wales whereby lay visitors make random checks on the treatment of persons detained in police stations and the conditions in which they are held. Lay visitor schemes have been established in the majority of Greater London boroughs and more are being set up in other parts of the country. The schemes have helped improve relations between the police and the local community, particularly in inner city areas. A person who thinks that the grounds for detention are unlawful may apply to the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus against the person who detained him or her, requiring that person to appear before the court to justify the detention. Similar procedures apply in Northern Ireland. Charging Once there is sufficient evidence, the police have to decide whether or not to charge the person with the offence. As an alternative to charging immediately, they can, for example, decide to defer charging, to caution, or to take no further action and release the person with or without bail. Where an immediate charge is appropriate the person may continue to be held in custody, if there are grounds for believing that detention is necessary for his or her own protection or to prevent harm to people or property. This also applies if there is a risk that the person could fail to appear in court or could interfere with the administration of justice. When no such considerations apply, the person must be released on or without bail. Where someone is detained after charge, he or she must be brought before a magistrates' court quickly. This will usually be no later than the following day. Under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 there are time limits on the period from arrest to the beginning of trial in England and Wales. These are in force in most English counties and throughout Wales and are to be phased in elsewhere in England by the end of 1990. The limits are 56 days from first appearance before magistrates to summary trial or 70 days to committal for trial in the Crown Court. The limit is 112 days from committal to taking of the plea in the case of the Crown Court. When a time limit expires the defendant is entitled to bail unless the court extends the limit; it can only do this if satisfied that there is a good and sufficient reason and that the prosecution has acted expeditiously. Grant of Bail by the Court It is a basic principle in Britain that accused people should not be remanded in custody except where strictly necessary. Under the Bail Act 1976, which applies to England and Wales, the court decides whether a defendant should be released on bail pending trial. Unconditional bail may only be withheld in certain specified circumstances, for instance, if the court has substantial grounds for believing that the accused person would abscond, commit an offence, interfere with witnesses, or otherwise obstruct the course of justice if released on bail. A court may also impose conditions before granting bail. If bail is refused, the defendant may apply to High Court judge or to the Crown Court for bail, and application can be made to the Crown Court for conditions imposed by a magistrates' court to be varied. The majority of people remanded by magistrates are given bail. In some cases a court may grant bail to a defendant on condition that he or she lives in an approved bail or probation/bail hostel. There are 22 bail hostels with nearly 380 places; the 82 probation/bail hostels have almost 1,700 places. An expansion programme is underway to provide 1,000 additional bail places in the period from 1988 to 1993. The probation service has developed bail information schemes which provide the Crown Prosecution Service with verified information about a defendant. This assists the Service when it takes decisions on whether to oppose bail and enables the courts to take an informed decision on whether to grant bail. Planned provision should allow 100 courts to be served by April 1992. Scotland In Scotland the police may detain and question a suspected person for a period of up to six hours. Thereafter the person must either be released or charged. An arrest must be accompanied by a criminal charge. Once a person has been charged, only voluntary statements will normally be allowed in evidence at the trial. The court will reject statements unless satisfied that they have been fairly obtained. The tape recording of interviews with suspects is being implemented over a period of two years which began in 1988. Anyone arrested must be brought before a court with the least possible delay (generally not later than the first day after being taken into custody), or-in less serious cases-liberated by the police, often on a written undertaking to attend court on a specified date. Where an accusation of a more serious offence is to be made, the accused is brought before the sheriff in private to be committed, either for further examination or until liberated in due course of law. A judicial examination may take place. A maximum of eight days may elapse between committal for further examination and committal for trial. No evidence needs to be presented to the sheriff for such committal. Anyone accused of a crime, except murder or treason, is entitled to apply for release on bail. Even in cases of murder or treason, bail may be granted at the discretion of the Lord Advocate or a quorum of the High Court. Money bail has been virtually abolished and the courts, or the Lord Advocate, may release an accused person if he or she accepts certain conditions. There is a right of appeal to the High Court by the accused person against the refusal of bail, or by the prosecutor against the granting of bail, or by either party against the conditions imposed. The writ of habeas corpus does not apply in Scotland, but if a person charged with a more serious offence has been kept in custody pending trial, the trial must begin within 110 days of the date of full committal. The trial of a person charged with a summary offence and held in custody must begin within 40 days of the date of first appearance in court. CRIMINAL COURTS Prosecution In England and Wales the initial decision to begin criminal proceedings normally lies with the police. Once the police have brought a criminal charge, the papers are passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decides whether to prosecute. In Scotland procurators fiscal decide whether to bring proceedings. In Northern Ireland there is a Director of Public Prosecutions. In England and Wales (and exceptionally in Scotland) a private person may institute criminal proceedings. Instead of prosecuting, the police can issue a caution. In Scotland the procurator fiscal may make use of various alternatives to prosecution (see p 11). England and Wales The Crown Prosecution Service, headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, prosecutes criminal offences in magistrates' courts and the Crown Court. The Service is divided into 31 areas, each of which is run by a locally-based Chief Crown Prosecutor appointed by the Director. The Service provides lawyers to prosecute cases in the magistrates' courts and briefs barristers to appear in the Crown Court. Although the decision to prosecute is generally delegated to the lawyers in the area offices, some cases are dealt with by the headquarters of the Service. These include cases of national importance, exceptional difficulty or great public concern and those which require that suggestions of local influence be avoided. Such cases might include terrorist offences, breaches of the Official Secrets Acts, largescale conspiracies to import drugs and the prosecution of police officers. Scotland Discharging his duties through the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Lord Advocate is responsible for prosecutions in the High Court of Justiciary, sheriff courts and district courts. There is no general right of private prosecution; with a few minor exceptions crimes and offences may be prosecuted only by the Lord Advocate or his deputes or by the locally-based procurators fiscal holding a commission from the Lord Advocate. The permanent adviser to the Lord Advocate on prosecution matters is the Crown Agent, who is head of the procurator fiscal service and is assisted in the Crown Office by a staff of legally qualified civil servants, all of whom have had experience as depute procurators fiscal. Prosecutions in the High Court are prepared by procurators fiscal and Crown Office officials and prosecuted by the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor General for Scotland (the Lord Advocate's ministerial deputy) and advocate deputes, who are collectively known as Crown Counsel. Crimes tried before the sheriff and district courts are prepared and prosecuted by procurators fiscal. The police and other law enforcement agencies investigate crimes and offences and report to the procurator fiscal, who decides whether to prosecute, subject to the directions of Crown Counsel. When dealing with minor crime, the procurator fiscal increasingly makes use of alternatives to prosecution such as formal warnings and fixed penalties. The offender is not obliged to accept such an offer but if he or she does so the prosecution loses the right to prosecute. Northern Ireland The Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, who is responsible to the Attorney General, prosecutes all offences tried on indictment, and may do so in summary cases of a serious nature. Other summary offences are prosecuted by the police. Serious Fraud Office The Serious Fraud Office investigates and prosecutes the most serious and complex cases of fraud in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Investigations are conducted by teams of lawyers, accountants, police officers and other specialists, each headed by a case controller who decides whether to prosecute, although this decision may, if necessary, be taken by a more senior lawyer. If proceedings are instituted, the case controller and the case secretary prepare the case for trial and instruct counsel for the prosecution. The Office has computer-aided equipment for the presentation of evidence in a graphic form to make it more comprehensible to jurors. In Scotland the Crown Office Fraud Unit investigates and prepares-in co-operation with the police and other agencies-cases of serious and complex fraud. It also deals with drug profit confiscation procedures and international criminal investigations. Courts in England and Wales Criminal offences may be grouped into three categories. Very serious offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery are tried only by the Crown Court presided over by a judge sitting with a jury. Summary offences-the least serious offences and the vast majority of criminal cases-are tried by unpaid lay magistrates sitting without a jury. A third category of offences (such as theft, burglary or malicious wounding) are known as `either way' offences; they can be tried either by magistrates or by the Crown Court, depending on the circumstances of each case and the wishes of the defendant. All those charged with offences triable only in the Crown Court must first appear before a magistrates' court, which decides whether or not to commit them to the Court for trial. Committal proceedings also apply to `either way' offences which it has been determined will be tried in the Crown Court. The magistrates court may also commit a defendant tried summarily in an `either way' case, and found guilty, to the Crown Court for sentence. Magistrates must as a rule sit in open court, to which the public and the media are admitted. A court normally consists of three lay magistrates-known as justices of the peace-advised on points of law and procedure by a legally qualified clerk or a qualified assistant. Magistrates are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, except in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, where appointments are made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. There are nearly 28,000 lay magistrates. There are 63 full-time, legally qualified stipendiary magistrates who may sit alone and usually preside in courts in urban areas where the workload is heavy. Cases involving people under 17 are heard in juvenile courts. These are specially constituted magistrates' courts which either sit apart from other courts or are held at a different time. Only limited categories of people may be present and media reports must not identify any juvenile appearing either as a defendant (unless a judge directs otherwise) or a witness. Where a young person under 17 is charged jointly with someone of 17 or over, the case is heard in an ordinary magistrates' court or the Crown Court. If the young person is found guilty, the court may transfer the case to a juvenile court for sentence unless satisfied that it is undesirable to do so. The Crown Court sits at about 90 centres and is presided over by High Court Judges, full-time `circuit judges' and part-time recorders. All contested trials takes place before a jury. Magistrates sit with a circuit judge or recorder to deal with appeals and committals for sentence. In cases of serious or complex fraud, full committal proceedings in magistrates' courts may be bypassed at the discretion of the prosecution. However, there is a special procedure under which the accused is able to apply to the Crown Court to be discharged on the ground that there is no case to answer. Appeals A person convicted by a magistrates' court may appeal to the Crown Court against the sentence imposed if he or she has pleaded guilty; or against the conviction or sentence imposed if he or she has pleaded not guilty. Where the appeal is on a point of procedure or of law, either the prosecutor or the defendant may appeal from the magistrates' court to the High Court (see above). Appeals from the Crown Court, either against conviction or against sentence, are made to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). The House of Lords is the final appeal court for all cases, from either the High Court or the Court of Appeal. Before a case can go to the Lords, the court hearing the previous appeal must certify that it involves a point of law of general public importance and either that court or the Lords must grant leave for the appeal to be heard. The ten Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are the judges who deal with Lords appeals. The Attorney General may seek the opinion of the Court of Appeal on a point of law which has arisen in a case where a person tried on indictment is acquitted; the Court has power to refer the point to the House of Lords if necessary. The acquittal in the original case is not affected, nor it is the identity of the acquitted person revealed without his or her consent. Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Attorney General may refer a case to the Court of Appeal if he considers that a sentence passed by the Crown Court is over-lenient. This only applies to a case triable exclusively in the Crown Court. If the Court of Appeal agrees, it may increase the sentence within the statutory maximum laid down by Parliament for the offence. Scotland The High Court of Justiciary, which sits in Edinburgh and other major towns and cities, tries the most serious crimes and has exclusive jurisdiction in cases involving murder, treason and rape. The sheriff court is concerned with less serious offences and the district court with minor offences. Criminal cases are heard either under solemn procedure, when the judge sits with a jury of 15 members, or under summary procedure, when the judge sits without a jury. All cases in the High Court and the more serious ones in sheriff courts are tried by a judge and jury. Summary procedure is used in the less serious cases in the sheriff courts, and in all cases in the district courts. District courts are the administrative responsibility of the district and the islands local government authorities; the judges are lay justices of the peace and the local authorities may appoint up to one-quarter of their elected members to be ex-officio justices. In Glasgow there are four stipendiary magistrates who are full-time salaried lawyers and have equivalent criminal jurisdiction to a sheriff sitting under summary procedure. Children under 16 who have committed an offence are normally dealt with by children's hearings (see p 23). All appeals are dealt with by the High Court. In both solemn and summary procedure, an appeal may be brought by the accused against conviction, or sentence, or both. The Court may authorise a retrial if it sets aside a conviction. There is no further appeal to the House of Lords. In summary proceedings the prosecutor may appeal on a point of law against acquittal or sentence. The Lord Advocate may seek the opinion of the High Court on a point of law which has arisen in a case where a person tried on indictment is acquitted. The acquittal in the original case is not affected. Northern Ireland Cases involving minor summary offences are heard by magistrates' courts presided over by a full-time, legally qualified resident magistrate. Young offenders under 17 and young people under 17 who need care, protection and control are dealt with by a juvenile court. They consist of the resident magistrate and two lay members (at least one of whom must be a woman) specially qualified to deal with juveniles. Appeals from magistrates' courts are heard by the county court; an appeal on a point of law alone can be heard by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal. The Crown Court deals with criminal trials on indictment. It is served by High Court and county court judges. Proceedings are heard before a single judge, and all contested cases, other than those involving offences specified under emergency legislation, take place before a jury. Appeals from the Crown Court against conviction or sentence are heard by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal. Procedures for a further appeal to the House of Lords are similar to those in England and Wales. Those accused of terrorist type offences are tried in non-jury courts to avoid the intimidation of jurors. The onus remains on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt and the defendant has the right to be represented by a lawyer of his or her choice. The judge must set out in a written statement the reasons for convicting and there is an automatic right of appeal against sentence on points of fact as well as of law. In 1989 some 50 per cent of people tried in the non-jury court were found not guilty. Trial Criminal trials in Britain have two parties: the prosecution and the defence. Since the law presumes the innocence of an accused person until guilt has been proved, the prosecution is not granted any advantage over the defence. A defendant (in Scotland called an accused) has the right to employ a legal adviser and may be granted legal aid from public funds. If remanded in custody, the person may be visited by a legal adviser to ensure a properly prepared defence. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the prosecution usually tells the defence about relevant documents which it is not proposed to put in evidence and discloses them if asked to do so. The prosecution should also inform the defence of witnesses whose evidence may help the accused and whom the prosecution does not propose to call. The defence or prosecution may suggest that the defendant's mental state renders him or her unfit to be tried. If the jury (or in Scotland, the judge) decides that this is so, the defendant is admitted to a specified hospital. Criminal trials are normally in open court and rules of evidence, which are concerned with the proof of facts, are rigorously applied. If evidence is improperly admitted, a conviction can be quashed on appeal. During the trial the defendant has the right to hear and cross-examine witnesses for the prosecution, normally through a lawyer. He or she can call his or her own witnesses who, if they will not attend voluntarily, may be legally compelled to do so. The defendant can also address the court in person or through a lawyer, the defence having the right to the last speech at the trial before the judge sums up. The defendant cannot be questioned without consenting to be sworn as a witness in his or her own defence. When he or she does testify, cross-examination about character or other conduct may be made only in exceptional circumstances; generally the prosecution may not introduce such evidence. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the judge in complex fraud cases may order a preparatory open Crown Court hearing to be held at which he or she can hear and settle points of law and define the issues to be put to the jury. The law on evidence has been changed to make it possible for courts to have before them a wider range of written evidence in the form of business documents which could be relevant to a successful prosecution. The Jury In jury trials the judge decides questions of law, sums up the evidence for the jury and instructs it on the relevant law, and discharges the accused or passes sentence. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the jury is responsible for deciding whether a defendant is 'guilty' or 'not guilty', the latter verdict resulting in acquittal. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, the judge may direct it to bring in a majority verdict provided that, in the normal jury of 12 people, there are not more than two dissenters. In Scotland the jury's verdict may be 'guilty', 'not guilty' or 'not proven'; the accused is acquitted if one of the last two verdicts is given. The jury consists of 15 people and a verdict of 'guilty' can only be reached if at least eight members are in favour. As a general rule no one may be convicted without corroborated evidence. If the jury acquits the defendant, the prosecution has no right of appeal and the defendant cannot be tried again for the same offence. The defendant, however, has a right of appeal to the appropriate court if found guilty. A jury is independent of the judiciary. Any attempt to interfere with a jury once it is sworn in is punishable under the Contempt of Court Act 1981. Potential jurors are empanelled in court before the start of the trial. The prosecution and the defence may challenge individual jurors on the panel, giving reasons for doing so. People between the ages of 18 and 65 (70 in England and Wales) whose names appear on the electoral register, with certain exceptions, are liable for jury service and their names are chosen at random. Ineligible people include judges, priests, people who have within the previous ten years been members of the legal profession, the Lord Chancellor's Department or the police, prison and probation services, and certain sufferers from mental illness. Other disqualified people include those who have, within the previous ten years, served a sentence of imprisonment, youth custody or detention, or been subject to a community service order. Disqualification also applies to anyone who, within the previous five years, has been placed on probation. Anyone who has been sentenced to five or more years' imprisonment is disqualified for life. Coroners' Courts Coroners investigate violent and unnatural deaths or sudden deaths where the cause is unknown. If the death is sudden and the cause unknown, the coroner need not hold an inquest if, after a post-mortem examination has been made, he or she is satisfied that the death was due to natural causes. He or she must do so where there is reason to believe that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death or died in prison or in other specified circumstances. It is the duty of the coroner's court to establish how, when and where the deceased died. A coroner may sit alone or, in certain circumstances, with a jury. In Scotland the local procurator fiscal inquiries privately into all sudden and suspicious deaths and may report the findings to the Crown Office. In a minority of cases a fatal accident inquiry may be held before the sheriff. For certain categories, such as deaths resulting from industrial accidents and deaths in custody, a fatal accident inquiry is mandatory. In addition, the Lord Advocate has discretion to instruct an inquiry in the public interest in cases where the circumstances give rise to serious public concern.