Questionnaire England/Wales
III.1 Does the prosecution service have the same independent position as the judiciary?
No. A prosecution agency to prosecute the most
serious cases brought by the police (or brought against the police) was
originally created by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1879. This was the office
of the DPP. In 1978 a Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure was set up under
Sir Cyril Philips. Its report was published in 1981. The main criticisms flowed
from the fact that the police were investigating crimes and making the decision
whether to prosecute or not. Hence, in 1985 the Prosecution of Offences Act
created The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). It established the Director of
Public Prosecutions as the head of a Department which incorporated the
Department of the DPP and existing Police Prosecuting Solicitor’s Departments.
This started operating in 1986. Although now an independent authority, the
position of the CPS differs vastly from the independence enjoyed by the
judiciary in England
