§ 35. Mr. DickensTo ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the criteria on which the Crown Prosecution Service determines whether to prosecute; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI am satisfied that the criteria in the code for Crown prosecutors which determine whether a prosecution should proceed are sound. But, as my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General announced to the House on 15 December 1993, the Director of Public Prosecutions is currently revising the code so that it may more easily be understood by the police and the public.
§ Mr. DickensDoes my hon. and learned Friend agree that we expect the Crown Prosecution Service to act as judge and jury, a halfway house, in deciding whether we should prosecute? In those circumstances, would my hon. and learned Friend have any objection if Members of Parliament approached their local CPS office about a case of particular interest to the local police and the victims?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI should welcome, as I am sure would the CPS, the attendance of any hon. Member who wished to visit his local CPS office. I am sure that such offices would be cheered up immensely at the prospect of a visit by my hon. Friend. Any hon. Member who visits those offices will discover that cases are discontinued only after close liaison with the police. When that happens, it is done in the interests of justice and it is not any criticism of the police.
§ 36. Mr. GunnellTo ask the Attorney-General what was the cost of the Crown Prosecution Service in the final year in which it was administered by local government; and what is the percentage difference in real terms, between that figure and its cost in 1992–93.
§ The Attorney-GeneralBefore 1986, there were no uniform arrangements for the handling of prosecutions and it is not, therefore, possible to make the comparison which the hon. Gentleman requests.
§ Mr. GunnellI am sure that the Attorney-General will find that costs have increased. Does he agree that in West Yorkshire, for example, what has been purchased is a loss of local democracy? Does he also agree that the Police and Magistrates' Courts Bill, which is before the House of Lords, threatens further to erode local democracy and to create great national interference in respect of both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service which may not be in the interests of justice?
§ The Attorney-GeneralI do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. Prosecution decisions are not matters for elected members either of Parliament or of local authorities; they must be carried out by independent prosecuting authorities. The hon. Gentleman might care to reflect on the huge release of police time and effort away from the time that they had to spend in the courts prosecuting, giving evidence and providing antecedents in the Crown courts. That has enabled them to become free for much more front-line policing.