§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement on the criteria applied by the Crown Prosecution Service in decisions on whether to prosecute for alleged crimes of vandalism. [127068]
618W
The Solicitor-GeneralAs with any other offence, the Crown Prosecution Service is guided by the Code for Crown Prosecutors when deciding on whether a prosecution should be brought in relation to offences involving vandalism.
If the evidential test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors is satisfied on the facts of a particular case, consideration of the public interest factors set out in the Code will follow in the usual way.
If these tests are satisfied then offences resulting from vandalism are prosecuted primarily under the Criminal Damage Act 1971.