At the beginning of the year, I posted a guide to General Elections in the UK and I got really good feedback on that. I have mentioned before that I want to write some informative blog posts based on the degree I’m doing. Today’s post is going to be a brief overview on the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales. This was quite a complex post for me to plan and write due to the vast nature of the topic. Hopefully, I have made everything clear and concise enough!
The best way to describe the Criminal Justice System in an overview is to go through each step in the process. This means starting at the reporting stage and finishing at the appeal stage. Let’s get into it.
Reporting a crime
Reporting a crime can be done by anyone. It essentially involves someone contacting the police in some shape or form. This can be done by calling 999 or 101 depending on if it’s an emergency or not, completing a form online, or you can physically go down to a police station. This can also be done anonymously.
The investigation
Once a crime has been reported, an investigation can begin. This can be completed by the police or another investigative body. They will look for any evidence that exists to try and gain an understanding of exactly what happened. There are different forms of evidence that the police or the investigative body will look to collect. These are, for example:
- forensic evidence
- witness statements
- footage from CCTV
- digital evidence
There is a whole debate surrounding evidence. If you would like a detailed blog post about this, let me know.
Issuing charges
You might think that it’s up to the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) to issue charges against a suspect. However, this is not strictly true. Whilst the CPS will issue charges in more serious offences, the police can issue charges in less serious offences. For example, shoplifting offences or offences known as summary offences, which are offences that are heard in the magistrates Court as opposed to the crown Court. The Crown Court deals with offences known as indictable offences, and these are the most serious offences. Interestingly, the police actually issue charges in approximately 2/3s of cases.
How the decision to issue charges is made
Within the criminal justice system, there is a specific test used by the CPS that the case needs to pass in order for a suspect to be issued with charges. This test is called the two-stage legal test.
The first stage concerns whether there is enough evidence available that the likelihood of a conviction is realistic. The second stage concerns public interest. In other words, is it in the interest of the public that the CPS prosecute this person?
It is essential that the case passes both stages for the CPS to charge a person.
Going to court
The first step in the going to court part is the defendant issuing a plea of guilty or not guilty. If the defendant pleads guilty, there will be no trial. They will be convicted and the sentencing stage will commence. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the case will go to trial.
I’ve already touched briefly on the two different courts a case may go to. These are the magistrates court and the crown court. Like I mentioned before, summary offences (less serious offences) will be heard only in the magistrates court. Indictable offences (the more serious offences) will be heard only in the crown court. There is a third category of offences called either-way offences. The district judge or the magistrates will look at each case individually and come to a decision as to whether the case should stay with the magistrates or move up to the crown court.
However, the defendant can decide to take the case to the crown court if they wish to. They have a right to elect. This could be so they can have their case heard in front of a jury.
The trial
The process of the trial is as follows:
The trial is opened by the prosecutor who will set out an opening statement that essentially sets out the charges and the facts of the particular case. They will then call witnesses and present evidence to the jury, judge or magistrates. The defence will then do the same, although they have the choice not to. It is on the prosecution to prove that the defendant is guilty.
Once the court has heard all of the evidence either from both sides or just the prosecution, the prosecution will then summarise the main points of the case. The defence team will then be given the opportunity to make a closing statement. Once that has been completed, the judge, magistrates or jury will retire to consider their verdict.
The verdict
If the defendant is found not guilty, then the case against them is over and they are free to go. To be found not guilty, whoever has reached the verdict will not be sure of the defendant’s guilt.
If the defendant is found guilty, sentencing procedures will begin. Whoever has reached the verdict must be absolutely sure the defendant is guilty of the crime they have been charged with.
Sentencing
When the defendant is found guilty, it is up to the judge or the magistrates to issue a sentence. They do this by following sentencing guidelines which set out the minimum and maximum sentences for a particular offence. It also provides guidance as to where on that scale the sentence should fall.
I hope this different post allowed you to learn something! Thank you so much for reading and I will see you soon for another blog post.
Beth
Beth Olivia 