• About Us
  • Careers
  • CSR
  • Our Lawyers
  • News
  • Videos
  • Funding
  • FAQs
  • London
0161 834 1515
020 3883 6790
info@olliers.com
  • Pre-Charge
    • Pre-Charge
    • Released under investigation
    • Pre-charge engagement
    • Charging guidance
    • National File Standard
  • Criminal law
    • Criminal law
    • Appeals
    • Assisting An Offender
    • Assault & grievous bodily harm
    • Autism
    • Controlling and coercive behaviour
    • Criminal defence for professionals
    • Crisis management
    • Dangerous dogs
    • Defending allegations of domestic abuse
    • Drugs offences
    • PNC arrest record removal
    • Fare Evasion Lawyers
    • Firearms
    • Internet & cyber crime
    • Kidnap & false imprisonment
    • The Magistrates’ Court
    • Murder & manslaughter
    • People trafficking & Modern Slavery Act
    • Robbery and theft
    • Terrorism
    • Voluntary police interviews
    • Youth crime
  • Sexual offences
    • Sexual offences
    • Indecent Images Offence Lawyers
    • Rape and sexual assault
    • Removal from Sex Offenders Register
    • Revenge porn
    • Sexual communication with a child
    • Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPO)
  • Fraud
    • Fraud
    • Corruption and bribery
    • Cryptocurrency investigations
    • Dawn raids
    • Defending allegations of furlough fraud
    • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigations
    • HMRC investigations
    • Insolvency Service investigations and prosecutions
    • Money laundering
    • Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigations
  • Regulatory
    • Regulatory
    • Data Protection offences
    • Director disqualification
    • Environmental damage
    • Food safety
    • Health & Safety (HSE) prosecutions
    • General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR)
    • Intellectual property prosecutions
    • Insolvency Service Investigations
    • Public Inquiries
    • Trading standards prosecutions
  • Professional Discipline
    • Professional Discipline
    • Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)
    • General Medical Council (GMC) Lawyers
    • Student Misconduct Proceedings
    • Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) Lawyers
  • Asset recovery
    • Benefit and available amount
    • Criminal lifestyle POCA
    • Enforcement receivers
    • Hidden assets
    • Restraint orders
    • Sentencing & enforcement
    • Unexplained Wealth Orders
      • Uplift Applications
  • More…
    • Appealing against a conviction
    • Alcohol and fireworks offences
    • Drink driving
    • Drug driving / driving whilst unfit
    • Extradition proceedings
    • Football banning orders
    • Football offences
    • Football offences news
    • Football stadium offences
    • Motoring offences
    • Polish speaking criminal lawyer
    • Public Order Act offences
  • Contact

Charging guidance

  1. Home
  2. Criminal Investigations
  3. Charging guidance

The Director of Public Prosecution’s Guidance on Charging 2020

The Director of Public Prosecution’s Guidance on Charging (31st December 2020) provides a clear structure in which criminal allegations are investigated and prosecuted. Defence teams must have a detailed working knowledge of the Guidance as part of a proactive pre-charge engagement strategy.

The Guidance which was last updated by former DPP Keir Starmer in 2013 provides a clear set of guidelines for prosecutors and police ‘to ensure cases are referred to the CPS at the right time; with the right material and information so that prosecutors can make immediate charging decisions and cases pass effectively and efficiently through the criminal justice system’.

The significance of the Guidance for defence teams

The Olliers Investigations Team place huge emphasis in monitoring the police and their compliance with the Guidance as part of our proactive approach to pre-charge work.

We look to engage with the police at an early stage of an investigation. We always consider whether we can make representations against charge, by arguing that there is not a ‘realistic prospect of conviction’ or that it is not in the public interest to prosecute. It is no coincidence that the Guidance was published on the same day (31st December 2020) as the arrangements for ‘pre charge engagement’ (Annex B Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure 2020).

Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill QC; 

‘There has been a major shift in working practices and priorities throughout the criminal justice system in recent years and it is vital there is clear guidance to help police and prosecutors navigate these effectively.

The Attorney General’s guidelines focus on getting disclosure right and getting it done early so its impact on the evidence is known. These are significant changes and we must continue to work collaboratively to embed them.”

At Olliers we regard the Guidelines as a powerful resource during the pre-charge engagement process.

Areas covered by the Guidance 

The Guidance is now in effect and takes the place of previous publications. The guidance outlines;

  • The charging process
  • Application of the Full Code Test in deciding whether to prosecute
  • The Threshold Test
  • Obtaining advice from a prosecutor
  • Out of court disposals
  • The National File Standard: material and information required for charging and prosecution
  • Understanding post charge case management
  • Division of responsibility between police and CPS
  • Procedure for charging referrals via the Digital Interface
  • Information required to be submitted to the Digital Interface before charging decisions can be made
  • Case types where early advice is recommended.

Understanding these provisions is at the heart of a proactive and engaged defence strategy. 

The Guidance makes it clear that a police investigator must pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry even when they point away from a suspect and, at Olliers, we frequently remind officers of this requirement. It is particularly useful that the Guidance specifically addresses the manner in which the police should address certain types of evidence namely;

  • Audio visual evidence
  • Bad character evidence
  • Communication evidence
  • Forensic evidence
  • Identification evidence
  • Medical evidence

The Guidance recognises ‘the overarching  principles’  set  out  in  Sir  Brian  Leveson’s review of ‘Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings’, the most important of which is perhaps the concept of ‘getting it right first time’.

Police officers and prosecutors must comply with this Guidance to ensure that charging  decisions  are  fair  and  consistent  and  comply with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, the  PACE  Codes  of  Practice and the Code for Crown Prosecutors (“the Code”). As the police get to grips with the Guidance it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. Failure to follow the Guidance may risk cases failing or decisions being subject to legal challenge.

The guidance is issued by the DPP for police use, but the provisions apply equally to other investigators where cases are prosecuted by the CPS

At Olliers we recognise the importance of defence teams being at least as familiar with the obligations upon the police as are the police themselves.

Contact our pre-charge investigations lawyers

If you would like to explore how Olliers can assist you please contact Ruth Peters or Matthew Claughton for a confidential discussion.

Ruth Peters

Ruth Peters

Matthew Claughton

Matthew Claughton

Lily Grundy

Lily Grundy

Maria Douglas

Maria Douglas

Manchester Office

196 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3WF
0161 8341515
info@olliers.com

London Office

Berkeley Suite, 35 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1J 5BF
020 3883 6790
info@olliers.com

Complete the form below and we will contact you

Contact Us

Investigations Menu

  • Investigations overview
  • Released under investigation
  • Pre-charge engagement
  • Charging guidance overview
    • Audio-visual evidence
    • Bad character evidence
    • Communication evidence
    • Forensic evidence
    • Identification evidence
    • Medical evidence
  • National File Standard
 

Related articles

  • Representations against charge and pre-charge engagement with investigators
  • Pre-charge engagement between the police and the defence
  • Pre-charge Representations – Your Last Chance to Avoid a Prosecution
  • Sexual Offences – Proactive Defence when under Investigation

Get in touch with one of our specialist solicitors today

Please let us know how best to contact you so we can best understand how to advise you.

Call us now

Request a call back

Send an online enquiry

Request a video call

Useful Links

  • About Us
  • Our Lawyers
  • Pre-charge engagement
  • Criminal Law
  • Sexual Offences
  • Fraud
  • Regulatory

London

Olliers Solicitors Ltd
Berkeley Suite
35 Berkeley Square
Mayfair
London
W1J 5BF
020 3883 6790
info@olliers.com

Manchester

Olliers Solicitors Ltd
3rd Floor
196 Deansgate
Manchester
M3 3WF
0161 834 1515
info@olliers.com

Newsletter Sign-up

Newsletter Signup

blank

Copyright © 2020 | Authorised & Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority | SRA No. 597078
Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Complaints | Built by SEO Strategy