Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Criminal Justice System?
The Criminal Justice System is one of the major public services in the country and is responsible for creating safer communities by preventing and detecting more crime, responding better to the needs of victims and witnesses and punishing and rehabilitating more offenders.

Q: Which organisations make up the Criminal Justice System?
The Criminal Justice System is made up of the Police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Her Majesty's Courts Service, HM Prison Service, the National Probation Service and Youth Offending Teams. These agencies also work closely with other partners such as Victim Support and local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.

Q: What is the Local Criminal Justice Board?
There are 42 Local Criminal Justice Boards in England and Wales, and they are made up of the chief officers of all the CJS agencies. They are accountable for local targets and working together to provide an improved service to the public.

Q: Who decides whether a case will be prosecuted or not?
Once a charge has been brought against someone by the police, the case is referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). There it will be decided whether or not the evidence is strong enough to support further criminal proceedings. Decisions will be made in accordance with The Code for Crown Prosecutors. Each case must pass two tests:

  • The evidential test
  • The public interest test

The Code can be downloaded using the following link: The Code for Crown Prosecutors 

Q: What happens when a crime is reported?
When a crime is reported, the first people involved are the Police, who have responsibility for investigating the crime and catching the suspects. They will begin by making a crime report. They may then take statements from victims and witnesses and search the crime scene for evidence. They'll aim to identify a suspect, who will then be arrested for questioning or summoned to appear before a court.

Q: What happens once someone has been charged?
When a charge is made, the case is handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). A Crown Prosecution lawyer will review the prosecution file and witness statements. They will then decide whether or not the case should proceed and what the correct charge should be. The CPS is also responsible for preparing cases for court, prosecuting cases at the Magistrates' Court and directing prosecution on the Crown and higher courts.

Q: What happens once a case goes to court?
There are three types of cases that come to the Magistrates' Courts:

  • Summary offences, where the defendant is not entitled to a trial by jury. These offences include motoring offences and minor assaults.
  • Either way offences, where the defendant can be tried either at the Magistrates' Court or the Crown Court. Such offences include theft and handling stolen goods.
  • Indictable-only offences, such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery, which must be heard in the Crown Court.

If the case is an indictable-only offence, the involvement of the Magistrates' Court is brief. A decision will be made on whether to grant bail and other legal issues will be considered, like media reporting. The case will then be passed to the Crown Court.

If the defendant is charged with a summary offence, or an either way offence that is being dealt with in the Magistrates' Court, they will have to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty or are convicted after pleading not guilty, the magistrates have the power to pass a sentence of utpo six months imprisonment and/or a fine for upto £5000.

Q: What types of sentences are available to the courts?
There are four types of sentence available to the courts, depending upon the seriousness of the offence. They are, discharges, fines, community sentences and imprisonment. When deciding what sentence to impose, magistrates and judges have to take account of both the facts of the case and the circumstances of the offender. To help them, they may ask the Probation Service to produce a report about the offender, including a proposal regarding the sentence.

Q: What is the National Probation Service?
In court, probation staff provide advice and reports on sentencing and assess re-offending risk. The National Probation Service runs and enforces community based sentences, for example a community punishment order or a drug treating and testing order. It also supervises many who have just been released from prison under licence conditions.

Q: What is the Youth Offending Team?
Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are multi-agency patnership organisations resourced by staff seconded from local authority social services and education departments, the National Probation Service, the Police and primary care trusts. YOT's work with young offenders aged from 10-17 years old, from the point they first come into contact with the justice system, through to arrest, final warning and sentence at youth and crown courts. They also provide intensive community supervision of young offenders and also undertake preventative work with young people from the age of 8 and their families.

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