ABSTRACT
The clas si fic a tion of offences and matters relat ing to trans fers for trial, summary trial, and trial on indict ment are dealt with in Chapter 9.
Until 1986, England was one of only a few coun tries that allowed the police to prosec ute rather than hand over this task to a State agency such as the office of the district attor ney in the United States, or the procur ator fiscal in Scotland (an office established in the fifteenth century). The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was estab lished by the Prosecution of Offences Act (POA) 1985. As a result the police now play only a limited part in prosec u tions beyond the stage of char ging the suspect. This chapter exam ines the work ings of the State prosec u tion service.
