ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the workings of the state prosecution service. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has come under significant criticism in recent times for allegedly poor performance. The CPS was established by the Prosecution of Offences Act (POA) 1985. As a result the police now play only a limited part in prosecutions beyond the stage of charging the suspect. The move to establish a CPS was precipitated by a report from JUSTICE, the British section of the International Commission of Jurists, in its 1970 Report, The Prosecution Process in England and Wales. In the criminal process, the first stage at which bail is usually raised as an issue is on arrest or at the police station. The police may grant bail using the same criteria as the courts but the governing law is the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE).
