Selection of Charges

Crown Prosecutors should select charges which:

·         reflect the seriousness and extent of the offending;

·         give the court adequate powers to sentence and impose appropriate post-conviction orders; and

·         enable the case to be presented in a clear and simple way.

This means that Crown Prosecutors may not always choose or continue with the most serious charge where there is a choice.

Crown Prosecutors should never go ahead with more charges than are necessary just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a few. In the same way, they should never go ahead with a more serious charge just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a less serious one.

Crown Prosecutors should not change the charge simply because of the decision made by the court or the defendant about where the case will be heard.

Diversion from Prosecution
Mode of Trial
Accepting Guilty Pleas
Prosecutors Role in Sentencing
Re-starting a Prosecution
The Civil Route