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Emma B
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Its not normally down to the police but the crown prosecution service. They decide if it is in the peoples interest to prosecute.
I agree its crazy however I can kind of see how it happened. Speeding is known as a strict liability law which means that there is no defence as such, if you are caught you are guilty. Careless driving however needs to have witnesses and expert testemony. He could say he swerved to avoid hitting something or anything meaning a lenghty and costly trial.
I just feel sorry for poor mr Owens and hope he has good insurance. |
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Ben Gunn
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This decision would be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service, not by the police (even though it is traditional on this site to blame the police for everything).
Although the driver's identity was known, the standard of evidence required is very high. It is quite possible to know who was driving, but to be unable to prove that they committed an actual offence. |
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vambosthirdincarnation
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They don't, the CPS do that. |
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zo (student)
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the police don't prosecute.
they write a report which is passed to the cps (crown prosecution service) and if they decide they have a good chance of a conviction, they go ahead and prosecute.
if there is insufficent evidence then the charges are dropped. |
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joan k
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I was told that it's the CPS who make the decision whether to prosecute or not. Seemingly the Police can no longer make this decision. If I was Mr Owen I would be furious. He needs to contact his MP. |
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Mr Cheese
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Idont think its a decisionmade by the police but rather the CPS(CriminalProsecution Service) after the police have presented all evidence to them. |
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nosdda
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The Police do not decide on any Prosecution. They send a report of the incident to The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and they are the ones who decide to prosecute or not. |
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Trisha Goddard
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Some offences are called 'fixed penalty offences' because the actual offence is dealt with by paying a fine and having penalty points - like speeding. The Crown Prosecution Service have nothing to do with these as the offender just pays the fine to the courts directly. Other offences (more serious) have to be reported by the police and put before the court for a decision. However, the CPS have to consider the evidence on these cases and if they feel like the police don't have an chance of a succesful prosecution then they won't put it in court so as not to waste court time and tax payers money. |
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moggle
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The Police don't make a lot of the decisions The Crown Prosecution Service make most of them.
One of their targets is prosecutions won verses those brought. It means if it is a 50 /50 case it will not be run as they can afford to lose too many.
Targets... a handy measure of how twisted the criminal justice system can be. |
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Ian UK
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One word, 'evidence'.
Some crimes are easier to prove than others based on the fact that the evidence is either there or its not.
I'm sure if it were you being prosecuted in Court sir and there wasn't any evidence against you, then you wouldn't want to be prosecuted for something you may not have done.
Don't take this as a criticism or think that I'm having a go at you, that's not what I'm intending. The thing with the British justice system is that you have to be able to prove, 'beyond all reasonable doubt' that a person is guilty of an offence. If you can't do that then you would be wasting everyone’s time and a whole lot of public money by taking things any further.
It also worth noting that the decision making process for prosecutions has now been taken away from the Police except in minor cases and most road traffic offences, such as speeding. The Crown Prosecution Service makes those kinds of decisions now and admittedly, they aren't always the right decisions. |
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CGIV76
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Actually here in the US, the police only make the arrest.
The District Attorney decides whether or not to prosecute. |
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Andy F
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The police are only responsible for gathering and presenting evidence. The CPS then decide if there is a case for the defendant to answer to. |
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Biff
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They don't. They submit a file to the department of public procecutions ( DPP ) and they decide if there is a case to answer. |
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♀Sweet ♥
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I always thought it was the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) who determined if someone is the be prosecuted. I don't think the police have the power to do that. Unfortunately. |
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*****
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The police don't prosecute anyone, the judicial system does that. |
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Andrew C
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makes ya mad, dunnit? |
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Savage Grace
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Police don't prosecute- They arrest
The DA prosecutes |
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craig s
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thisis a good question
my story
on boxing day 2005 i was driving along tha a465south wales abergavveny and gilwern and my engine suddenly blew up so i could green flag recovered my car however they asked me to put my car on the back of the flatbed i walked to the rear of the truck and stepped of 15 minutes later i woke up to find a car had crashed into the back of the truck where i had been stood as a result my crush injuries were thatbad they had to amputate both of my legs below the knees the driver a south african here for a year doing a doctors final year course admitted he had undertook a car at 60mph in a 50 because he got angry at the other driver for driving to slow and guess what he didnt get a fine,points absolutely nothing happened to him he walked away with a smirk on his face now he has gone home so maybe its a colour thing or the ploice simply cant be bothered to press charges to complicated offences netherless at least the he has gone home to monkey land yes from the day he walked free i became rascist |
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Chuck T
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" Coin flip " |
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Ian M
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I think it's decided on your class status! |
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woznotwoz
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Ask the CPS they decide not the police. |
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pirate_princess
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They are more intersted in the ones they can ensure a conviction with than the real crimes that they'd have to work a litle harder at. |
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Bear
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I can understand Mr Owens anger and frustration, however;
I like Mr Owen do not know what was the cause of the collision. The police clearly do, although they should have explained the reasons for not prosecuting the driver. CPS may or may not have been consulted on the decision making process (some traffic matters are decided upon by the police). I would write a letter of complaint. More than likely the response would include the reasons why a prosecution wasn't forthcoming.
As for his speeding conviction this is a seperate matter and has no bearing on the outcome of the collision whatsoever. |
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Big kid
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One offence occurred before the police targets for that month were met and so they threw the book at him. The other happened after the target had been attained so they let him off. It would only have meant more paperwork |
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country bumpkin [sheep nurse]
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the law is an a...se.cps wants to get their act together. |
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