Criminal justice process - Case Study Example

accused witnesses, victims and police officers. The usual procedure has to be followed once the police commence criminal investigation. On the face of it seems that the Police in their eagerness to solve a crime and to charge George had flouted many accepted norms and procedures that ought to be followed while conducting a criminal investigation and taking in to custody a suspect for the alleged crime. Everyone is innocent till proved guilty. My advice to George about the proper procedure that should have been followed at the Police Station will be that in investigating a accused the police if thinks that he may be guilty takes him to the police station for questioning, if the police is reasonably convinced that the accused is involved then they can charge him and make a formal arrest.

If the accused is minor then in that case the questioning by the police can be conducted in the presence of the guardian of the accused or any social worker. The accused at the Police Station is well within his rights to ask for a solicitor. The Police can also procure a search warrant to search the premises of the accused and can interview the family, friends etc of the accused. The Police can question the accused up to 72 hours after that either the police can set the accused free or ask the magistrate for 24 hours more for the questioning of the accused.

After that if the Police are convinced that there is enough evidence connecting the accused with the crime then in that case it will formally charge the accused. The accused has to be presented in a magistrate's court by the Police the next day and it is the magistrate's discretion to send the accused either in judicial custody or to release him on bail. To sum it up at the Police Station an accused has the right to be treated in a human manner and with respect, he has the right to see the written codes governing the legal rights of the accused, he has a right to speak to the custody officer, he has to be told about the reason of his arrest, a personal phone call by the accused may not be allowed but someone connected to the accused has to be notified by the Police, the accused has the right to consult with a solicitor in private.

CPS CODE TESTS TO BE APPLIED IN THIS CASE :1. Crown Prosecutors decide if a person should be and can be charged with a criminal offence, and then they decide on the nature of offence. The decisions in this regard are made by Crown Prosecutors as per the code and by also taking the Director's help on Charging. Police generally determine the charge, for minor and routine cases but they also have to apply the same provisions.2. Charging in this case should be made according to the Full Code Test.

If the evidence required for Full Code Test is not available then the Threshold test should be applied but the case should be reviewed according to the Full Code Test soon. If the Threshold Test applies in this case then it is fine otherwise the Crown Prosecution Service will only start or continue with a prosecution when the case has passed both stages of the Full Code Test.3. The Crown Prosecutors should see whether there is enough evidence against the accused to charge him. It should be seen that whether the evidence can be used in court and is reliable.

It should be further seen that if the evidence is sufficient to get a conviction against the accuse