Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act Code of Practice
Revised Code of Practice governing disclosure of unused material in criminal cases, now awaiting Parliamentary approval.
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Part 2 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 makes provision for the publication of a Code of Practice which sets out how police officers are to record, retain and reveal to the prosecutor material obtained in a criminal investigation. The previous version of the code was published in 2005.
In May 2014 the Magistrates’ Court Disclosure Review recommended a streamlined procedure in summary cases that are expected to end in a guilty plea, so that a schedule of unused material need not be served in such cases. To this end it recommended amendments to the code, some of which are incorporated in the revised code.
The revised code was laid in Parliament on 28 January 2015. The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Code of Practice) Order 2015 is in force and has been approved by affirmative resolution of both Houses of Parliament.