Policy paper

CPS MoU - Annex A Roles and responsibilities

Published 23 October 2008

1. Annex A Roles and responsibilities

1.1 The Crown Prosecution Service.

A1. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is a public prosecution service headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The CPS operates across England and Wales, with 14 regional teams prosecuting cases locally. Each of these 14 CPS Areas is headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor. A “virtual” 15th Area, CPS Direct, is also headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor and it provides an out-of-hours charging service. There are also three central CPS Casework Divisions: the International Justice and Organised Crime Division, the Specialist Fraud Division and the Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division (SCCTD). In addition, there is a dedicated Proceeds of Crime Division. Within SCCTD, the Special Crime Division (SCD), is responsible for prosecuting high profile cases, including corporate manslaughter cases. The CPS prosecutes criminal cases that have been investigated by the police and other investigative organisations in England and Wales. The CPS is independent, and makes its decisions independently of the Police and government.

A2. The CPS makes independent charging decisions, in accordance with The Code for Crown Prosecutors, and the Director’s Guidance on Charging (DGC) and related CPS policy. To charge someone with a criminal offence, prosecutors must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, and that a prosecution is in the public interest. When assessing the evidence, the prosecutor must consider whether there is any other material or information which might affect this decision, either by strengthening the prosecution case or by undermining it. Prosecutors will be proactive in identifying and, where possible, seeking to rectify evidential weaknesses, and will advise the police and other investigators about possible reasonable lines of inquiry, evidential requirements, pre-charge procedures, disclosure management and the overall investigation strategy

A3. When making decisions about whether to charge a person with a criminal offence, or whether to authorise an out-of-court disposal, all prosecutors subject to this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must apply the principles set out in The Code for Crown Prosecutors (The Code) and any relevant legal guidance or policy. All prosecutors subject to this MOU must take into account the DGC when handling individual cases.

A4. The Code and the DGC contain guidance and provisions that are designed to ensure that prosecutors have available to them all necessary material to make charging decisions expeditiously.

A5. Failure to comply with the provisions of either The Code or the DGC is likely to result in any of the following:

• A charging decision being deferred
• The prosecutor being unable to make a charging decision, resulting in no further action on the case
• A case being discontinued
• The prosecution being in breach of a court direction, which may imperil the progress, or the outcome, of the case
• The denial of justice for victims.

A6. To avoid these outcomes, the CPS will ask the police and relevant investigator to:

• Comply with the advice of the prosecutor
• Provide all of the material required for a charging decision
• Discharge their statutory disclosure obligations
• Execute pre- and post-charge action plans by the agreed date
• Follow advised reasonable lines of inquiry
• Comply with requests for information.

1.2 Accident Investigation Chiefs’ Council

A7. The Accident Investigation Chiefs’ Council (AICC) was established in 2019, and comprises a part time non-executive chair and the three Chiefs of the transport accident investigation branches (Air, Marine and Rail).

A8. Its purpose is to optimise co-ordination and synergies between the three accident investigation branches, and enhance their individual and collective effectiveness, resilience and efficiency, while safeguarding their functional independence.

1.3 Accident Investigation Branches (AIB) - General

A9. The sole purpose of a safety investigation conducted by an AIB is to determine the circumstances and causes of accidents and serious incidents in its respective mode of transport, promote safety action and make recommendations to prevent a recurrence. It is not the purpose of an AIB investigation to apportion blame or liability.

A10. The AIBs are functionally independent bodies within the Department for Transport, separate from the transport regulators^{[footnote 1]} and report directly to the Secretary of State on all air, marine and rail safety investigation matters.

A11. The AIBs have a collective MoU with the Chief Coroner. They also have a collective MOU with the National Police Chiefs’ Council that sets out the grounds for co-operation, such that safety investigations can proceed in parallel with criminal investigations. The AIBs are not signatories to the Work-related Deaths Protocol.

1.4 The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB)

A12. The AAIB investigates aircraft accidents and serious incidents that occur in the UK and its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. It also participates in accident and serious incident investigations worldwide where there is a specific UK interest.

A13. The AAIB conducts investigations into civil aviation accidents in accordance with the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 2018, and Regulation (EU) 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation. These regulations take account of international standards and recommended practices for this activity described in Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

1.5 The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB)

A14. The MAIB was established in 1989 with responsibility for investigating marine accidents to determine their circumstances and causes. Its legislative powers are primarily contained in Part XI of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and associated secondary legislation. The Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1743) put this framework into effect.

A15. The UK is obligated to investigate marine accidents by the International Maritime Organisation’s Maritime Safety Committee Resolution MSC.255(84) (PDF, 143KB^{[footnote 2]}, and European Council (EC) Directive 2009/18/EC^{[footnote 3]}. The EC Directive requires member states to carry out safety investigations into Very Serious Marine Casualties^{[footnote 4]} involving most types of vessels. The obligation does not apply to leisure craft carrying less than 12 passengers, fishing vessels under 15 metres in length, and certain other types of craft including warships.

A16. The Accident Reporting and Investigation Regulations are the foundation for the MAIB’s work. They apply to merchant ships, fishing vessels and (with some exceptions) pleasure craft. They define accidents, set out the purpose of investigations, and lay down the requirements for reporting accidents. They make provision for the ordering, notification, and conduct of investigations; but allow the Chief Inspector the necessary discretion, given the wide variety of cases, as regards when he chooses to commence an investigation into an accident or incident.

1.6 The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB)

A17. The Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 established the RAIB as the independent railway accident investigation body for the United Kingdom. The creation of the RAIB was the government’s response to a recommendation of the Public Inquiry into the collision of two trains at Ladbroke Grove in 1999. It also met a requirement of the European Union (EU) Railway Safety Directive 2004/49/EC that such a body be established by all member states.

A18. The Railways (Accident Investigation and Reporting) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/1992) provide the legislative framework needed to enable the operation of the RAIB by defining the obligations of duty holders and all other involved parties, including statutory bodies. Their scope includes the notification of accidents and incidents, the duty of cooperation, the management of evidence and the processes to be followed when publishing reports and recommendations.

A19. The RAIB is required by the 2005 Regulations to investigate certain types of serious accidents, and has discretion to investigate other accidents and incidents. Its remit covers all main line, metro and many heritage railways in the United Kingdom (UK). It also includes tramways and the UK side of the Channel Tunnel Fixed Link up to the mid-point.

A20. The RAIB has a separate MOU with the safety regulator for railways, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and the British Transport Police (BTP).

1. The transport regulators are: the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) or, in the case of the Channel Tunnel, the Intergovernmental Commission. ↩

2. MSC.255(84) - Code of the International Standards and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident (the Casualty Investigation Code). ↩

3. Directive 2009/18/EC - Establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector and amending Council Directive 1999/35/EC and Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. ↩

4. A very serious marine casualty is one that involves loss of a vessel, death, or serious pollution (as determined by the member state). ↩