Reforms proposed for private prosecutions

Currently, private prosecutions are not subject to formally agreed standards—Crown Prosecution Service guidance applies only on an advisory basis.

Last week, however, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched a ‘Consultation on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutors in the criminal justice system’. Its proposals—based on the Justice Select Committee’s 2020 report, ‘Private Prosecutions: safeguards’—would introduce a binding code of conduct, requiring private prosecutions to be conducted in a proportionate way and for a clear and valid reason.

There could be mandatory inspections to test compliance, a formal accreditation system for private prosecutors, and a public register of private prosecutors and the volume, type and results of prosecutions they bring.

Sanctions could include restrictions on bringing prosecutions, or a requirement to obtain prior consent from the Attorney General or Director of Public Prosecutions.

The MoJ consultation also proposes safeguards for the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), a fast-track process for magistrates to handle minor offences without a court hearing. SJP prosecutors would be required to engage with defendants and review mitigating circumstances before moving to prosecute.

Private prosecutions have been beset by a slew of high-profile scandals, notably the Post Office Horizon debacle, and the misuse of the SJP against alleged fare-dodgers by train operating companies which resulted in about 60,000 cases being declared void last year.

Justice minister Sarah Sackman KC said: ‘One of the greatest concerns for the purposes of this consultation is how the unacceptable behaviour of the Post Office as a private prosecutor could have gone undetected for so long—and whether better oversight and regulation could have prevented it.

‘As things stand, there is no coordinated oversight or scrutiny of the steps private prosecutors must take before commencing a prosecution. There are also no quality assurance processes to ensure that private prosecutors are taking proper account of whether a prosecution is in the public interest… we must address these issues as a matter of urgency.’ The consultation ends on 8 May.