Letter: High number of cases where prosecution judged to be not in the public interest should be scrutinised

A letter from Dr Paul Kingsley:
Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor
By Letters
Published 27th Sep 2023, 06:00 BST

​According to Table 3B of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) Statistical Bulletin Tables, in the last five years there were 2,224 cases where the PPS believed there was sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction, but prosecution was judged to be not in the public interest (https://www.ppsni.gov.uk/pps-statistical-bulletin#toc-1).

There is a PPS Code for Prosecutors which lists 13 considerations for when prosecution is not in the public interest (https://www.ppsni.gov.uk/files/ppsni/publications/PPS%20Code%20for%20Prosecutors.pdf).

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One of these is “where details may be made public that could harm sources of information, international relations or national security”.

There is a PPS Code for Prosecutors which lists 13 considerations for when prosecution is not in the public interest. One of these is “where details may be made public that could harm sources of information, international relations or national security”There is a PPS Code for Prosecutors which lists 13 considerations for when prosecution is not in the public interest. One of these is “where details may be made public that could harm sources of information, international relations or national security”
There is a PPS Code for Prosecutors which lists 13 considerations for when prosecution is not in the public interest. One of these is “where details may be made public that could harm sources of information, international relations or national security”

Presumably, that includes relations with the Irish Republic and its concerns about protecting the “peace process”.

Worryingly, the Code says of the list: “These considerations are not comprehensive or exhaustive”.

These other matters are hidden from view.

The former Chief Constable cited the public interest defence in explaining to the High Court why he took into account the likely lack of support of Sinn Fein for policing before acting as he did.

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There needs to be public confidence that political considerations, and in particular to desire to avoid upsetting Sinn Fein, have not infected other aspects of the justice system.

The number of non-prosecutions because they are not in the public interest is very high.

Would not an independent scrutiny of these cases reassure us that the PPS has not, at times, followed the former Chief Constable’s line of public interest reasoning about the need to keep Sinn Fein happy?

Dr Paul Kingsley, Belfast

Related topics:Sinn Fein