Select Committee on Home Affairs Minutes of Evidence



Examination of Witnesses (Questions 20-24)

MR DAVID CALVERT-SMITH, QC, MR RICHARD FOSTER AND MR STEVE PRZYBYLSKI

TUESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2002

  20. It would be useful if we could have that.
  (Mr Calvert-Smith) I think they were ACPO figures. This was an ACPO survey.

Chairman

  21. ACPO have drawn up, as you probably know, guidelines, 120 pages of them, for senior investigating officers which they have recently presented to the Home Office. I am not sure what the status of the guidelines is so far. Were you consulted about those?

1  See Ev 5.


  (Mr Calvert-Smith) I do not think we were, no.

  22. Do you think you should have been?
  (Mr Calvert-Smith) I think that a recent and very welcome and perhaps long overdue structure which Sir David Phillips and I have instituted of regular bilateral meetings has this topic on the agenda as to whether ACPO would, while retaining their operational police independence, seek advice more often on this sort of topic from the CPS. They do on a number of occasions already. To change the subject entirely, I have been invited on to a Committee (and I am very grateful to have been invited) looking at shooting incidents in which members of the public are killed by police officers and as to whether the CPS can have an input in that sort of field, but I do not believe we were consulted so far as this was concerned.

  23. Do you have any plans to draw up guidelines for Crown prosecutors who are involved in these cases beyond normal guidelines?
  (Mr Calvert-Smith) We do not have any plans to do so at the moment but, as I have said on a number of occasions to Mr Prosser, the inquiry that you are carrying out may well lead us to issue guidance on this sort of topic. The Chief Crown Prosecutor for Merseyside, John Holt, and of course Merseyside is one of the areas which has had a major case of this kind, has set up a conference I think for late April in which Crown prosecutors and police representatives will get together to discuss this very topic and hopefully you may get some feedback from that meeting.

  24. Thank you very much for that, Mr Calvert-Smith. Can I ask that if you have any further thoughts on this area or any further suggestions you want to make to our inquiry, you put them in writing? We would be very interested to hear from you. It would be very helpful.2
  (Mr Calvert-Smith) We shall.

  Chairman: Thank you very much. Can I thank you and Mr Foster and Mr Przybylski for coming today and for giving evidence so clearly and helpfully.

2  See Vol II, Ev 33-7.


 


 
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