The Authorised Professional Practice (APP) has been approved by the College of Policing as the official and most up-to-date source of professional practice on policing. South Yorkshire Police have adopted APP as their Statement of Agreed Policy. This is the agreed policy on Prosecution and Case Management and you may wish to refer to the APP section now.
South Yorkshire Police will seek to operate within agreed National APP guidance unless exceptional circumstances exist.
This policy is supported by the subsequent procedural instructions.
- Pi15.5 – Requesting Information from Healthcare Professionals including Liaison with Hospitals (victims)
- Pi15.9 - File Preparation/ Processing/ Submission/ Time Limits
File Preparation
Cases must adhere to National File Standards and the Director’s Guidance; these policies mandate the case material required for various offence and case types. There is specific guidance within DG6 pertaining to evidence and disclosure standards; a key change being that rebuttable presumption material should be provided to CPS for anticipated not guilty plea and indictable only submissions, including within the pre-charge advice submission.
Witness Care
The work of the Witness Care Unit must comply with the Victim’s Code of Practice; this ensures that we provide the best service for victims by providing updates, applying for special measures tailored to their needs.
Data Protection
All work within the CJU must comply with the policies set out by the Data Office. This includes ensuring that Connect contains accurate data for nominals on the system, and case documents that are added to Connect and shared with CPS comply with the Joint Principles on Redaction from the NPCC & CPS to prevent breaches of data. This is also outlined within the APP under Information Management.
Requesting information from healthcare professionals
CJU have a team who are responsible for requesting medical evidence pertaining to victims of crime from hospitals. They do not request evidence pertaining to defendants and cannot request from a GP. They are guided by the above policy and Data Protection guidance. Medical evidence is only required for cases destined to be heard in the Crown Court where there is a serious injury, i.e., a break to the bone whereby the evidence is essential to prove the offence or has the potential to influence sentencing decisions.
Equality Act 2010
The Act creates a statutory requirement for all Functions and Policies (Including Procedural Instructions) to be analysed for their effect on equality, diversity and human rights, with due regard to the General Equality Duty.
In principle, this document has been assessed for discrimination, which cannot be justified, among other diverse groups.
The Code of Ethics published in 2014 and revised in 2024 by the College of Policing requires us all to do the right thing in the right way.
The 2024 Code of Ethics is not a statutory Code of Practice, it has the same status as other guidance produced by the College. The Code of Ethics is supported by the Code of Practice for Ethical Policing. This is a statutory Code of Practice which provides chief officers with direction on promoting and supporting ethical and professional behaviour within their forces.
Human Rights/Discretion
The purpose of providing policy is to give an indication to staff of the expected course of action. However it is not possible to cater for every possible combination of factors that would justify a departure from stated policy. The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the proper use of discretion at all times and nothing within this policy and associated procedural instructions prohibits the proper use of discretion in appropriate circumstances.
Where action is taken that has the potential to interfere with an individual's Human Rights, the reasons behind the making of the decision to act in that way should be recorded on the appropriate forms, or where this is not practicable, in pocket books or policy logs.
Rights of redress for members of the public:
Anyone who feels that a member of staff has behaved incorrectly or unfairly, or who is dissatisfied with organisational matters, service delivery or other operational policing issues, has the right to make a complaint.
Initial action should be taken in one of the following ways:
- Complain in writing or in person to the Senior Officer at the appropriate police station or to the Chief Constable of the force concerned.
- Visit a local Citizens' Advice Bureau
- Contact a Solicitor
Rights of redress for South Yorkshire Police personnel:
South Yorkshire Police personnel who feel they have grounds for concern in relation to the implementation of policies may, as appropriate:
- Pursue concerns through their line manager.
- Contact a First Contact Advisor.
- Pursue a grievance formally through the South Yorkshire Police Grievance Resolution Procedure.
- Seek advice from their staff association or trades union.
Use procedural instruction Pi23.11 - Management of Complaints, in the section entitled Handling Complaints relating to Direction and Control.
This statement of agreed policy is managed by the Head of Criminal Justice Department.
