Time-Barred Summary Only Offences
The recent case of DPP v Jinks [2024] EWHC 3342 (Admin) 20/12/24 considered an interesting point regarding time limits concerning summary only offences.
Briefly, the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) presented the CPS with ‘a case file’ regarding whether a serving police officer should be charged with sending a grossly offensive message by a public electronic communications network contrary to s.127 of the Communications Act 2003 (CA 2003).
The first prosecutor who considered the case file, concluded that there was insufficient evidence to proceed to charge.
The IOPC was dissatisfied with this decision and challenged it.
The second prosecutor considered the same case file but concluded that there was sufficient evidence to proceed to charge.
Given that the offence in question is summary only, the question arose as to whether the Crow was statute barred?
Section 127(5)(b) of the CA 2003 provides:
“An information or complaint relating to an offence under this section may be tried by a magistrates’ count in England and Wales [or Northern Ireland] if it is laid…..before the end of the period of 6months beginning with the day on which evidence comes to the knowledge of the prosecutor which the prosecutor considers sufficient to justify proceedings”.
The District Judge considered the point and ruled that the six months commenced when the first prosecutor considered the case file and so the Crown was out of time to lay an information or complaint.
The Crown appealed by way of case stated.
It was recognised that there are exceptions to the general rule that summary proceedings must be commenced within six months of the commission of the alleged offence, but the Court held that this was not one of them.
Their Lordships considered a raft of case law, including Morgans v DPP [1999] 1 W.L.R. 968, DC, and DPP v Cook [2022] EWHC 2963 (Admin).
Their Lordships concluded that the relevant start date was the date on which the first prosecutor (who acted in a timely manner) acquired knowledge of the content of the material evidence.
There was also the public interest point in favour of summary only proceedings being brought and determined expeditiously.
In the circumstances, their Lordships dismissed the Crown’s appeal.
This is an important case, especially for our Magistrates’ Court teams.
For further details:
When Does the Clock Start Running? DPP v Jinks [2024] EWHC 3341 – Lexology