For the Wargrave Local History Society’s February meeting, village resident Torie Griffiths gave an interesting insight with her talk entitled My Life of Crime: Reflections of a former Crown Prosecutor.
She had had an interest in crime and criminal law from an early age.
In part, this choice was influenced by her father, who was a solicitor and later became a judge. It was natural, therefore, that Torie would study law at university, and she qualified as a solicitor in 1971.
At that time, the work of processing prosecutions was undertaken by a department of the local police force, and Torie joined the Greater Manchester police as part of their legal team.
She took time off from legal work when she had her children and then moved to Wargrave.
The Crown Prosecution Service was formed in 1986.
The previous process whereby the police decided on the charging of suspects “left much to be desired”, and Torie explained how the new system was independent of the police, although worked closely with them. At each stage the police and prosecutors look closely at the information gathered, so the case is reviewed many times.
This includes looking at information discovered by the police investigation, but not being used as part of their case, as it may have to be disclosed to the defendant’s legal team, while there may also be issues with some of the witnesses to be called, who might, for example, have a ‘history’ that could lead to their evidence being challenged in court.
Before a case is brought to trial, there are two critical factors that have to be taken into account. Firstly, would the evidence to be presented in court be reasonably likely to result in a conviction of the suspect – if not, then the case ought not to proceed. Secondly, if there is sufficient evidence, is it in the public interest to proceed with the case.
Torie spent many years in prosecuting suspects on behalf of the Crown at the Magistrates’ Courts in Berkshire – work that could be challenging, and certainly never dull.
No two cases were ever the same – even for outwardly similar cases, there might be a different defence, or there might be mitigating circumstances that had to be taken into account.
Some cases, however, seemed a little surprising, such as that of a man who was disqualified from driving. He had then applied for a second licence – in the name of his dog – although it was ‘some time’ before the police became aware of that.
Subsequently, Torie moved to work preparing cases for the Crown Court.
Although she no longer presented the case at a trial, the work managing 70 to 100 serious cases at a time was demanding.
Not only did the evidence have to be assessed, so also did the credibility of witnesses and possible mitigating factors which may lead to charges being dropped or changed to a lesser offence. Explaining the reasons for those decisions to the victim, though, could be a difficult task.
The Society’s planned programme is at www.wargravehistory.org.uk – where the latest information can be found, or email [email protected] to confirm meeting details.
Peter Delaney
