As a professional investigative & enforcement services business, we take our legal and ethical responsibilities seriously and, whilst we will always attempt to work with our clients, to find a lawful and ethical conclusion, to their instructions, we do have a legal obligation to both our clients and the wider community, should certain statutory offences be discovered, during our investigation. The law places a serious obligation on us, whereby, we are not permitted to disclose specific offences to any person not permitted to have knowledge of such offences.

With regards to your instructions, and at any time during our investigation, we may refer our findings with our ‘in-house’ legal team, primarily to ensure that our further enquiries, recovery of evidence, statements from offenders, witnesses & third-parties, remain within the realms of both civil and criminal law, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland.

Accordingly, where sufficient evidence is discovered, as our clients, we will provided access to our legal department, who, following initial consultation and your agreement to instigate a private prosecution, will then make the appropriate applications to the magistrates court in England & Wales or a sheriff or justice of the peace court for the issue of a ‘Summons’ directing the offender to appear before the relevant court, in the district the originating offence(s) occurred. Once issued by the court, our agents will attempt to serve the offender, at the address provided by him and supported by our enquiries.

However, you should be aware of the following information, whilst not a detailed description, does provide sufficient information to assist you with initiating a private prosecution,

A private prosecution is a prosecution started by a private individual, or entity who/which is not acting on behalf of the police or other prosecuting authority. A 'prosecuting authority' includes, but is not limited to, an entity which has a statutory power to prosecute. There are a number of organisations that regularly prosecute cases before the courts of England and Wales but they do so as private individuals, using the right of any individual to bring a private prosecution. One example is the RSPCA.

The right to bring private prosecutions is preserved by section 6(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act (POA) 1985.:

• the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has power under section 6(2) POA 1985 to take over private prosecutions;
• in some cases, the private prosecutor must seek the consent of the Attorney General or of the DPP before the commencement of proceedings.

In principle, there is nothing wrong in allowing a private prosecution to run its course through to verdict and, in appropriate cases, sentence. The fact that a private prosecution succeeds is not an indication that the case should have been prosecuted by the CPS. Parliament has specifically allowed for this possibility by the way section 6 is constructed: there is no requirement for the CPS to take over a private prosecution.

However, there will be instances where it is appropriate for the CPS to exercise the Director's powers under section 6(2) POA 1985, either to continue the prosecution or to discontinue or stop it.