PRIVATE PROSECUTION COSTS: NOT JUST FOR THE RICH
Private prosecution is often considered to be a luxury reserved only for the very rich. But with cost recovery now a standard feature of these types of cases, anyone can exercise their right to prosecute a criminal case privately – regardless of how wealthy they are. PRIVATE CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS We tend to think about individuals taking each other to court in terms of civil prosecution, with criminal investigations and prosecutions thought of as being solely the realm of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In fact, everyone has the right to bring a private criminal prosecution against another person, without the involvement of either the police or the CPS. Private criminal prosecutions have become increasingly common as cuts to the police and courts system have left many victims of crime without proper avenues to justice. Many private prosecutions involve financial crimes such as fraud, although in recent years there has been a rise in the number of priv