Chapter 197: The Crown Prosecution Service Plan
Chapter 196 The Royal Prosecution Service Plan
Inside the second-floor cubicle of the Olmac Club.
Brougham placed a document in his hand on the desktop, and Viscount Melbourne swept it lightly, only to see that the title of the document read, “Report of an Inquiry into the Necessity of a Career Prosecutor at Scotland Yard”.
And below the title was a line of small print – Drafter: Arthur Hastings.
Viscount Melbourne pointed at the document in confusion and asked, “This is?”
Brougham smiled and said, “The same document, I believe it’s also archived over at the Ministry of the Interior, so you should see it when the Prime Minister officially announces his cabinet choices. This one, right now, is the material copied from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Chancellor’s Office.”
“May I see it?”
“Of course, and it is precisely this matter that I wanted to discuss with you when I came over today.”
After receiving Brougham’s permission, Viscount Melbourne picked up this document and casually flipped through it.
–Since the creation of the London Metropolitan Police in 1829, the problem of crime in the London area is in the process of continuous improvement, but as the efforts to combat crime continue to increase, the Greater London Police Department is faced with a lack of sufficient prosecutorial talent.
When a criminal case arises in which the person concerned is unwilling to go to court for various reasons, such as fear of reprisals and lack of time, but must be prosecuted according to the requirements of the law, the Ministry of the Interior usually assigns the police officers involved in the investigation to prosecute the case on his or her behalf.
However, due to the varying cultural qualities of police officers, it is not uncommon for police officers to be unfamiliar with the rules of prosecution and the relevant legal provisions.
Although police officers can apply for legal expert advice in the investigation of cases before making a decision to arrest or prosecute, such avenues are narrow and the results are often unsatisfactory.
Access to expert assistance is particularly important in major complex cases of murder or assault with a weapon, and the Greater London Police Authority has repeatedly had to refer to the Home Office for the assistance of specialized solicitors.
When the Home Office is unable to send a solicitor, the Metropolitan Police often has to spend its budget on specialist lawyers to prosecute on its behalf, but in practice the police officers responsible for prosecuting are sometimes tempted to delegate cases to mediocre solicitors in the Magistrates’ Courts in order to obtain petty favours, thus delaying the process.
In order to ensure the success of prosecution activities, the police, under pressure to perform, sometimes choose to search for evidence against the accused by all means, while ignoring evidence in his favor, resulting in unfair treatment of the accused.
In addition, when dealing with cases of the poor, financial constraints often prevent thorough investigation and collection of relevant evidence, resulting in discrepancies between the investigation and the actual situation, to the detriment of the public interest.
In view of, the above defects, reform of the London area litigation system, the establishment of a unified public prosecutor’s demand has been imminent, on this issue, combined with the actual police work, I hereby solemnly put forward the following five proposals ……
Viscount Melbourne held this material and carefully studied it, until he finished reading the last period, he then put down the document in his hand, smiled and took a long breath, “Officer Arthur Hastings, this is really a young man who brings surprises to people all the time.”
Brougham poured himself a glass of wine and spoke, “He took a big risk in doing so, after all, he picked some of Scotland Yard’s faults to the surface in this report, and it was also a direct report that crossed over to the Greater London Police Department. To be honest, when I first saw this document, I wondered if this chap didn’t want to do it?”
Melbourne put down the document in his hands and leaned back on the sofa for a while in contemplation, before suddenly speaking, “Maybe that lad really does think that way too?”
Brougham took a sip of his wine and lifted his glass, looking at the clear liquid inside with a raised eyebrow, “Hm? What’s this about? I actually have some acquaintance with the lad Arthur, in case you didn’t know, Arthur was one of the first graduates of our University of London, and in hindsight, will probably be one of the best by far.
He is doing a marvelous job at Scotland Yard, as he did when he was at school. You may only know him for those performances after work, but I have to be honest and tell you that Arthur was an Academic Gold Medalist every year when he was at school.”
This paragraph from Brougham is close to writing on my face that I really like Arthur Hastings as a lad.
Viscount Melbourne, of course, understood what this future cabinet colleague meant, and he spoke with a tearful smile, “Mr. Brougham, I certainly have never doubted Officer Hastings’ ability to do his job, no matter whether it’s those deeds I read in the newspaper or this research report in front of me, it’s enough to show that he always has the protection of the public interest at heart. However, you may not be aware that Officer Hastings was actually at the Ormac Club just now. I had a brief chat with the chap and he said he was feeling a little tired of his recent work and that it was nice to play the piano sometimes.
On top of that, I’ve heard from my lovely sister that it seems that Inspector Hastings has agreed to an invitation from the London Philharmonic Society to take up the position of pianist and conductor of their third orchestra.”
“That ……” Brougham was also taken aback by the news, John Mill hadn’t told him about it.
But soon, he associated with some things, he suddenly spoke: “Young people, some novel ideas is also very normal, especially like Arthur this kind of ability outstanding, work is not good will naturally think of a different way of life, after all, even if not as a police officer, he still has a variety of options. But to lose him would undoubtedly be a great loss to the public of Britain.”
Melbourne had a request to make, and naturally he wouldn’t argue with Brougham when he said that, and he didn’t have the inclination to do so, after all Arthur had only just agreed to pre-order a gramophone on behalf of Mrs. Norton, and he had been favorably impressed by his first contact with Arthur, the country lad from York.
Melbourne advised, “There’s no need to leave the government, even if you want a new challenge. And I think that if Inspector Hastings can do his job well, playing the piano on the side is not a bad idea.”
Brougham heard that Viscount Melbourne actually agreed with his idea so smoothly, and could not help but feel a little happy.
It was at this moment that Viscount Melbourne suddenly added his price tag, pointing to the cover of the document, “I think that Sergeant Hastings’ request for the establishment of a Police Public Prosecution Service is perfectly reasonable. Perhaps we could set up a committee of inquiry in the House of Commons, and if all is true, then I would suggest that the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor’s Department join together to form a unified public prosecution service.
After all, this department of public prosecution involves both police work and legal work, and the combined efforts of the two departments will surely go a long way towards building this department. And the leadership of this prosecution department well …… I think the head of the Attorney General can be part-time, or from the British Bar Association to draw a senior QC as, and responsible for the coordination of the prosecution department and the police department of the deputy need to be a deep understanding of the police work and work enthusiastically, the heart of the public interest of young police officers to assume the role of. ”
Viscount Melbourne had put his word on it, and it was a crying shame who this deputy would be.
However, Brougham did not immediately show delight, on the contrary, he was overwhelmed by this sudden big concession from the other party.
Because just now, Viscount Melbourne’s words were basically tantamount to completely transferring the jurisdiction of this new department to the Chancellery.
Because regardless of whether the person holding the regular position was the Attorney General or the Royal Barrister, these people were all appointed by the Royal Chancellor.
And serving as if it was Arthur who served as the deputy, his worthless resume of a University of London graduate placed in the eyes of Brougham, the founder of the University of London, it would be a very different story.
University of London history department first batch of graduates, academic gold medal, times the first place, this series of things together, it is rooted in the blue, than Brougham jurisdiction of the attorney general and the royal barrister is still pro, simply is the first line of the first line, the serious University of London is the flag of the meter.
Although Brougham does not understand the Chinese idiom, but he still understands the reasoning of nothing to offer is not treachery is theft.
He smiled and put down his wine glass, did not immediately agree, but turned to ask: “You said with me before that you wanted to talk to me about things in the name of friends, I wonder which thing that was actually for?”
Viscount Melbourne heard the other party take the initiative to mention it and stopped hiding it.
“Do you know Mr. George Norton of the Tories? He has recently been considering breaking away from the Tory party and going back to being a proper lawman. And as a good friend of his, I’m glad to see him making that change. So, knowing that you are well-informed, and that you are also the President of the English Bar, I thought I would ask you on his behalf if you could recommend any work that would suit him?”
Hearing this, Brougham smiled and let out a long breath as he pulled out a pen and paper and leaned back on the sofa, “I wonder what Mr. Norton is asking for?”
The Viscount of Melbourne smiled and refilled another glass of wine for him, “He’s got a family now, he’s not fit to travel too far, so near London would be best. And he has children now, so his daily expenses are not low, so an annual salary of a thousand pounds or more should be fine, and then there’s the words ……”
(End of chapter)