Public Prosecutors and Discretion

Abstract The role of the public prosecutor in sentencing has become the subject of intense debate in recent years. Experts recognize that their influence on sentencing practice is profound, and that the implications of their influence is far reaching. In this original study the author assesses the influence of the public prosecutor in Scotland, the Netherlands, England and Wales and Germany over the process of sentencing offenders in the criminal justice system. This study offers a detailed analysis of prosecutorial power to issue sanctions, such as fines, warnings and referrals to rehabilitation at the pre-trial stage, and develops three new models of justice seeking to analyse and explain the increasing use of prosecutorial power. The overlap between the role of prosecutor and judges is also discussed. This book is an original enquiry into an aspect of the role of the prosecutor which is increasingly important in major criminal justice systems, and will be of great interest to all those interested in the criminal justice system and the sentencing of offenders, and in comparative criminal justice policy and practice.