A new code for Crown counsel has been created for court prosecutors, the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) announced today.

Director of the DPP, Rory Field, said the aim of the new code was to serve as an important tool for the Crown counsel in the department, as well as enhance the public’s understanding of the job they do.

“Prosecutors work for the public and in the public interest,” said Mr Field. “Some of their work is done in open court and this often reaches a wider audience through the media. There are many ways in which individual members of the public may encounter prosecutors including as victims, witnesses, defendants or jurors trying the cases that prosecutors present in court.

“Before cases reach a courtroom, however, prosecutors are occupied advising the police and making important decisions about whether people should be charged with criminal offences and, if so, what charges they should face. For obvious reasons, these aspects of their work cannot be done under the public gaze, but prosecutors should still try to explain what principles they apply when making these decisions and why.

“In many countries around the world prosecutors have published codes that guide their conduct and structure their decision-making. Today Bermuda’s own Department of Public Prosecutions does the same.”

The code is available on the DPP website via www.dpp.gov.bm.