the Crown Prosecution Service
/ðə ˌkraʊn ˌprɒsɪˈkjuːʃn sɜːvɪs/
/ðə ˌkraʊn ˌprɑːsɪˈkjuːʃn sɜːrvɪs/
(abbreviation the CPS)
- an independent government organization started in 1986 that decides whether a person should be charged with a crime in a court of law in England or Wales. Before 1986, the police made this decision themselves. The person in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service is the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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the Crown Prosecution Service