Prosecutions policy

The RSPCA is committed to protecting animals from cruelty, neglect and abuse through fair, independent and responsible enforcement of animal welfare law. Our Prosecutions Policy explains how the RSPCA considers criminal proceedings in cases where animal welfare has been compromised, outlining the legal framework, decision-making principles and safeguards that guide our approach.

Purpose

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) charitable purposes are to promote kindness and to prevent or suppress cruelty to animals.

The purpose of this prosecution policy is to inform the public of the RSPCA’s prosecution role and to demonstrate that this aspect of the RSPCA’s work is carried out in a fair and consistent manner.

This policy applies to all prosecutions brought by or on behalf of the RSPCA and plays no part in the prosecution process applied by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Scope

The Prosecutions Department is independent of the RSPCA Inspectorate and the Society's Chief Legal Counsel provides overarching governance.
The review and decision making function is undertaken by members of the Prosecution Department.

The Prosecutions Department will normally only consider cases that have been subject to investigation by RSPCA inspectors. Other cases will normally be referred to the relevant investigating or prosecuting authority.

The RSPCA will instruct lawyers in private practice to conduct the litigation and the prosecution on the RSPCA’s behalf, including all advocacy before the courts. They provide legal oversight and an independent assessment of the decision to prosecute, as well as advice on the continued progress of the case, as it develops.

Roles & Responsibilities

The Head of Prosecutions is responsible for ensuring the policy is reviewed, updated and communicated. Heads of Departments & Line Managers are responsible for ensuring that this policy is complied with.
All staff have an obligation to be aware of and comply with this Policy.

Legal & Regulatory Framework

The RSPCA has investigated and prosecuted animal welfare offences since its founding in 1824. The RSPCA believes it is self-evident that if legislation to protect animals is to be effective it must be adequately enforced.

The RSPCA considers its prosecution function to be integral to the advancement of its charitable purposes for the public benefit. The Society has a long established expertise in the prosecution of cases involving animal welfare and has built up a useful body of precedent and case law.

The authority of the RSPCA Council Trustees to institute criminal proceedings pursuant to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1932 is delegated to the Prosecutions Department under the control and management of The Chief Legal Counsel.

The RSPCA prosecutes offences without the benefit of statutory powers and by way of private prosecutions. The right of a private individual/body to prosecute exists in common law and this right was preserved by Section 6(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

Investigations carried out by the RSPCA Inspectorate may result in the detection of criminal offences. The RSPCA will consider the prosecution of individuals who have committed offences where animals have been neglected or abused or where the welfare of animals has been, or is likely to be, compromised. Alternatives to prosecution will also be considered.

Any individual summonsed by the RSPCA may, by virtue of a S6(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, refer the case to The Crown Prosecution Service for a review of the decision to prosecute.

Following a review the CPS can discontinue the case if it considers that the case does not pass either the evidential or public interest tests, or the CPS can take the prosecution over and continue with it if there is a particular need for them to do so.

Fundraising complaints procedure

If you would like to raise a complaint about our fundraising activities, you can contact our Customer Engagement Team to submit it in the following ways:
- By emailing the Customer Engagement Team at supportercare@rspca.org.uk
- Or write to us: RSPCA Customer Engagement, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1GY
Once we receive your complaint:
- We will formally acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days.
- If a full response cannot be provided within 10 working days, we will carry out a review or investigation and provide a full and final written response within a maximum of 20 working days from the date of acknowledgement.
If, for any reason, we need more time to investigate your complaint, we will keep you informed and explain the reasons for the delay.

We aim to resolve all complaints in a timely, open, respectful and honest manner.
If you are not satisfied with the final response you receive from our Customer Engagement Team, you may choose to refer your complaint to the Fundraising Regulator. Before the Fundraising Regulator looks into your complaint, they will inquire as to whether you have allowed us the opportunity to respond to your complaint through our internal process above first.

The Fundraising Regulator oversees charities’ compliance with the Code of Fundraising Practice and can review complaints about fundraising where the complainant and the charity have been unable to reach a resolution.

Further information about submitting a complaint can be found on the Fundraising Regulator’s website: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/service/complaints-and-investigations/make-complaint
We value all feedback and use complaints as an opportunity to review and improve our fundraising practices to ensure that they meet the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and respect for our supporters.

For information on how we process your data, please see our Privacy notice.

Policy

Prosecution Principles

Prosecution principles include:-

Fair and effective prosecution is essential to the maintenance of law and order and prosecutions can and do have a positive beneficial effect in advancing animal welfare.
Prosecutions will not be instituted by the RSPCA for political, campaigning or other RSPCA purposes. A decision whether or not to prosecute will not be influenced by any possible political advantage or disadvantage to any political party, interest group, section of the community or individual.
Even if the case is serious it does not mean that a prosecution will automatically follow even if there is sufficient evidence.
The RSPCA recognises that the decision to prosecute a person suspected of an offence is an important and serious matter, given the seriousness of a criminal conviction and the penalties that may be imposed. A full analysis and review of the evidence will be done before the decision to commence proceedings is made.
Case reviewers must be fair, impartial and objective in the conduct of their duties. They must not let their own personal views about ethnic origin, gender, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation of suspected offenders play any part whatsoever in the consideration of any matter, nor must they be affected by any improper or undue influence.
Case reviewers will ensure that the proper defendant is identified and select charges which reflect the seriousness and extent of the offending and enable the case to be presented in a clear and straightforward way. In so doing, case reviewers will apply the principles set out in the CPS Code for Crown Prosecutors and this policy, and will act in the interests of justice and not for the purpose of solely obtaining a conviction.
Case reviewers will consider alternative means of dealing with an individual (other than a prosecution) in appropriate circumstances having regard to paragraph 7.2 ‘Out of Court Disposals’,(Code for Crown Prosecutor October 2018 edition).
The Prosecutions Department will do all that is possible to ensure that prosecutions are conducted fairly, expeditiously and in accordance with legal requirements.
Case reviewers will continuously review all cases in liaison with the instructed external legal service providers (prosecutors).
Case reviewers along with the prosecutor will have regard to the following factors in considering whether proceedings should be discontinued:
- New and compelling evidence not previously available, including new information which may or may not be contained in a defence case statement,
- Exceptional circumstances where it is considered no longer to be in the public interest or the interests of justice to continue the proceeding.
Defendants may offer to plead guilty to some, but not all, of the charges. Alternatively, they may want to plead guilty to a different, possibly less serious, charge because they are admitting only part of the crime. Case reviewers and/orinstructed prosecutors should only accept the defendant's plea if they think the court is able to pass a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offence(s); they must not accept a guilty plea simply because it is convenient. In considering whether the pleas offered are acceptable, Case reviewers should consider whether it is in the public interest to accept the plea, having considered advice from the prosecutor. In cases involving multiple defendants case reviewers may accept guilty pleas from one and withdraw proceedings against others provided that the criminality of the case is appropriately reflected and it is in the interests of justice.

Offence Specific Charging Policy

Hunting Act 2004

Cases involving traditional (red coat) hunts will be referred, after partial investigation to determine its viability, to the police who will be invited to conclude the investigation before passing the file to the CPS.

If the police decline to complete the investigation the RSPCA may continue.

Cases involving farm animals on commercial premises

Cases of this type will be referred to the relevant Trading Standards Department who will be invited to proceed with any prosecution arising. If that invitation is declined the RSPCA may continue with the prosecution.

Escalated prosecution decisions

If a case involving traditional (red coat) hunts, farm animals on commercial premises or an animal sanctuary is dealt with by the RSPCA, a recommendation to prosecute will require further ratification.

Retention Policy and Sensitive Personal Data

Files of evidence received from Inspectors by the Prosecutions Department will be securely retained for the following periods prior to security shredding:

in the case of no prosecution or a conclusion by way of a RSPCA caution: for 6 years and 3 months.
in the case of a prosecution: for a seven year period or the duration of any period of disqualification imposed by a court, whichever is the greater.

The Prosecution Department adheres to relevant Data Protection legislation and guidelines and personal or sensitive information is processed in accordance with those provisions.

Costs Awarded to the RSPCA

The RSPCA Prosecutions Department will take reasonable steps by such means as are lawfully available to them via the courts in relation to the recovery of costs awarded to the RSPCA by the courts.

Prosecution Oversight Panel

The Prosecution Oversight Panel is an independent panel of external professionals who review casework and casework decisions carried out by the Prosecutions Department and report on their findings.

The Prosecution Oversight Panel serves in an advisory capacity and provides independent external advice on the RSPCA’s prosecution function.

This includes ensuring the effectiveness of the function’s internal control systems, its risk management, decision making and governance processes.

The findings of each review of RSPCA prosecution casework are published on the RSPCA website.

Reporting

Regular reporting to the Society’s Board or an appropriate sub committee of the Board will take place. This will include notification of high profile matters, information about costs incurred and recovered and of reports from the Prosecutions Oversight Panel alongside statistics on Prosecution matters in general.

Complaints Handling

All complaints will be dealt with in accordance with the RSPCA national complaints procedure.

RSPCA Prosecutions Charging Guidelines

Case decisions will be reviewed and assessed having regard to the current edition of the CPS Code for Crown Prosecutors as issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions under section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

The RSPCA will only institute a private prosecution if:

the evidence shows that there is a realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge (“the evidential test”); and
it is in the public interest to prosecute (“the public interest test”).

The RSPCA supports and applies the principles contained in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors sets out the general principles for prosecutors to follow. In particular:

Each case must be considered on its own merits
Prosecutors must be fair, independent and objective
Prosecutors must act in the interests of justice

The code also provides guidance regarding the decision to prosecute. It confirms that:

The police and other investigators are responsible for conducting enquiries into alleged crime
That a prosecution should only start if the full code test has been satisfied
That the review of a case is a continuing process and account must be taken of any changes in circumstances

Contact

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, and its contents, please contact rspcapd@rspca.org.uk