Mate had a fairly serious smash about 4 weeks ago (only car involved). Police said at the time they were going to prosecute him for driving without due care (amongst other charges).

Now I was fairly sure the police had to send a Notice of Intended Prosecution with 14 days.

If nothing has been received within that time - can the police still prosecute him?

(By the way - it really is for a mate - not me! :-)

Erm, if a policeman tells you that they're intending to prosecute, that is the Notice of Intention to Prosecute (NIP). So he's already had it verbally, and therefore doesn't need it in writing.

If an accident is involved (i.e., it's not just a speeding offence) then I believe the police have up to 6 months to prosecute anyway.

If he was verbally reported, then he will have been given a verbal NIP, which is along the lines of "You will be reported for consideration of the question of prosecuting you for the offences of!!!!!!!!!!!!"

If that is the case then there is no requirement to send a written Notice of intended prosecution.

If they decide to prosecute, then information must be laid before Magistrates within 6 months of the commital of the alleged offence, even though it can take up to a year before the case is actually heard

Thanks for clearing that up ... I'm guessing then that I must have got this 14 days thing from traffic offences where a police officer is not actually present. e.g. the obvious one like being caught in a speed trap.

Am I right in saying you have to receive a NIP within 14 days for the police to be able to prosecute for these type of offences?

[Edited by fubar - 10/28/2002 4:30:11 PM]

You are right in so much that a written NIP is only issued where no Police Officer is present for example at a camera site, or where you have not been given a verbal NIP.

You do not have to recieve it within 14 days to be valid in respect of a prosecution. If a written NIP is required, it must be sent within 14 days of the offence occuring to the last known address of the registered keeper (which in the case of a company vehicle would be to the works address).

You may not recieve it for some time for a whole number of reasons, such as having only recently purchased the vehicle, but that NIP would still be valid, and it would be deemed as being legitimate and having been sent.

So in theory an NIP could arrive some weeks after the offence was commited and it would still be deemed legitimate. Sorry.

T.C thanks for the reply - guess I'll have to let my mate know that he should expect bad news.