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<p>Section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 inserted Section
22A into the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980. Under this provision, shoplifting of goods
worth £200 or less is treated as a summary only offence, unless the defendant elects
to be tried in the Crown Court. These cases can now be handled as police-led prosecutions.</p><p>Police-led
prosecutions were introduced to provide a simpler and more proportionate response
to high-volume, low-level offences where the case is uncontested, increasing police
discretion to tackle crime in their area, freeing up CPS resource to focus on more
complex cases, and generating efficiencies in the criminal justice system. The Ministry
of Justice does not maintain statistics on police-led prosecutions.</p>
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