Our Divisions
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Mission
To provide an impartial and effective State Prosecution service committed to professional excellence and integrity.
Our Work
The State Prosecution Division (SPD) is one of the organisational extensions of the Attorney-General's role as the Public Prosecutor. Under Article 35(8) of the Constitution, the Attorney-General has powers to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for any offence. Section 336 of the Criminal Procedure Code further provides that the Attorney-General shall be the Public Prosecutor, with control and direction of all criminal prosecutions and proceedings.
Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) and Assistant Public Prosecutors (APPs) in the SPD are grouped in four directorates, each handling different kinds of criminal cases such as crimes against persons, property crimes, commercial crimes and corruption. They conduct the majority of the criminal prosecutions in Singapore at the Subordinate Courts. They also assist in disposal and coroner's inquiries.
Besides criminal litigation, the SPD also exercises the Attorney-General's control and direction of criminal prosecutions by directing law enforcement agencies in their investigations. Investigation papers from various enforcement agencies are submitted to SPD DPPs for them to evaluate whether any offences have been disclosed and, if so, what charges should be preferred against the accused persons. Where further investigations are necessary, SPD DPPs give directions for them to be carried out.
Certain matters such as criminal trials in the Magistrate's Courts are delegated to the Police Prosecution Branch. Although not administratively part of the SPD, the Police Prosecution Branch is functionally linked to, and under the authority of, the Senior DPP (Courts).
The SPD is responsible for the training of DPPs and APPs new to prosecution work, and serves as a training ground for them to hone their litigation and advocacy skills. These new officers will benefit from closer supervision given by their respective directors who will advise and guide them in their development.
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