Within the manual there are two foundational guidelines – The Code of Conduct for Crown Prosecutors Guideline and the Decision to Prosecute Guideline. Updates to the guidelines include:
- Explicitly requiring prosecutors to provide the court with an accused’s criminal record when speaking to bail.
- Requiring Crown prosecutors to consider whether the use of force defence in the Criminal Code should preclude prosecution against victims of crime.
- Consideration must be given to the role of the individual in the incident, including whether they are the victim of crime.
- If an incident occurs in a remote or rural location, and self-defence is raised, a prosecutor may give consideration to location.
- Explicitly directing prosecutors that it will generally be in the public interest to proceed with a prosecution where:
- The victim was vulnerable, including a person who resides in a rural or remote geographical location.
- An offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor.
- The accused is likely a repeat offender, the accused has reoffended or breached while bound by bail or sentencing conditions.
“We’re keeping a promise we made to Albertans to update Alberta’s Crown prosecutor’s manual. The updated manual will better support prosecutors in their decision-making, including helping them to better protect victims of sexual and domestic violence and persons who live in rural and remote communities, and to prosecute those who commit hate-motivated offences and repeat offenders.”
While Crown prosecutors operate and make decisions independently from government and political interests, they are also accountable to the attorney general. Accountability is achieved through the publicly available Crown prosecutor guidelines issued by attorneys general across Canada.