No duty of care to victims

Vicario v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis CA TLR 4 January

It is established law that novel categories of negligence should only be recognised incrementally and by analogy with established categories. The same must apply the other way around: it would be particularly difficult to establish a duty of care in a situation closely analogous to one where the law had already denied the existence of such a duty. It is obvious that a victim could not complain if he did not want a prosecution, but the authorities decided to go ahead with a prosecution. It would not be reasonable to impose a duty on the police, which might require prosecutors to weigh the private interests of the victim against their general public duties. Accordingly, the police owe no duty of care to victims when taking a decision whether or not to prosecute a suspected offender, even where the decision takes into account the interest of the victims.