Petition · past parliament

Stop the CPS wasting tax payer money by prosecuting for finding £20 on the floor

Rejected 18 signatures

What the petition asks

A woman has been found guilty of theft for finding £20 on a shop floor and not handing it in. Rather than being dealt with by police caution, the matter was taken to court. The woman pleaded guilty.

This is surely not a good use of taxpayer money for the CPS to prosecute this type of "crime".
For more information on the example above, please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-39119990

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

Decisions about charging people in specific cases are taken by the police and the Crime Prosecution Service, not the UK Government or Parliament.

If you'd like the law on theft to be changed, you could start a new petition about that.

Timeline

1 Mar 2017 Petition opened for signatures
8 Mar 2017 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 18
Status Rejected
Rejected 8 Mar 2017

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.