Procurator fiscal

Now this is interesting: In Scotland, the procurator fiscal is the equivalent of a district attorney -- the public prosecutor who represents the state in a criminal trial.  Okay, that's not really interesting, but what is interesting is that until 2003, there was no such equivalent in England.

Historically, anyone could make a criminal charge, but the attorney general could dismiss it. Most prosecutions were conducted by the police although, strangely enough, the officers had to do so as private citizens.

A public prosecution office was set up in 1880, but it only covered major cases; it wasn't until 1986 did the Crown Prosecution Service begin to serve the entire country, and only 7 years ago did it take over full responsibility for prosecutions.

Which perhaps explains why Law & Order UK debuted only last year.