Police should be given power to charge suspects, say senior officers in England

Police chiefs say delays in charging suspects are leading to backlogs of cases and guilty walking free

• CPS can't cope and people aren't getting justice. We, the police, want to fix that

The police, rather than independent prosecution lawyers, should have the power to charge suspects in most cases, three senior police chiefs have said, as they warned of a deepening crisis in the justice system.

The controversial change is being called for by the chief constables of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire forces, respectively the second, third and fourth biggest in England after the Met, the Guardian has learned.