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Criminal trials in the UK are held either in the Magistrates' Court or in the Crown Court.
In general serious crimes are tried in the Crown Court. This is because only the Crown Court has the power to impose a sentence of greater than six months (although the Magistrates may sentence for up to twelve months for a few offences in their courts).
Whether a crime is serious enough to be tried in the Crown Court or should be tried in the Magistrates' Court is usually obvious, but in border-line cases it comes down to the opinion of the Magistrates - they decide whether to keep the case or 'commit for trial' in the Crown Court.
Of course, in some really serious cases such as murder, the Magistrates must send the case straight to the Crown Court. These are called 'indictable only' offences because the process that gets the alleged criminal in front of the Crown Court is known as an 'indictment'.
Just to make matters more complicated, the law also defines what is meant by 'serious crime' in Section 93(4) of the Police Act 1997 states that a 'serious crime' ... involves the use of violence, results in substantial financial gain or is conducted by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose; or the offence is one, for which a person aged 21 years or over with no previous convictions could reasonably expect to receive a sentence of three years imprisonment or more.
If the definition in Section 93(4) is met then the police are entitled to use more intrusive surveillance powers during the investigation.
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