Prosecutors in Suffolk’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are adopting a new approach to give communities more say in the way justice is delivered in their neighbourhoods.

Six CPS Lawyers have volunteered to take on the role of a Community Prosecutor. Each Community Prosecutor will be appointed to one of the six priority neighbourhoods in Suffolk. The aim is to make local criminal justice agencies more accountable to the people they represent. The Prosecutors will engage with communities alongside the police, courts and other agencies and will ensure that communities’ priorities inform decision-making and local CPS priorities.

The Community Prosecutors will work closely with the respective Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) to establish the communities’ key priorities and will attend monthly SNT meetings.

At these meetings the prosecutors will meet with key representatives of the local community to establish their concerns about crime in the local area. They will regularly feedback to their colleagues and will act as contact points for legal or procedural questions relevant to potential prosecutions.

Through implementation of our Community Prosecutor approach we will:

- Make more community-aware casework decisions, for example, by sharing with prosecution teams the concerns of the local community which may then be taken into account when considering the public interest stage of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

- Become more involved in “problem solving” of local crime and disorder priorities, building on the work already being carried out by the anti-social behaviour and other “specialist” prosecutors.

- Increase the visibility of CPS to communities and other agencies responding to local crime and disorder concerns.

The six priority Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) within Suffolk are:

- South East Ipswich (Priory Heath, Gainsborough and Holywells wards)

- South West Ipswich (Sprites, Stoke Park, Bridge and Gipping wards)

- Central Ipswich (St Margarets, Westgate and Alexandra wards)

- Lowestoft (All wards)

- Newmarket (All Saints, Exning, St Marys and Severals wards)

- Bury St. Edmunds (Abbeygate, Risbygate, Eastgate, Southgate, Moreton Hall, Westgate, Sextons, Horringer Court, Minden, St Olaves and Northgate wards).

Nigel Gilbert, District Crown Prosecutor and CPS Lead for Community Prosecutor Scheme said: “Building community confidence in the work of the CPS is one of our key priorities. The decisions of our Prosecutors directly affect the lives of the community we serve; therefore, we are delighted to be rolling out the Community Prosecutors in Suffolk.

“We are bound by the Code for Crown Prosecutors in all of our decisions, which is applied Nationally. Through the work of Community Prosecutors we can ensure that Suffolk priorities and concerns are brought to the attention of our staff.”

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Stewart Gull said: “Regular and consistent communication with our communities is vital, not only to find out what their concerns are in their neighbourhoods, but to also let them know what is being done to tackle issues impacting on their daily lives. The introduction of Community Prosecutors in our six Priority Neighbourhoods will help strengthen relationships further between our residents and the partner agencies in the county. In turn, we hope communities will gain even further confidence in the criminal justice system.”