Skip to main content

Accessibility controls

Contrast
Main content area

North West

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the main prosecuting authority in England and Wales. In our daily operations we work in partnership with all agencies in the criminal justice system. We work especially closely with the police, although we are independent of them.

North West mapThe CPS has 14 Areas across England and Wales - the CPS North West Area covers the counties of Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Lancashire and serves a population of 4.8 million people.

CPS North West is led by Chief Crown Prosecutor Suzanne Llewellyn. She has overall responsibility for the prosecution of cases in the region. She is supported by Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor (DCCP) Janet Potter, who leads the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Unit and the Complex Casework Unit (CCU), DCCP Joanne Cunliffe, who has responsibility for Crown Court cases and DCCP Katie Nicholson, who has responsibility for magistrates’ court cases. Caroline Staveley is our Area Business Manager and has responsibility for business and operational delivery functions across the region.

We employ approximately 450 members of staff - lawyers, paralegal officers, witness care officers, administrators and business support staff - who are based in our offices in Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Manchester and Preston.  A small team of CPS Witness Care Officers are based in Kendal Police Station.

The Area Business Centre and Business Support Units are responsible for the management of specialist business functions of performance, finance, human resources, facilities management, communications, change delivery and community engagement.

Suzanne Llewellyn, Chief Crown Prosecutor

Suzanne Llewellyn was appointed as Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West in June 2024 and also has dual responsibility as Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Direct, which she took up in August 2023.

Suzanne’s career in the CPS began as a legal trainee in 1991 in the West Midlands Area. She quickly developed her advocacy skills to become a Senior Crown Prosecutor and qualify as a Crown Advocate. During this time, Suzanne gained extensive experience from prosecuting a diverse range of cases before the Magistrates' and Crown Courts across the Midlands region.

Suzanne’s move into the management pathway has seen her take responsibility for Magistrates', Crown Court and Complex Casework teams, leading to her being appointed as the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for West Midlands, a post she held for eight years. Following periods as the Acting Chief Crown Prosecutor for the West Midlands, Suzanne was appointed the Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex in 2021.

In August 2023, Suzanne additionally took the command of CPS Direct, the CPS's national out-of-hours service.

In her senior leadership role, Suzanne has developed strong working relationships with a wide range of Police Forces, including West Midlands, Staffordshire, West Mercia, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Dorset, Wiltshire and British Transport Police. Suzanne’s command of the Wessex region also allowed her to develop close links with the Military and the Service Prosecution Authority.

Suzanne’s dual role as Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Direct has seen her working with all English and Welsh Police Forces, to provide out-of-hours charging and secure the successful roll-out of the new charging model.

Throughout her career, Suzanne has led significant organisational change programmes, including Transforming Criminal Justice and Better Case Management, development of the Crown Court Operating model, the COVID Recovery response, and developing a streamlined approach to bring prosecutions for all British Transport Police investigations into CPS West Midlands region. She also developed the operating model to establish an Organised Crime and Serious Violence Unit to tackle homicide and organised crime and most recently the roll-out of the national charging model.

Suzanne has a deeply-rooted passion to improve the service in respect of tackling violence against women and girls and hate crime. She has sought to use her platform as a senior leader to ensure that victims are placed at the heart of the Criminal Justice System.

Suzanne has collaborated extensively with schools, colleges, and universities to introduce ambitious work experience and mini pupillage opportunities. Suzanne’s personal journey into the legal profession has driven her to ensure that candidates see a career in Law as being inclusive, diverse and an attainable career of choice for all. Suzanne was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The University of Wolverhampton in 2020 in recognition of her work in this area.

Suzanne is delighted to bring her extensive experience and knowledge in all aspects of the Criminal Justice System to CPS North West and CPS Direct.

Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, Joanne Cunliffe

Joanne joined CPS in 2001 as a Senior Crown Prosecutor, after working as a Legal Adviser in the Courts Service.

As a Senior Crown Prosecutor Joanne gained experience in both the Magistrates and Crown Court teams, dealing with a wide range of cases and qualified as a Crown Advocate. In 2008 she joined the CPS North West Complex Casework Unit (NW CCU) and subsequently took up the role of Deputy Head of the Unit in 2013. In 2015 Joanne set up the North West Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Unit and was promoted to Unit Head.

Joanne became a temporary Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in 2018 and in 2019 was successful in becoming a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West on a permanent basis. Joanne is responsible for Crown Court casework for the North West Area.

Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, Katie Nicholson

Katie joined the Crown Prosecution Service in 2008 as a Senior Crown Prosecutor, after working in private practice undertaking criminal defence work. As a Senior Crown Prosecutor Katie gained experience in the Magistrates' Court, Crown Court and Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Units. In 2016 she joined CPS North East as a District Crown Prosecutor, responsible for the Rape and Serious Offence Unit in Newcastle.

In 2018 Katie returned to CPS North West and was promoted to Senior District Crown Prosecutor with responsibility for the Lancashire and Cumbria Crown Unit, moving over to Greater Manchester Crown Court Unit in the same role in 2020.

Katie became a temporary Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in 2022 and, in 2024, was successful in becoming a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West on a permanent basis and is responsible for all Magistrates’ Court cases in the North West Area.

Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, Janet Potter

Janet was admitted as a solicitor in 1988. After four years in private practice undertaking criminal defence work she joined the Merseyside Crown Prosecution Service and spent nine years as a Senior Crown Prosecutor. In 2001 she was promoted to Prosecution Team Leader on the Mersey North Branch and managed a number of teams between 2001 and 2008, becoming temporary Senior District Crown Prosecutor for Mersey North in 2008.

Janet became the District Crown Prosecutor for the newly formed co-located rape and serious sexual assault unit in Liverpool in 2010, later setting up a similar unit in Cheshire. As the Area Rape Coordinator she worked closely with partner agencies and the police to bring about improvements in witness care and the quality of prosecutions.

In 2012 Janet became District Crown Prosecutor for the Mersey/Cheshire Crown Court Team as well as retaining the management of the RASSO teams. In 2013 she was promoted to Head of the Mersey/Cheshire Complex Casework Unit (CCU) and was also the Area Lead for Disclosure. Janet was seconded to the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the CPS in 2015 as Unit Head of the Hillsborough Team, which had responsibility for charging and prosecuting a number of defendants with criminal offences arising from the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath.

In 2017 she was appointed as Deputy Head of Specialist Fraud Division, responsible for prosecuting serious economic crime and in June 2020 she moved to North West Area as Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor with responsibility for the RASSO team and the Complex Casework Unit.

Area Business Manager, Caroline Staveley

Caroline Staveley has worked for the CPS since January 1999 when she began her career as an administrator at the CPS Oldham office.  Over the next few years she achieved a number of promotions to Caseworker, Branch Business Support Manager, Branch Business Manager and she also completed a period of temporary promotion as Senior Area Business Manager for Greater Manchester in 2009.

In 2010 Caroline was appointed as Head of North West Area Operations Centre and then as Business Change and Delivery Manager from February 2013. In April 2018 she was promoted to Area Business Manager for CPS North West with overall responsibility for the Operational Delivery and Business Operations for the North West Area.

Caroline is a qualified ILM Level 7 Executive Coach and a Chartered Member of CIPD.

The Magistrates’ Court Unit prosecutes offences where the maximum permitted sentence for each offence does not exceed six months imprisonment or one year if two or more relevant offences are to be considered. Most criminal cases are heard in magistrates’ courts.

The Crown Court Unit deals with cases involving serious offences, which have to be tried before a jury or where the magistrates’ courts do not have sufficient sentencing powers for the seriousness of the crime. 

The Complex Casework Unit prosecutes the most complex and sensitive cases in the area, including organised crime cases and cross-border crime.

The Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit is a specialist team who prosecute cases of rape and serious sexual offences from across the North West. 

We aim provide the best possible service to victims and witnesses in the North West. We work with our local communities so that we have a better understanding of how crime affects them and so that we can explain the role of the CPS and the work we do.

We have set up Local Scrutiny Involvement Panels (LSIPs), which include members of the public and members of voluntary organisations who support victims of certain kinds of crime, such as hate crime, sexual violence or domestic violence. Their input into our work is vital to help us improve the service we give to victims and witnesses.

We welcome invitations to meet with groups and organisations in the North West and we attend events, give presentations and answer questions about the work of the CPS.

Want to keep up with our work in the North West?

Each month, CPS North West publishes an e-newsletter with important updates on our work. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, please subscribe below.

Subscribe now

Victims and Witnesses

We are committed to dealing with Victims and Witnesses with respect. We understand being a victim and or witness of crime can be difficult and are sensitive to how vulnerable some may feel due to their experiences.

We will ensure that they are dealt with in a professional and courteous manner. We will listen to their needs and support them through the process so that they can give their best evidence at court.

This CPS Area is committed to ensuring that we are renowned for our professionalism, and that we are delivering justice to all members of our communities.

We want communities to continue to have confidence in their local justice system, to believe their interests are fairly represented and justice is seen to be done.

Victim’s Right to Review

The VRR scheme makes it easier for victims to seek a review of a CPS decision not to bring charges or to terminate proceedings. If you are a victim seeking to exercise your right to request a review of a CPS decision not to bring charges, discontinue proceedings or offer no evidence in a case please go to our Victims' Right to Review page.

North West contact point for Victims' Right to Review enquiries:
Email: NorthWestVLU@cps.gov.uk
Telephone: 0161 827 4971

Please note that the scheme applies only in relation to qualifying decisions made on or after 5 June 2013.

Victims' Right to Review

Contact us

1st floor 
Stocklund House, Castle Street , Carlisle 
Cumbria CA3 8SY 
DX 723741 Preston 20
Telephone: 01228 882900

2nd Floor
Guildhall House
Guildhall Street
Preston
PR1 3NU

DX 723741, Preston 20
Telephone: 01772 208100

P.O. Box 237 
5th floor
Sunlight House, Quay Street 
Manchester M60 3PS 
DX No:744372 Manchester 53 
Telephone: 0161 827 4700

News Centre

If you are a local or regional journalist in Greater Manchester, Lancashire or Cumbria, please contact:
Area Communications Manager
Kerry Bell
Telephone: 0161 827 4705
Email: kerry.bell@cps.gov.uk

If you are a member of the national media, please call the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906 or email cps.pressoffice@cps.gov.uk

Out of hours: 020 3357 0913 for emergency media queries only.

Contact Information for Defence

Please note: if you send an email from any account other than a CJSM account we will not be able to reply with any protected information regarding a case.

Please ensure that the following information is provided in the email:

SUBJECT BOX – Defendant's full name, date of hearing and court centre.

BODY OF EMAIL – Defendant's name, date of birth, court venue, date of hearing, URN/Crest Number, Your Reference, nature of the request.

Greater Manchester

Lancashire and Cumbria

Complex Casework Unit

Scroll to top