South East

Kris Venkatasami, Chief Crown Prosecutor

Kris became Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS South East in June 2024.

He was called to the Bar in 1989 and is a specialist in youth and in rape and serious sexual offence (RASSO) cases, as well as a Crown Advocate.

He has worked in a number of units in London throughout his career and led a team overseeing complex cases in the capital before being appointed a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor (DCCP) in CPS South East in 2014. In this role, Kris had overall responsibility for all RASSO and Crown Court cases and also led on rolling out the Better Case Management initiative.

In 2017 Kris re-joined the CPS in London as DCCP, heading up London South’s Magistrates' Court unit, with a specific brief as the lead on hate crime. In 2021 Kris moved over to lead the London South RASSO team and the pan-London Complex Casework Unit (CCU), before returning to CPS South East as Chief Crown Prosecutor.

He is also the national CPS lead on protest cases.

Holly Morton, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor

Holly joined CPS South East in November 2022 as the Senior District Crown Prosecutor for the Magistrates’ Courts, before moving to the Crown Court team. In October 2024, she took on the role of Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in the Crown Court and for our Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Team.

Holly has worked in the legal profession since 2002, qualifying as a solicitor in Australia before qualifying in the UK in 2006. Holly has worked for the Crown Prosecution Service in a number of roles, starting as a Specialist Prosecutor before being promoted to legal manager and then to Unit Head.

Holly was involved in preparing the CPS for the casework impact of Brexit and influenced external partners to work proactively to develop future casework tools, in addition to drafting regular contingency updates and Brexit Briefings setting out casework safeguarding measures, shared with public and private sector colleagues across the UK and Europe. Holly worked for the Director of Legal Services and was the lead of Case Progression, a key priority for the CPS.

Holly was also the Unit Head for the International Division where she led and managed the performance of a team of legal managers in the UK and Specialist Prosecutors in 17 overseas jurisdictions, working on international casework assistance and strategic, legislative and capacity building projects.

Judith Reed, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor

Judith joined CPS South East in May 2023 as Temporary Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor. Prior to this, she was Head of the pan-London Complex Casework Unit from 2019 and has previously been a Temporary DCCP in the East of England.

Judith joined the CPS as an A2 in 1988, before being sponsored through her Legal Practice Course by the CPS and qualifying as a solicitor in 1996. She worked as a prosecutor before moving into legal management roles.

Kirsty Hipwood, Area Business Manager

Kirsty is the Area Business Manager (ABM) for CPS South East. She joined the CPS in July 2001 as a contractor for the Customer Services Department (CSD). Kirsty worked for the CSD for two years.

In 2003 Kirsty joined Business Information Systems (BIS) Directorate as a Business Support Manager and a year later she became a Resource Manager. From 2006 to 2015 Kirsty worked for CPS London in many roles including Area Finance Manager, Project Manager, then District Business Manager, before becoming the Senior Business Manager in 2012.

In 2015 Kirsty was seconded as the Senior Business Manager for CPS South East and a year later became the Area Business Manager. Kirsty joined CPS Proceeds of Crime in September 2019 as the Area Business Manager (ABM) and later became the Area Business Manager for CPS London South in January 2022. She joined CPS South East in November 2024.

Kirsty is responsible for determining and delivering operational strategy (including financial, people and performance) leading the change programme, implementing operational change, managing business performance, and working with stakeholders to develop the CJS wider performance.

The Magistrates’ Court Team is made up of prosecutors, supported by a team of administrators, who help to ensure cases are prepared digitally and ready for court. Our prosecutors either work as advocates in the Magistrates’ Courts across Kent, Surrey and Sussex or in one of our offices preparing cases where we anticipate people will plead not guilty and the case will go to trial. 

The Crown Court team has prosecutors and a team of paralegal and administrative staff, who help to prepare cases. The majority of prosecutors in this team review cases and ensure they are ready for court, but we have a team of Crown Advocates, who prosecute cases in the Crown Court. 

Our Complex Casework Unit (CCU) deals with the most complex cases in the South East and handles one of the largest volumes of complex cases in the country. Their work includes dealing with human trafficking, cross border crimes, “cold case” murders, fatal road collisions, sudden infant death, substantial fraud, money laundering and major public disorder offences. 

Our Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team (RASSO) is staffed by specially trained lawyers and paralegal officers and they handle rape cases, including attempted rape, along with child sexual abuse cases, including historic cases and all other serious sexual offences.