Julie Krohn - District Business Manager, Witness Care

Before taking up my current CPS role of District Business Manager for Victims and Witnesses, I was lucky enough to enjoy a varied (cross continental!) career. I was born in the UK but spent 35 years living in sunny Cape Town in South Africa where I initially worked as a Personal Assistant before having my daughter 20 years ago. After she was born I did a college course on teaching and worked as a nursery teacher for 3-5 year olds for ten years a far cry from my role at the CPS!!

On my return to the UK in 1999 I wanted to return to an office environment and joined the National Probation Service as an admin officer. I worked my way up to Manager of the court team before joining CPS as DBM in 2004. Im based in the Witness Care Unit (WCU), West Yorkshire and have responsibility for the WCU and the Direct Communications with Victims (DCV) teams.

I was attracted to the role at CPS as it gave me the chance to be an integral part of improving the service provided to victims and witnesses and the public perception of the organisation. I joined the service during a period of development and was involved in a number of important projects, such as the roll out of No Witness No Justice and the Victims Code. I also was interested in setting up new processes and systems that would have a positive impact on the lives of victims and witnesses.

My day begins with a briefing with the 3 Witness Care Managers (2 West Yorkshire Police and 1 CPS) as to any problems, issues or imminent/outstanding tasks. Another briefing session, with the DCV team (2 caseworkers and 1 admin officer) follows, raising any issues and looking at timeliness of letters sent out within the 24 hour deadline to identify backlogs or delays that may be occurring.

I highlight issues to take forward and look for possible solutions. I then make time to catch up with emails, telephone or face to face queries from managers and members of staff. I look at performance data and identify areas which may require further investigation. This requires scrutinizing the DIP sampling sent from Managers as to areas of concern flagged up due to staff inaccuracies and ensure that corrective action is taken. I also look at weekly performance data from the 5 teams, advising Managers on necessary courses of action. During my week I attend meetings with other agencies and departments to discuss problem areas, possible solutions and the way forward.

I find my role very rewarding and particularly enjoy line managing the Witness Care Unit managers, working closely with them - challenging and developing them I find my role very rewarding and particularly enjoy line managing the Witness Care Unit managers, working closely with them - challenging and developing themand seeing how they cascade this down to the Witness Care Officers they manage. I enjoy the challenge of gaining trust and respect from all members of staff by setting an example and not being afraid of getting stuck in and doing what it takes to get a job done and problems solved.

Perhaps the biggest challenge within my role is ensuring that colleagues throughout the criminal justice process complete each stage fully and in a timely manner. Failing to complete any one of the many stages or not providing correct information causes unnecessary delays within the unit which in turn has a knock on effect on the victims and witnesses. On a more immediate level it is challenging managing a unit with both CPS and Police staff and ensuring both organisations are correctly represented and the differences in procedures are taken into account and dealt with in a professional and sensitive manner.

Working with high calibre colleagues increases my job satisfaction. I work with supportive colleagues all with a vision of not only wanting to be good but striving to be great. Every member of the team has a genuine empathy and concern for victims and witnesses and therefore deals with each case on an individual basis; I believe that with this attitude and commitment we are making a difference in many lives.

In addition, the knowledge I have gained during my CPS career has been invaluable; I am learning new skills each day and the training I have received has been top class. Having the ability to work flexi has been a huge benefit for me in assisting with my work life balance. This year, having the opportunity to work compressed hours has allowed me one day off a week to support and assist my mother who was widowed earlier in the year. These advantages, and the feeling of really making a difference to victims and witnesses, make me genuinely happy in my work and proud to work for the CPS.