CPS Suffolk

Each year we handle around 20,000 cases in the magistrate's court and through our charging suites and around 1,200 Crown Court cases. Our average conviction rate is 89% in the magistrate's court and 83% in the Crown Court.

The Suffolk office operates from its main office in Ipswich.

It is made up of one central team that is responsible for the prosecution of all Magistrates and Crown Court cases from Ipswich and Lowestoft and surrounding areas.

The county town of Ipswich, is the main centre of population. It boasts a busy nightlife and a First Division Football Club, which contributes to regular public order problems. It also has a sizeable ethnic minority community.

Suffolk comprises the historic town of Bury St Edmunds, and market towns of Sudbury, Newmarket - with the horse racing industry - and the overspill town of Haverhill. At Lakenheath and Mildenhall there is the United States Air Force, Mildenhall being the Transport Centre for Europe with a large ethnic minority grouping and Lakenheath the fighter base. The A14 bisects Suffolk carrying a heavy proportion of goods traffic and along with the A11 and A140 roads, produces a regular toll of road fatalities.

There are five Magistrates' Courts in Suffolk under one Clerkship - with two Court Managers.

In Suffolk there is one Crown Court centre based in Ipswich, with five court rooms. Occasionally some of our serious cases are transferred to be heard in Norwich and Chelmsford or even London Crown Courts. To ensure continuity we endeavour to cover these cases even though they are heard outside of the county.

The county has a population of 668,600 and covers 380,207 hectares, which despite being predominately rural has a number of landmarks such as Sizewell Nuclear Power Station and Felixstowe docks. Felixstowe is the largest container port in Britain and attracts organised crime in respect of Fraud and Container Thefts. Lowestoft, formerly a fishing port, now serves the North Sea Oil Industry.