Chief Crown Prosecutor

Grace Ononiwu OBE

Born in the East End of London, Grace qualified as a Solicitor in 1990 and original joined a private firm based in High Wycombe practicing Criminal Law.

In 1991 she joined the CPS as a Crown Prosecutor and was promoted to Senior Crown Prosecutor in 1993 during which period she prosecuted at a number of CPS branches across London including Redbridge & Havering, Stratford & Barking, Highbury, Croydon & Bromley.

In 1998 she was given temporary promotion to Prosecution Team Leader of the Croydon Team and tasked with the implementation of the Narey initiative (Croydon was identified as the pilot site). In 2001 she was appointed Project Manager for the Holborn Glidewell Project and tasked with planning and implementation of the first co-located unit in the Metropolitan police area.

In 2002 Grace was promoted to Borough Crown Prosecutor and Head of Holborn Glidewell Criminal Justice Unit. In 2003 Grace was promoted to District Crown Prosecutor and Head of the Blackfriars Trial Unit.  In 2004 she created and was appointed the Head of the first Combined Unit in London.

Grace was appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor for Northamptonshire in April 2005.  Grace has personally taken forward the development of the Area's Hate Crimes Scrutiny Panel. She has also played an integral role in increasing the involvement of staff networks in the CPS policy making process and has introduced a number of highly successful support schemes for BME staff as Chair of the National Black Crown Prosecution Association.  Grace was awarded an OBE in January 2008.