Wessex
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.
The CPS has 14 Areas across England and Wales - the CPS Wessex Region consists of the counties of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and Wiltshire.
Chief Crown Prosecutor Suzanne Llewellyn is the head of CPS Wessex, supported by Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Sophie Stevens.
Emma Tebbutt, the Area Business Manager has responsibility for Business and Operational Delivery functions across the region.
We currently employ 219 members of staff, including lawyers, paralegals, administrators and specialist staff.
Our Senior Management team, Business Centre, Crown Court, Crown Advocacy Support team and Complex Casework Unit are based in Eastleigh.
We also have a team of in-house Crown Advocates and court support legal staff covering the three counties.
Suzanne Llewellyn, Chief Crown Prosecutor
Suzanne Llewellyn was appointed as Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex in September 2023; this role will link with Suzanne’s responsibility as Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Direct, which she took up in August 2023.
Suzanne started her career with CPS in the West Midlands, as a legal trainee in 1991. Suzanne’s initial career saw her prosecuting the magistrates' courts at West Midlands before becoming a Crown Advocate, gaining Higher Court Rights to practice within the Crown Courts.
In leadership roles, Suzanne has had the privilege of leading Magistrates' Court, Crown Court, Complex Casework Unit and Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Teams in the West Midlands Region encompassing the West Midlands, Staffordshire, West Mercia, Warwickshire, and the work of the national British Transport Police, CPS Wessex, incorporating the Forces of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Dorset and Wiltshire and CPS East Midlands, incorporating the Forces of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire.
In the West Midlands, working with CJS partners, Suzanne led significant organisational change programs, including Transforming Criminal Justice and Better Case Management and the development of an Organised Crime and Serious Violence Unit to tackle homicide, organised crime, human trafficking, criminal use of firearms, urban street gangs and 'county lines' drug trafficking. Suzanne also worked closely with the British Transport Police to achieve service improvements, by bringing their national case work within the governance of one CPS Area.
Suzanne has a deeply rooted passion for improving services in respect of violence against women and girls and has undertaken much work across all of her Areas to ensure that victims are placed at the heart of the Criminal Justice System.
In CPS Wessex, Suzanne led the introduction of the new Crown Court Operating Model and worked closely with the Military Police to improve partnership working between the CPS and the Military.
During Suzanne’s career she has worked with local schools, colleges, and universities to ensure the legal profession is seen as an inclusive, diverse, attainable career of choice for all. In 2020 Suzanne was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The University of Wolverhampton in 2020 in recognition of this.
Suzanne is delighted to bring her extensive experience and knowledge in all aspects of the Criminal Justice System to hold the joint portfolio for CPS Direct and CPS Wessex.
Adele Kelly, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor
Adele joined the CPS in 2004 from private practice in the City, where she specialised in commercial and insurance litigation. She prosecuted in the Thames and Chiltern area, gaining experience in all areas of the business, culminating in responsibility for all gang murders.
In 2014, she joined the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Team in London as a Legal Manager, overseeing some of the Operation Yewtree and serious institutional abuse cases.
She returned to CPS Thames and Chiltern in June 2017, as Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor (DCCP) with responsibility for Magistrates’ Court work before taking up a role as DCCP in the South East in May 2018 until April 2023. During this time, she covered all areas of the business and developed the South East Rape Response Improvement Group. She is one of the national deputy leads for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences.
Adele joined CPS Wessex as our second DCCP in April 2023, overseeing the Crown Court and RASSO teams.
Sophie Stevens, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor
Sophie joined the CPS in 2006 leaving her work as a defence solicitor having qualified and worked in Hong Kong.
Before taking up her post as Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, she was the Senior District Crown Prosecutor and Head of Complex Casework Unit and Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Unit. She is the Area lead for Disclosure and also the International Casework Lead.
Sophie has led Wessex in the RASSO Tri-force action plan and is committed to improving our service to all. In her spare time she enjoys open water sea swimming (all year round) and enjoys life in Portsmouth with her partner and their two dogs.
Emma Tebbutt, Area Business Manager
Emma has been Area Business Manager for CPS Wessex since October 2018.
Emma's civil service career began in 2000, with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) as an advisor to the long-term unemployed. She then worked in operational lead roles, including time with the Disability Employment Strategy team with the DWP in London.
Further roles followed, including Partnership Manager for one of the most deprived boroughs in London, supporting a smooth transition of Welfare Reforms and working to support young people in the borough affected by gang issues.
Emma moved to the Ministry of Defence in September 2014 as a Customer Service Manager for Defence Business Services (DBS), supporting Front Line Commands (Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Joint Forces Command). From March 2017, Emma became DBS Transformation Assistant Head.
She joined the CPS in September 2018.
Our Crown Court team is mainly based at our offices in Eastleigh. They are responsible for dealing with cases involving serious offences which have to be tried by a jury, or where the magistrates’ courts do not have sufficient sentencing powers for the seriousness of the crime.
Casework includes murders, robberies, serious assaults, dwelling house burglaries, complex fraud, the supply and trafficking of drugs, and the most serious road traffic offences, especially those that result in a fatality.
Our magistrates’ court team is mainly based at our Portsmouth Offices, with two support teams based at our Chippenham and Eastleigh offices. They are responsible for prosecuting a wide range of offences, generally those for which the maximum sentence is six months' imprisonment.
Casework includes domestic abuse, assaults, hate crimes, criminal damage, minor public order incidents, minor traffic offences (excluding those dealt with by the police as police-led prosecutions), possession of drugs, dangerous dog offences and commercial burglaries.
Our Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Unit is a dedicated specialist team which prosecutes cases such as rape, serious sexual assaults and child abuse. The lawyers in this team, which is based in our Portsmouth office, are all specially trained and fully understand the sensitivities of prosecuting cases of this nature.
The CPS Wessex Complex Casework Unit handles our most serious and high profile cases. These can include murders, large-scale child abuse or abduction.
Our specialist prosecutors in the Wessex Fraud Centre deal with offending that has taken place in London, Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire and Hertfordshire.
Casework includes fraudulent claims for Student Loads, Child Maintenance, Tax Credits, Disability Living Allowance and the fraudulent evasion of duty by selling prohibited or restricted goods.