Prosecuting terrorists - Counter Terrorism Division

Welcome from the Head of Division

I would like to welcome you to the Counter Terrorism Division webpage. The Crown Prosecution Service is a transparent and accountable organisation which is committed to sharing information through the CPS website, through various forms of direct Community Engagement and through specialist or geographical webpages such as this one. We understand that there is considerable public interest in how terrorism related cases are handled and through this page and our public documents, we aim to share information about how we deal with both terrorism cases and war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Introduction

The Counter Terrorism Division (CTD) was set up primarily to deal with prosecuting terrorism cases which had been rapidly increasing in terms of size and complexity over the previous 2-3 years.

In 2004 the CPS considered how it could best deliver a world class service in relation to its serious casework. In 2005 a report recommended that three new casework divisions should be created to replace the former Casework Directorate. This would concentrate expertise and resources and provide the best possible service to the public and our stakeholders. The Central Casework Divisions (CCDs) were set up in 2005 and have now expanded; they are made up of CTD, Organised Crime Division (encompassing International Division), Special Crime Division and the Central Fraud Group.

Terrorism still makes up the majority of CTD work but the Division also deals with all allegations of incitement to racial and religious hatred, war crimes and crimes against humanity, official secrets cases, and hijacking as similar skills are required to handle such work.

CTD has its main office in London and a smaller satellite office in West Yorkshire. Terrorism and incitement cases are dealt with in both offices, but war crimes, crimes against humanity and official secrets cases are only dealt with in London.

Cases against those suspected of terrorism are dealt with in the same way as any other criminal case. All decisions are made in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and a prosecutor needs to have sufficient evidence to afford a realistic prospect of a conviction before he or she can go on to consider the public interest.

More information can be found about CTD in the HMCPSi Report published on 16 April 2009. (Opens in a new window)

Following publication of the report, CTD was awarded the Attorney General's award for Excellence and this year we have been awarded a Special Achievement Award by the International Association of Prosecutors.

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Public documents

We understand that there is considerable public interest in how terrorism related cases are handled and we believe that it is right to share as much information as possible with our communities. For that reason we have created three public documents (the links to which are below) and we hope through this web page to be able to provide further information in the future.

The summary of terrorism related cases gives information about recent terrorism cases prosecuted by CTD.

The Violent Extremism (VE) document is a more general document about how VE cases are handled.

The War Crimes Referral Gateway which sets out how the police and the CPS deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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The Core Quality Standards and the Code for Crown Prosecutors

The Core Quality Standards set out the standard of service that the public can expect of the CPS including CTD.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors is a public document, issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions that sets out the principles Crown Prosecutors should follow when they make decisions on all cases.

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Press Releases related to CTD

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Community engagement

CTD is committed to equality and diversity both within our own division and in our casework handling. We have a diverse team of staff in terms of gender, ethnic mix, working patterns and age and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds for advertised posts.

We undertake regular and meaningful engagement activities with the communities we serve. Together with Chief Crown Prosecutors and our Equality and Diversity Unit we carried out a series of Listening, Information, and Reassurance evenings for Muslim Communities and we have recently had community seminars on issues affecting Muslim and Jewish Communities.

CTD has a Community Involvement Panel (CIP) for War Crimes where prosecutors discuss and consult with representatives from NGOs on a thematic basis. The CIP WC meets six monthly and the terms of reference can be downloaded below.

• Terms of Reference - CIP War Crimes Word Document 25KB

Past Events

26/10/2009

Inaugural meeting of the Community Involvement Panel for War Crimes. Prosecutors discussed with NGOs how the CPS and police work closely together on international cases, aspects of witness protection, and special measures available for witnesses giving statements and evidence.

23/11/2009

Mari Reid gave a presentation to the Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists and the Board of British Deputies about the Sheppard and Whittle prosecution.

26/01/2010

The Head of Division (HOD) spoke to the Law Society at Durham University.

28/01/2010

Bethan David and Moira Macmillan conducted a joint youth event with CPS Avon and Somerset where they spoke with young people about racial and religious hatred and terrorism.

02/03/2010

A Paralegal Officer from the CTD and a colleague from another division delivered two citizenship lessons to 90 students in one London school as part of the CPS Citizenship Project. For further information and details of lesson plans and learning objectives please visit the CPS Derbyshire site to find out more about the Citizenship lesson plans.

15/02/2010

The Head of Division gave a presentation about the work of CTD to students at the Mansfield Society Christchurch College in Oxford.

03/03/2010

CTD lawyers and Stonewall held a Community Seminar to discuss the new offence of stirring up hatred because of sexual orientation.

29/03/2010

Meeting of the Community Involvement Panel(War Crimes) where the group discussed changes in the law on jurisdiction and the new Gateway for dealing with cases.

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