Criminal cases that the Crown Prosecution Service take to court are in the news every day. This section also covers many issues related to our work, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, support for victims and witnesses, statistics, and speeches by the Director of Public Prosecutions and other senior staff.
Latest news
You can find our latest news stories here and search for older stories. You can also find more information about high-profile cases and the work of the CPS.
Working with the media
To make criminal court reporting more open, the CPS, police, and media representatives created a joint protocol (agreement) for working together. We are currently working on an updated version of the protocol.
David Duckenfield, the police commander in charge of safety during the Hillsborough stadium disaster, has today been found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter after a retrial at Preston Crown Court.
Sue Hemming, CPS Director of Legal Services, said: “The disaster at Hillsborough 30 years…
We have not changed our policy on charging rape, or any other sexual crime. Whenever the legal test is met, our dedicated prosecutors will bring charges at the most serious level they can, no matter how challenging the case.
Every decision is, and always has been, taken in the same way,…
Suspects accused of allowing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to be carried out can face prosecution in the UK, regardless of where in the world the procedure took place, the CPS confirmed today.
Following on from the first-ever UK conviction for FGM in February this year, which saw a woman…
Fiyaz Mugal, co-chair of the CPS Community Accountability Forum and founder of TellMAMA, talks about building trust and confidence in communities through tackling hate crime
The CPS has had many notable successes in the world of hate crime prosecutions.
I can say this with confidence,…
Thank you for inviting me this evening, I am honoured to follow a long line of distinguished speakers, several of them friends of mine, and all of us admirers of the Howard League.
In preparation for this evening I watched some of the videos of previous lectures. Introducing last year’s lecture,…
Out of date laws which stigmatise defendants with mental health issues should be overhauled, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has said today (Monday 14 October).
Delivering the annual Howard League Parmoor Lecture, Max Hill QC called for a debate about whether the criminal justice…
The International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) is a hugely important organisation for prosecutors, with an unparalleled global reach. I am therefore privileged to have been asked to deliver the keynote speech at this conference. This is my first annual IAP conference as chief prosecutor of my…
Latest figures on prosecutions involving Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) have been released today by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The VAWG report covers a broad range of offences including domestic abuse, rape, stalking and so-called honour-based abuse. Figures for 2018-19 show a…
There have been social media comments which suggest the CPS has recently advised police we will only charge high harm and custody cases. This is not true.
Please be reassured that the CPS continues to provide charging decisions to police forces as normal - there is no reduction in service.
We…
Breast-ironing should be prosecuted as a form of child abuse, the CPS says in new guidance published today.
The harmful procedure – which involves flattening a girl’s chest with a hot stone or other objects to delay breast growth – is often performed by family members to prevent unwanted sexual…
Press ReleaseDomestic abuseCPS
Press Office contact details
Please note that our Press Office is NOT able to deal with issues or queries from members of the public - these contact details are for accredited journalists ONLY. Do not call this number unless you a member of the press. For all general enquiries, please visit contact.cps.gov.uk.
If you are a national or international journalist with a media enquiry, you can contact the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906 or email [email protected] (9am-5pm weekdays only).
For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 3357 0906 to reach the duty press officer.
If you follow us on social media, you can expect posts covering some or all of the following:
Operational updates on decisions to prosecute or take no further action;
Reactions and statements on trial outcomes;
Policy updates from the Director of Public Prosecutions and other prosecutors;
Updates on media appearances by CPS staff
Content that explains the role of the CPS and how we work
Highlighting of relevant work by our criminal justice partners and other stakeholders
We will aim to be fair and accurate in all the information we publish. We will aim to correct any inaccuracies as soon as possible.
We are unable to monitor social media round the clock. We are not able to engage with all those who seek a response from us due to resources but also due to privacy and the sensitive nature of some of our work. The best way to contact the CPS is through our website.
Please do not try to report crime using social media. To report crime, please call 101 or visit your local police station. In an emergency, always call 999.
If you follow us on social media we will not automatically follow you back. Being followed by us does not imply endorsement of any kind.
Media protocol
To ensure greater openness in the reporting of criminal proceedings, the CPS, the police and media representatives developed a joint protocol for working together. We are currently in the process of updating the protocol.
