CPS News Centre

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 have created an agreement: the Media Protocol: Working together to support open justice.

Showing 1 - 10 of 23 results for area "South West"

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New pledge to recognise patterns of domestic abuse as charges in CPS South West continue to increase

All prosecutors in the region will now work under the national VAWG strategy, developed after listening to victims’ experiences, and delivering justice through prosecutions which reflect the full reality of each case of abuse.
Press Release Domestic abuse South West

Man charged with murder after death of prisoner

James Desborough, 39, has been charged with the murder of prisoner Steven Kempster, 65, at HMP Exeter.
Press Release Violent crime CPS South West

Surgeon jailed for fraud after lying about self-inflicted injuries that led to his leg amputations

A senior surgeon from Cornwall, who fraudulently claimed over £466,000 in insurance payouts after his legs were amputated due to self-inflicted injuries, has been sentenced to 32 months in prison today.
Press Release Fraud and economic crime South West

Man who ran Plymouth teeth-whitening salon convicted of rapes and sexual assaults

A man who ran a teeth-whitening salon in Plymouth has been convicted of a series of rapes and sexual assaults against seven women, including customers of the salon.
Press Release Sexual offences South West

UPDATED WITH SENTENCE: Woman found guilty of shaking baby girl to death

Originally published on 3 April 2025A woman from Gloucestershire has been sentenced to 15 years for the manslaughter of her baby daughter.In April 2020, shortly after the start of the Covid 19 lockdown, Melissa Wilband, 28, was living with her two young children, a two-year-old boy and five-month…
Press Release Violent crime CPS South West

92-year-old man jailed for life for 1967 cold case murder

A 92-year-old man has been given a life sentence for the murder and rape of Louisa Dunne, in one of the oldest cold cases to ever be solved in the UK.
Press Release Violent crime CPS South West

Man jailed for life for the murder of Claire Chick in Plymouth

Claire was attacked on West Hoe Road, outside her home, on Wednesday 22 January 2025. She sustained multiple stabbing injuries and was pronounced dead at Derriford Hospital later that evening.
Press Release Violent crime CPS South West

Former police officer sentenced for leaking murder inquiry details

A former Devon and Cornwall police officer has today been given a 20-month prison sentence suspended for two years for leaking sensitive information on multiple cases to her friends and family.Samantha Hill, 33, from Plymouth pleaded guilty to 18 offences of misconduct in public office at Bristol…
Press Release CPS South West

Former Olympic swimmer jailed for 21 years for raping teenage girls

A former Olympic swimmer and trainee police officer, who represented Great Britain at the 2012 London Games, has been jailed at Plymouth Crown Court for raping two teenage girls.
Press Release Sexual offences CPS South West

Naz Shah MP: Man sentenced for leaving grossly offensive voice message

A man who left an abusive voice message for MP Naz Shah has today been sentenced to 12 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months after pleading guilty to a public communications offence at Taunton Magistrates’ Court.
Press Release CPS South West

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.

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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.

Read the current protocol

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