North East
CPS North East is currently maintaining core business functions, while doing all we can to minimise in-person contact.
Please communicate with us by email, telephone and secure digital media wherever possible. Royal Mail and other post delivered to our offices will be checked periodically, but normal mail response times cannot be guaranteed. All hand deliveries must be made by appointment only.
Our main switchboard contact number is 0191 260 4200, with options for the various units.
Email addresses:
If you are a member of public, you can use the following email addresses without including .cjsm.net, which will work only for members of the Criminal Justice Secure Mail system. DO NOT use these addresses to send sensitive information unless via .cjsm.net.
For requests relating to cases in Durham or Teesside Magistrates' Courts please email: durham.teesmcgeneral@cps.gov.uk.cjsm.net
For requests relating to cases in Durham or Teesside Crown Courts please email: durham.teescrowncourt@cps.gov.uk.cjsm.net
For requests relating to cases in Northumbria Magistrates' Courts please email: northumbria.mcgeneral@cps.gov.uk.cjsm.net
For requests relating to cases in Newcastle Crown Court please email: northumbria.crowncourt@cps.gov.uk.cjsm.net
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.
CPS North East is currently maintaining core business functions, while doing all we can to minimise in-person contact.
The CPS has 14 Areas/Regions across England and Wales - the CPS North East Area consists of the counties of Northumbria, Tyne and Wear and Cleveland.
Chief Crown Prosecutor Andrew Penhale is the head of the CPS North East Area and he is supported by Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Tracy Easton.
Gary O’Brien is the acting Area Business Manager with overall responsibility for Business and Operational Delivery functions across the region.
We currently employ 279 staff across the region, working out of our Newcastle and Middlesbrough offices.
The Area is supported by a Business Centre which houses a team of specialists in the fields of performance, finance, human resources, communications and inclusion.
Executive Team Toggle accordion
Jan Lamping, Chief Crown Prosecutor
Jan joined the CPS in 1990 as a legal trainee. Throughout the 1990s she worked as a Crown Prosecutor and Senior Crown Prosecutor in Lancashire. In 1999 she moved to work in the Hull office, becoming a District Crown Prosecutor in 2003. Jan moved to work in North Yorkshire in 2008 and was promoted to Senior District Crown Prosecutor in Yorkshire and Humberside in 2012, where she led large Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court teams.
In 2015 Jan was appointed Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in the North East, and then in 2017 was asked to move to London North as DCCP. Jan was appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North East in February 2020.
Tracy Easton, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor
Tracy joined the Crown Prosecution Service in September 1986, initially working as a Law Clerk, based at the Old Bailey. After being called to the bar in November 1992, she worked as a Crown Prosecutor in courts across London. In 1995 Tracy became a Unit Head within the Criminal Justice Unit and then the Bristol Trials Unit at CPS Avon and Somerset, becoming one of the first employed Barristers to become a Higher Court Advocate in 2001. In 2004 she became the District Crown Prosecutor for CPS Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, before moving to Surrey as the temporary Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) in January 2007. In September 2007 she was appointed as the CCP for CPS Devon and Cornwall and became the Deputy CCP for CPS South West in 2011.
As a national trainer for the CPS, Tracy has developed training programmes for all CPS staff, before returning to her native North East as Deputy Chief Crown prosecutor in 2017.
Magistrates’ Court Unit Toggle accordion
Our Magistrates’ Court Unit prosecute offences of domestic violence, assaults, criminal damage, minor public disorder incidents, all but the most serious traffic offences, possession of drugs, dangerous dog offences, offences of dishonesty and commercial burglaries.
The list is not exhaustive but generally comprises of any offence where the maximum permitted sentence for each offence does not exceed six months imprisonment or one year if two or more relevant offences are to be considered.
Crown Court Unit Toggle accordion
The Crown Court Unit deals with cases such as murder, 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.
Complex Casework Unit Toggle accordion
The Complex Casework Unit houses a team who work in collaboration with the police to tackle organised and serious cross border crime, and to robustly tackle and disrupt criminal enterprises.
The bulk of their casework arises from serious and organised crime, particularly drugs importation and distribution, money laundering, organised crime group multi defendant homicide and serious fraud, usually involving a value of over £1million plus at least one element of complexity such as multiple defendants / companies / victims and/or complex financial / restraint issues.
Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Unit Toggle accordion
The Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit is a dedicated and specialised team who prosecutes cases such as rape, serious sexual offences, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, honour based violence and Female Genital Mutilation.
The staff on the unit all have a great deal of understanding of the sensitivities of prosecuting cases of this nature and how difficult and harrowing it can be for a victim from the first step of making a complaint to the police, through to giving evidence in a trial.