Special reports

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) was established in 2005 to take responsibility for prosecuting all criminal cases in Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, police investigate allegations of criminal offences and compile a file of evidence which is sent to the PPS. Lawyers there examine the evidence and decide whether or not it is sufficient to prosecute someone in court for an offence. The PPS then prepares all the court papers and arranges for the case to be brought to court and to be heard.

The PPS currently deals annually with some 65,000 reports of suspected offences per year. A key responsibility is to ensure that victims and witnesses are kept informed about the cases in which they are involved, and to ensure that members of the public can rely on the PPS to properly prosecute offenders. Building public confidence remains an important PPS priority in seeking to achieve the aim of being seen as providing a first class prosecution service for everyone in Northern Ireland.

The PPS is a regionally based organisation and being located in the heart of the community which we serve enables us to engage directly with the community, voluntary sector and criminal justice partners at a local level. The PPS has offices throughout Northern Ireland and staff under the leadership of four Regional Prosecutors work hard to ensure that the local community is aware of the work of the PPS and to listen to their concerns.

PPS staff actively engage with a variety of local organisations including local schools, neighbourhood, voluntary and community groups, local media and frequently attend local District Policing Partnership meetings. 

Stephen Burnside

Stephen Burnside is Regional Prosecutor for Belfast with the responsibility for prosecution work in the Greater Belfast Area.

In the Belfast region, he is supported by a team of 120 staff, 40 of whom are lawyers who take a careful and considered decision in each case whether or not to prosecute, which offences should be prosecuted and in which court.

Belfast Region organise and prosecute in over 50 courts per week. If you have ever been a victim or witness in a Belfast case you may have been contacted by a member of the PPS Community Liaison Team who arrange for listings of contested cases and ensure all the relevant information is available for witnesses. The Community Liaison team deal with over 100 victims and witnesses every day and work closely with Victim Support and NSPCC to ensure the difficult process of coming to court is made as clear and easy as possible.

As an example of how the PPS works with local community organisations, Stephen explains his involvement with the Upper Springfield Safer Neighbourhood Forum (USSNF) and the West Belfast Community Safety Forum (WBCSF).

"The USSNF arose from joint work between Belfast City Council and local community groups in the West Belfast Area. It is a group of statutory agencies and community based groups. It involves the Housing Executive, the PSNI, the Youth Justice Agency and other statutory bodies involved in decisions affecting the local area. The PPS has been involved since the launch of the Forum by Chief Constable Hugh Orde and Gerry Adams MP in 2007.

There have been a number of presentations about the work of the Criminal Justice System to local community groups and, in particular, Stephen has talked to several community groups about the role of the PPS. The aim is to ensure that local people understand how prosecution decisions are made and what happens to a case in Court.

The aim of building a better understanding of the criminal justice system in the local community is to give local people the confidence to become involved with the police, the PPS and other statutory agencies; and to enable them to support prosecutions and ensure that individuals who commit crime are investigated and prosecuted. The provision of information is at the heart of this work, from details of the progress of a case to when an accused person is released on bail or from prison. Response from the local people has been positive and communities recognise that an ethical, accountable prosecution service is of benefit to all in a local area. In particular, if those in the Service are accessible and responsive to the local people, then that is of benefit to all.

The success of the USSNF has expanded into the creation of the West Belfast Community Safety Forum and the PPS has been fully involved since its inception. The Forum used the USSNF as a model for beneficial community engagement from the PPS and other criminal justice agencies and has brought this concept to all communities in West Belfast. Already the benefits of involving local people in local issues and decisions have proved to be a positive experience across the area.

It is planned that the good work established through these forums will be replicated in other areas where communities wish to engage with the statutory agencies and the PPS is determined to be an active participant in such developments."

You can find more about the PPS at their website: www.ppsni.gov.uk and you can contact them if you are involved with a group of local people who would like to find out more about the PPS and the prosecution of criminal cases by emailing: info@ppsni.gsi.gov.uk