Fermanagh and Tyrone Pilot of the New Public Prosecution Service

FERMANAGH & TYRONE PILOT PROJECT
THE PUBLIC PROSECUTION SERVICE
FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
BUILDING A SERVICE FOR THE FUTURE
INDEPENDENT, FAIR AND EFFECTIVE

INTRODUCTION
I welcome this opportunity to inform you of the Fermanagh and Tyrone Pilot of the New
Public Prosecution Service.
One of the most significant aspects of the substantial change that my Department is
undergoing, as it transforms into the new Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland,
is the development of a network of regional offices, or Chambers, across Northern Ireland.
The Criminal Justice Review recommended that these regional chambers must be responsible
for “the bulk of prosecutorial work in their respective areas”. I fully support that. The new
Public Prosecution Service requires good accessibility to local police and courts. In addition,
these regional Chambers will allow the prosecution service to deliver a locally based service
and assist in the development of a greater public understanding of the criminal justice system
in Northern Ireland.
Alasdair Fraser
Director of Public Prosecution March 2004
AIM
The aim of the Public Prosecution Service will be:
To provide the people of Northern Ireland with a prosecuting service that is independent,
fair and effective.
Independence - he Public Prosecution Service will be wholly independent from both police
and government, its decisions will be impartial based on an independent and professional
assessment of the available evidence and the public interest.
Fairness - all actions will be undertaken with complete impartiality to the highest ethical
and professional standards. All persons, including those accused of offences, will be treated
fairly. All victims and witnesses (and other members of the public) will be treated with respect
and sensitivity.
Effectiveness - ll prosecution decisions will be taken and every prosecution conducted in an
effective and efficient manner. We will provide value for money while delivering timely and
quality services.
INDEPENDENT, FAIR AND EFFECTIVE

CHAMBERS
The Public Prosecution Service will be
a regionally based organisation.
The composition of the regions within
the new Public Prosecution Service
and the preferred locations for Chambers
within each of these regions were selected
after detailed consideration of a range
of factors including:
• Workload;
• Court locations;
• Targeting Social Need;
• Accessibility.
Londonderry
Omagh
Ballymena
Belfast
Lisburn
Newry
The public Prosecution Service will have Chambers in
Omagh and Newry within its Western & Southern region.
OMAGH CHAMBERS
Omagh Chambers will be the main office of the Public Prosecution Service in its Western
& Southern Region.
Approximately sixty staff will be based in Omagh Chambers. These staff will include Public
Prosecutors and administrative support staff. In addition to providing Public Prosecutors with
appropriate facilities, the Omagh Chambers, like each of the new regional offices, will provide
modern, well equipped and accessible facilities for victims and witnesses of crime with whom
the prosecution service comes into contact.
Although the prosecution service currently has premises in Omagh, these premises are not
of a suitable size as the new service grows and moves forward. Therefore a major project is
underway to identify and procure suitable accommodation in the Omagh area to house the
local Chambers of the new Public Prosecution Service. Until the new office is available, the
prosecution service will continue to use its existing premises in Omagh with support provided
from Belfast.
INDEPENDENT, FAIR AND EFFECTIVE

FERMANAGH & TYRONE
PILOT PROJECT
The Fermanagh & Tyrone Pilot will
commence on 1st April 2004.
The Pilot Project will cover the following
Council areas (which are coterminous with
police District Command Units):
• Cookstown
• Dungannon
• Fermanagh;
• Omagh; and
• Strabane.
Londonderry
Omagh
Ballymena
Belfast
Lisburn
Newry
The Pilot Project will cover all police cases
arising within this geographical area. In addition,
it will also handle cases submitted by certain Government Departments.
The Pilot Project will be headed by a senior prosecutor and will deliver the
following key services:
• Public Prosecutors (who will be qualified and fully trained lawyers) will take
all prosecution decisions in cases investigated by the police;
• Public Prosecutors will use an enhanced range of diversionary options (i.e. ways
of dealing with offenders other than the formal court process);
• Public Prosecutors will review all charges preferred by police prior to an accused
person’s first appearance at court;
• Public Prosecutors will provide police with prosecutorial advice at any stage
of a police investigation;
• Public Prosecutors will conduct prosecutions in each of the Magistrates’,
Youth and County Courts within this geographical area; and
• A range of enhanced services to victims and witnesses.
The prosecution service will conduct a range of community out reach initiatives within
the scope of this Pilot Project to assist the development of a greater public understanding
of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland and the work of the prosecution service
in particular.
INDEPENDENT, FAIR AND EFFECTIVE