Casework assistant - Criminal law - Crown Prosecution Service

Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 2nd March 2025

Job summary

The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for delivering justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime. As the principal prosecuting authority across England and Wales, our work is often emotionally challenging and complex. As such we employ over 7,000 individuals who think objectively, act professionally, show the upmost respect for others and continually strive for excellence.

We are looking for individuals who are committed to public service, making a difference in people’s lives and delivering justice. We are committed to delivering the highest standards in this complex and challenging field.

Are you interested in developing a career with real purpose? Start your career in an integral supporting role as a casework assistant with the Crown Prosecution Service.

As a casework assistant, you’re often the first point of contact dealing with enquiries and correspondence. You’re responsible for providing casework support within your team, gaining insight into the important work of the Crown Prosecution Service along the way.

You deliver customer service to internal and external stakeholders. You build on your skills – including communication, quality checking and time management – to complete your work to a high standard and help achieve your team’s goals and objectives.

You must have excellent written, verbal and digital communication skills including knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications.

Job description

Casework assistants provide vital administrative support on the front line of our service. You support prosecutors by serving documents and preparing case files for hearings in the magistrates’ and Crown Court. You’re the first point of contact for your team, responding professionally to criminal justice partners, victims and witnesses to maintain public confidence in our work.

Your roles and responsibilities

You prepare cases for court, supporting our legal teams to operate effectively and efficiently
You ensure all work is produced to a high standard reflecting the values of the Crown Prosecution Service. You can read more about the Crown Prosecution Service and our values on our website
You ensure information received is recorded accurately so that it can be easily retrieved and accessed by the team working on the case
You provide excellent customer service when dealing with enquiries received by your team over the phone or in writing, so that the public and stakeholders can have confidence in the work of the Crown Prosecution Service
You carry out related tasks as requested by prosecutors, in support of your team’s work.

Our regional teams

The Crown Prosecution Service works across England and Wales, with 14 regional teams prosecuting cases locally in magistrates' and Crown Courts.

Each of these 14 regional teams are known as Crown Prosecution Service Areas – they are led by a chief crown prosecutor whose paralegal, casework and prosecution staff work closely with local police forces and other criminal justice partners to prepare and prosecute local cases.

Our regional teams currently advertising for casework assistants are:

East Midlands - Nottingham and Leicester

East of England - Norwich and Chelmsford

London - London North and London South

Mersey Cheshire - Liverpool

North West - Manchester and Preston

South East - Brighton, Guildford and Canterbury

South West – Bristol, Exeter and Truro

Thames and Chiltern - St Albans and Reading

Wales - Cardiff, Mold and Swansea

Wessex - Eastleigh and Portsmouth

Yorkshire and Humberside - Leeds, Sheffield and Hull

Our central casework divisions

Central casework divisions in the Crown Prosecution Service deal with some of the most complex criminal cases we prosecute. Working closely with specialist investigators across the criminal justice system, these divisions prosecute offences including organised crime, fraud, terrorism, corporate manslaughter and economic crime on an international scale.

Our central casework divisions currently advertising for casework assistants are:

Proceeds of Crime (POC) - Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham

Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID) – Extradition - Westminster Magistrates or High Court (London)

As a casework assistant, you’ll be based in either a regional team or a central casework division.

Person specification
To be eligible to apply for this opportunity, you must:

• be at least 18 years of age
• have excellent written, verbal and digital communication skills - including knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications
• have an interest in criminal law and public service

You don't need qualifications or legal experience for this role, a structured induction training plan is provided. Customer service skills are desirable but not required.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Developing Self and Others
Seeing the Big Picture
Making Effective Decisions
Communicating and Influencing
Delivering at Pace

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Developing Self and Others
• Seeing the Big Picture 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £23,800, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £6,894 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We’re passionate about ensuring that we're a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We're a committed equal opportunities employer, creating a culture where you can bring your whole self to work, and individuality is truly appreciated.

We want to ensure our employees can thrive at work and home, and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment. We offer a hybrid working policy. You must spend at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period at court, in an office or another official workplace depending on business need and the kind of work you're doing.

This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks covering disability, faith and belief, LGBTQI+, race, social mobility alongside our mental health first aiders programme and wellbeing sessions.

The Crown Prosecution Service commits to offer its employees the following experience.

You can do impactful, purposeful work that’s making a difference to your local communities
You can learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources
We care about your wellbeing
We want you to feel valued, trusted and included
We also offer the following benefits:

Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
An extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
Flexible working including flexitime, and a family-friendly approach to work
Maternity and shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay
£350 each year to spend on personal development
Access to season tickets, cycle to work loans and retail and leisure discounts
Wellbeing support including trained mental health first aiders and an employee assistance programme.

Pay ranges

Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester Mold, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Preston, Sheffield, Swansea and Truro: £23,800 starting pay, £25,700 maximum pay

St Albans: £25,000 + £1,050 starting pay, £27,500 + £1,050 maximum pay

Brighton, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Eastleigh, Guildford, Portsmouth, and Reading: £25,000 starting pay, £27,500 maximum pay

London: £25,000 + £3,150 starting pay, £27,500 + £3,150 maximum pay