The Fraud Women’s Network is delighted to welcome Joanne Jakymec, Chief Crown Prosecutor (CPS) for the International, London and South East Division within the Directorate.
Jo will be talking to our Members about:
- Types of fraud the CPS prosecute – case studies, value of cases, use of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA)
- Time it takes for case(s) to go to trial
- Resource and costing
- Length of sentences, repeat rate / recidivism
- Impact on victims and how we can help
- What do people not know about the CPS and needs to be talked about – “myth busting the CPS”.
Speaker Bio:
Jo Jakymec qualified as a barrister in 1998 and joined HM Customs and Excise Solicitors Office two years later. She went on to become a Senior Prosecutor and Team Leader in the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office Serious Organised Crime Division.
In 2011, Jo was appointed Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor and Head of Organised Crime in the CPS. She was responsible for the prosecution of serious organised crime investigated by the National Crime Agency and other law enforcement partners in England and Wales.
Jo has also worked in CPS London as a Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, leading on disclosure, advocacy and the prosecution of Crown Court cases.
In June 2017, Jo became the Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex dealing with offending taking place in the counties of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and Wiltshire.
She became Head of the International Justice and Organised Crime Division in June 2021. In April 2022, with the formation of the new Serious Organised Economic Crime and International Directorate, Jo became the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the International, London and South East Division within the Directorate.
CPS Profile:
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes criminal cases that have been investigated by the police and other investigative organisations in England and Wales. The CPS makes decisions independently of the police and government. It is the duty of the CPS to make sure that the right person is prosecuted for the right offence, and to bring offenders to justice wherever possible.
The CPS:
- Decides which cases should be prosecuted
- Determines the appropriate charges in more serious or complex cases and advises the police during the early stages of investigations
- Prepares cases and presents them at court
- Provides information, assistance and support to victims and prosecution witnesses
The CPS Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID) ensures that we have the resilience, expertise and flexibility in our staff and our organisational structure to best respond to new and changing areas of complex crime, which includes Economic Crime.
SEOCID is comprised of three divisions: The International, London and South-East Division and Regional and Wales Division, which are made up of specialist teams dealing with complex organised crime and economic crime casework, and the Proceeds of Crime Division.
14 CPS Areas cover the vast majority of police-investigated fraud or volume fraud. In 2018 the CPS created three new Fraud Centres in CPS Areas to increase our capability in dealing with volume fraud casework (mainly from DWP and HMRC) and provide additional resilience at a regional level, based in Merseyside, Wales and Wessex.
