Last week, Salford Business School students were been given an incredible opportunity to partake in a week of work experience with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Taking place between Monday 17 and Friday 21 February, 25 undergraduate students participated in the week. Sessions centred on employability, pathways into careers at the CPS, as well as general criminal procedure and the application of the law, including how serious crimes such as sexual offences, hate crime and knife crime are prosecuted.
The criminal procedure and application of the law workshops used active case studies, building the students’ experience and visibility of real-life cases. Each of the sessions were delivered by CPS employees across all levels, from trainees up to Senior Prosecutors, including Judges and Barristers.
Louise Hall, Senior Lecturer in Law (Practice) and Solicitor, Salford Business School, commented: “The programme has been running for over five years now and it’s clear how valuable it is, given the success our alumni have had in pursuing careers at the CPS. This programme is exclusive to Salford, as the only university that offers opportunities of this nature with the CPS.”
Current third year LLB Law student, Rebecca Hilderley, who completed the work experience this year, shared insight on the value of the programme to her future career progression. She said: “I’ve always wanted to work for the CPS, initially as a Case Worker or Paralegal, and long-term as a Crown Prosecutor, so to have access to the Service via this programme is amazing. I’ve heard so many people this week talk about what a great place to work it is and the level of support you are given there, especially when dealing with difficult cases, which has only compounded my aspirations to work for the organisation even further.”
First year LLB Law student, Georgia Allen, who has also completed the programme this year, added: “I have office-based work experience, but to have the opportunity for the CPS to come to campus to complete this programme alongside my peers has been great. I feel lucky to have been given such a valuable opportunity, given that the programme is exclusive to Salford and not everyone has the chance to do this. I now have this experience on my CV, which will hopefully give me competitive edge as I hope to one day become a Barrister for the CPS. I would like to thank David and Yusuf from the CPS for all of their help and for such a great week.”
Maruf Ahmed, third year LLB Law student, continued: “The week has been really interactive which I’ve loved. It has allowed us to further develop our critical thinking and to see the response to real-life criminal cases. I’ve enjoyed being immersed into the daily lives of Criminal Barristers and Prosecutors as I one day hope to work with the CPS. I did a placement last year with Forbes Solicitors so have great experience on the defence side of the law, but to now have this on the prosecution side really does strengthen my CV.”
Yusuf Tai MBE, Inclusion and Community Engagement Manager at CPS Northwest, concluded: “We have now been running the five day work experience with the University of Salford since 2020. Our Lawyers and staff really enjoy coming to the University and sharing their diverse career experiences into Law and the CPS, as well practical expertise on the role of prosecution in criminal law.
“Each year we have seen students from work experience go on to apply for Anthony Walker Bursary schemes, as well as roles at the CPS. This is as well as increasing understanding of how our prosecution works which makes our contribution to the University very important for us.”