Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales)

Director of Public Prosecutions
Logo of the Crown Prosecution Service
Incumbent Stephen Parkinson since 1 November 2023
Crown Prosecution Service
Style	Director
Type	Director of Public Prosecutions
Reports to	Attorney General for England and Wales
Appointer	The Attorney General on the recommendation of independent panels
Constituting instrument	Prosecution of Offences Act 1879
Formation	3 July 1879
First holder	John Maule
Website	cps.gov.uk

This article is part of the series: Courts of England and Wales
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The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the third most senior public prosecutor in England and Wales, ranking after the attorney general and solicitor general.

First created in 1879, the office was merged with that of the Treasury Solicitor five years later,^[1] before again becoming independent in 1908. The director's department and role underwent modernisation from 1944 to 1964 under Sir Theobald Mathew QC, and further expansion with the introduction of the CPS in 1985, which came under the authority of the director. Today, the incumbent bears personal responsibility for 7,000 CPS staff and the approximately 800,000 prosecutions undertaken by it every year.

The director reports to the attorney general, who answers for the CPS in Parliament and makes appointments to the position, in the case of vacancy, on the recommendation of panels that include the Civil Service Commission. As of November 2023, the director is Stephen Parkinson.^[2][3]