THE Crown Prosecution Service offices in Bournemouth are to close, it has been announced.

The 55 members of staff were told the news last week about the closure, which forms part of a major cost-saving restructuring scheme within the CPS Wessex area.

Speaking about the “difficult decision”, Chief Crown Prosecutor Kate Brown said there would be no compulsory redundancies but some staff had opted for voluntary redundancy or moved to jobs in other areas or organisations.

The organisation also intends to close offices in Basingstoke, Isle of Wight and Southampton – keeping offices in Portsmouth and Eastleigh.

Kate Brown added: “One thing that will never change is that we will continue making decisions on whether or not there is sufficient evidence to prosecute an individual with an offence and whether it is in the public interest.”