Crown office and Procurator Fiscal Service
19 May 2008
LORD ADVOCATE APPOINTS NEW PROCURATOR FISCAL FOR GLASGOW
The Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini QC, today announced the appointment of Lesley Thomson to Scotland's most senior Procurator Fiscal post, the Area Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow.
One of Ms Thomson's first priorities will be to strengthen the new Area High Court Unit in Glasgow in order to step up the drive in tackling serious crime. Lesley will be appointing a senior prosecutor to lead this unit, which was established as part of the Crown's commitment to tackling serious crime in a targeted and focussed way, drawing together professional expertise from across the 3 Glasgow Divisions to ensure there are teams of the highest skill working together on the most serious cases.
The Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini QC, said:
"Lesley Thomson is a highly experienced and well respected prosecutor. Her career to date in the fiscal service makes her the ideal person for this most senior and important post. Following the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) in 2003, Lesley was the first Procurator Fiscal to head up the Criminal Confiscation Unit and thereafter the Financial Crime Unit at Crown Office, and was the driving force in using the new POCA powers to tackle serious and organised crime.
"For the past year as Interim Area Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders, she was been at the forefront of developing new ways of tackling crime in the area. The successful introduction of a specialist team, as part of the Area High Court Unit, to prosecute sexual offence cases was a particular success. I am sure that the energy, enthusiasm and commitment that Lesley brings to the work of the Procurator Fiscal Service will ensure that communities across Glasgow continue to be served by a first class prosecution service."
Lesley Thomson, Area Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow said:
"It is an honour and a privilege to be appointed to this post. I was born and grew up in Glasgow and from the day I started in the Fiscal Service it has always been an ambition of mine to be given the opportunity to lead the Glasgow Procurator Fiscal Office.
"I am looking forward to working with some of the most talented and experienced prosecutors in Glasgow to tackle serious crime. Such crime can have a devastating effect on our local communities and it is essential that we are well equipped to respond to such crime in a professional and effective manner to ensure that justice can be done.
"It is not all about serious crime though and I will be playing a major part, working with partners to tackle the wide range of anti-social behaviour which affect the people of Glasgow and the image of the city. The Clean Glasgow campaign is a wonderful example, where the Glasgow Procurator Fiscal Office, working closely with Glasgow City Council, has over the past year helped to create a better environment fit for a vibrant city that plays host to significant large scale public events."
Notes to Editors
1. Lesley Thomson was born and brought up in Glasgow educated at Glasgow High school and graduated with LLB Honours from Glasgow University in 1979.
After a spell in industry with the then South of Scotland Electricity Board, she joined COPFS in 1985 and subsequently held posts in Greenock, Glasgow, Crown Office Fraud Unit and Paisley.
She was Procurator Fiscal at Selkirk between 2000 and 2002 before being appointed to Head of the Criminal Confiscation Unit and thereafter the Financial Crime Unit at Crown Office in 2003. She was then appointed District Procurator Fiscal, Edinburgh and Haddington in 2006, and became Interim Area Procurator Fiscal, Lothian and Borders in May 2007 when Frank Mulholland was appointed Solicitor General.
2. Glasgow is the largest of the COPFS Areas. Around 350 staff deal with 78,000 cases a year. Glasgow accounts for over 30% of the High Court cases in Scotland. Cases are also dealt with in the Sheriff Court of Glasgow and Strathkelvin, which is one of the busiest courts in Europe, and at the District Courts at Glasgow, Rutherglen and Kirkintilloch.
3. It is the largest office in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal estate, putting business through Glasgow Sheriff Court, the busiest court in Europe.
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