STEVE Chappell always wanted to be a lawyer.
He made up his mind that was the career for him after watching afternoon TV courtroom drama Crown Court.
The series was based in the fictional town of Fulchester and, although those involved in the case were actors, the jury comprised members of the public.
Now Mr Chappell's favourite programmes are the Scandinavian TV dramas, particularly the original Swedish version of Wallander.
He says: "There are two things that appeal to me. Firstly you see the detective as a human being.
"You get acquainted with his life, his back story and the things that affect and influence him.
"Secondly, you get a really clear view of the environment and society in which they are living.
"I think that crime drama is like a prism looking into the values and culture of a country. So anything with subtitles and I am glued."
Mr Chappell studied law in Hull, completed his training in Sheffield and then began his career, working his way up to top roles across the country before coming to the East Midlands.
Now he is the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the East Midlands, answerable to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Every day is different. Sometimes he is working with criminal justice boards, or attending meetings about performance improvement. On other days he goes to court or meets staff in focus groups.
He has taken on the role in difficult times. The budget for the CPS nationally is to decrease by 25% by 2015, according to the 2010 spending review.
Mr Chappell says the service is responding in a number of ways: "Firstly, we are prosecuting more and more cases digitally. The majority of businesses operate digitally and save time and resources by doing so.
"Over the last couple of years, we have worked extremely hard to change the way we operate and have worked closely with the police and the courts community to make digital prosecutions a reality.
"You will now see CPS prosecutors in the magistrates' court prosecuting from tablet devices and we are receiving evidence from the police electronically, whereas a few years ago this was all done on paper. Working digitally increases our ability to work around the East Midlands and to ensure we have a flexible approach to our use of resources."
He says the most significant challenge faced by the CPS is maintaining a high quality service.
"We are positive about the future," he says. "Our performance in key areas such as domestic violence and rape and serious sexual offences is improving."
The organisation's particular success in the East Midlands is something called an early guilty plea scheme.
CPS and defence advocates identify cases destined for Crown Court that are likely to result in a guilty plea at an early stage. These cases are then fast-tracked so that plea and sentence can be dealt with at one hearing, avoiding adjournments.
The East Midlands is doing well compared to the national picture, says Mr Chappell.
"The scheme is designed to save time, effort, money and anxiety for victims.
"There are some cases where the evidence is strong and as a prosecutor you know are likely to end in a guilty plea before a trial.
"This means all the time and resource that went into preparing the case for a trial, securing evidence, serving papers on the defence and the court could be wasted.
"Above all, we would have called witnesses, usually including the victim, who would then have to go through the build-up to the trial, only to be told it was not necessary."
