Stephen Herron studied law at Queen’s University Belfast and qualified as a solicitor in 1997. He joined the then Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2002, working as a prosecutor in various roles across the Service including Belfast & Eastern Region, Fraud and Departmental Section and Central Casework.
Stephen was appointed Senior Assistant Director in 2013, taking the organisational lead on a number of criminal justice reform initiatives and overall responsibility for prosecution decisions in over 50,000 cases annually.
He played a key role in the Transformation Programme for the PPS which has involved the roll-out of a digital programme across courts, creation of a specialist prosecution unit for murder and serious sexual offences, the streamlining of regional services, and redesigning the supports provided to victims and witnesses.
He was appointed as Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in May 2017 and was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland on 2 January 2018.