The new service will deal with a wide range of offences

Details of the enlarged prosecutor's office which will decide which cases proceed and what charges are faced by offenders, were released on Friday.

Under the old system, the police prosecuted many more people than the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, dealing with up to 30,000 less serious offences each year in the Magistrates' Court, such as drunkenness and shoplifting.

The Public Prosecution Service will now take on these offences, deciding which cases should proceed and what charges should be brought.

KEY CHANGES Police no longer decide what cases go to court Prosecutor determines charge Criminals could face victims Five new regional offices

The new service brings Northern Ireland into line with the Crown Prosecution Service operating in England and Wales.

It will be responsible for all prosecutions heard in the magistrates, youth and county courts, with a pilot scheme due to be launched in south Belfast in December.

Police inspectors will no longer prosecute cases, under the Criminal Justice Review carried out after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Hundreds of staff and a greatly increased budget will be needed by the new service, which will be dealing with as many as 75,000 cases per year.

The prosecution service is to be decentralised, with offices in Ballymena, Londonderry, Omagh Newry and Strabane as well as Belfast.

Attorney General Lord Goldsmith announced the changes

Regional prosecutors will head up the devolved operation, dealing with all files with the exception of some serious cases which will be sent to headquarters.

While police decide whether to prosecute before sending files to the CPS, the Public Prosecution Service will make any decision about court action at the earliest stage.

At the moment, 150 staff are employed by the DPP including 40 lawyers, but this will be increased to 580, of whom 150 will be lawyers, in order to keep up with demand.

South Belfast was chosen for the pilot scheme due to its high crime levels, while a second trial run is planned for Omagh next April.

The new service should be in place within three years.

Announcing the changes in Belfast on Friday, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith warned that the new service must not become a hostage to politics.

"My hope is that people will see - and today is the start of that process by engaging the whole community in it - that we can have a justice system in Northern Ireland which is independent, fair, effective and in which everybody can have confidence," he said.