The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have appointed a former Chief Crown Prosecutor as the Chair of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA). Nazir Afzal, a practicing Muslim, served as the Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England from 2011-2015 and chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners from 2016-2017. He has prosecuted numerous high profile criminal cases and consulted on legal matters in areas including violence against women and girls, child sexual abuse, and so-called “honour” killings. “Mr Afzal brings to this role the freshness and vast experience required in order to make the establishment of the CSSA a truly significant step change in the work of Safeguarding in the Catholic Church,” said Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. He described the appointment of Afzal as “a bold and timely step.” In a statement from the bishops’ safeguarding project, Afzal spoke of his credentials: