South Yorkshire Justice System Opens its Doors to the Public

15/11/2006

The public in South Yorkshire will have the chance to get a unique glimpse behind the criminal justice system as this year's Inside Justice Week gets underway across the county from 18th - 25th November.

To kick start the week, staff working within the criminal justice system will be at Herringthorpe Leisure Centre and Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday 18th November from 10am 4pm, and finishing the week off at Ponds Forge and Doncaster Dome on 25th November.  The events will offer members of the public an insight into the criminal justice system and visitors will be given the opportunity to have their fingerprints taken (for fun), make nominations for Community Payback projects in the local area and learn about career and volunteering opportunities within the system.

Brownies and Guides across South Yorkshire have also been helping the criminal justice system get ready for Inside Justice Week by entering competitions to design a criminal justice superhero and a poster designed to help reduce anti social behaviour.  Winners will be announced during Inside Justice Week.

Meredydd Hughes, Chief Constable and Chair of South Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board said:

Justice matters to everyone: in any decent society justice must be done and be seen to be done. The criminal justice system must also have the confidence of the law-abiding majority. This is why Inside Justice Week is so important. It is a chance for the public in South Yorkshire, who may have never come into contact with the justice system, to look behind the scenes, ask questions and find out more.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said:

"Inside Justice Week is a great opportunity for the public to see what goes on behind the scenes of our courts, police stations and prisons.  I believe such openness can only help improve public understanding of the challenges our criminal justice system faces and the dedication of the staff who work within it. "

Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland said:

I am delighted to welcome in the third annual Inside Justice Week.

I hope the week will give the public a clearer understanding of the criminal justice systems inner workings - be it through taking a rare look inside a court room at an open day or speaking to frontline staff at a community road show.

Frontline staff and local communities play a critical role in building an effective and fair justice system. Inside Justice Week is all about celebrating and encouraging this contribution.

The aim of this years Inside Justice Week is to open up the justice system to the public in order to:

• increase peoples knowledge and understanding of the criminal justice system
  
• encourage people to get involved by publicising the range of career and volunteering opportunities available in the criminal justice system
  
• inform people about the support available should they come into contact with the justice system, either as a victim of crime, witness, juror or as someone accused of a crime.