Talking About Justice
22/11/2006
This week NHW coordinators were given the opportunity to question members of the criminal justice system as part of Inside Justice Week 2006.
South Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board invited coordinators to join them to discuss topics including youth crime, anti social behaviour, community punishment, sentencing and victim & witness care.
The purpose of the day was to enable community members to put their questions to a panel of senior representatives from each of the criminal justice agencies namely South Yorkshire Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majestys Court Service, the National Probation Service, HMP Doncaster, regional Youth Offending Teams and also a prisoner from HMP Doncaster.
The day involved delegates scribbling comments and concerns on tablecloths, discussing topics in small groups, putting their questions to the panel and finally completing a case study set by the criminal justice agencies.
Meredydd Hughes, Chief Constable and Chair of South Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board in his opening speech commented: This event will provide a great opportunity for those attending to learn more about the criminal justice agencies and the work that we do.
It also provides us with the opportunity to hear more about the issues that are important to you. The criminal justice system is there to serve the public and it is therefore important for you, the public, to understand the system and have confidence in the services we are delivering across South Yorkshire.
John Sturdy, Development, South Yorkshire Neighbourhood Watch said of the day: Events like this are important as they provide an opportunity for coordinators in the community to learn more about the system and understand a little bit better how the agencies involved all work together. I personally enjoyed learning from Andrew Davison; District Judge & Director of Legal Services across South Yorkshire, what the guidelines and regulations are for sentencing.
One of the delegates commented: I learnt today that criminal justice is not as straight forward as it seems. People in the criminal justice system have many things to take account of the public may not be aware of these facts, which are why events like this help to clarify the misconceptions of the criminal justice system.
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.