Criminal Justice System opens its doors

Mock trials, a court open day and a justice exhibition are some of the fun and informative events taking place in Warwickshire next week, as part of the first ever Inside Justice Week.

Forty two Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) from England and Wales are participating in the week, which has been established to give the public a better understanding of the Criminal Justice System and its individual elements. Aiming to increase public confidence, it is hoped that the week will begin to fill in the gaps in the public’s knowledge of areas such as court processes and sentencing; encouraging local communities and individuals to get involved and revealing the improvements within the CJS to reduce re-offending.

In Warwickshire events are taking place on Saturday 16th October. Warwick Crown Court is staging a mock criminal trial with professional judges and barristers and members of the public will be invited to put their questions to the resident judge. The justice agencies will have information, displays and presentations at Leamington Spa Town Hall and in addition, Leamington Magistrates’ Court is staging a mock application for bail and providing information about becoming a magistrate. There will be free gifts for children, the chance to have fingerprints taken and an opportunity to look at a police patrol car, CCTV van and prison van.

The Chair of Warwickshire Criminal Justice Board, Liz Stafford, explains: “Unless you commit or are a victim or witness of crime you are unlikely to know a great deal about how the Criminal Justice System works. Inside Justice gives people the opportunity to find out about the important work that goes on every day to make Warwickshire a safer place to be.”

Baroness Scotland, Minister of State for the Criminal Justice System and Law Reform adds: “The chance of becoming a victim of crime has fallen to the lowest in 20 years. However people also need to feel safe. Communities need to know what the Criminal Justice System is doing on their behalf and how they can play their part. I hope Inside Justice Week will help achieve this.

“Members of the public are vital to the Criminal Justice System: Police Specials, magistrates, jurors, Victim Support and Witness Service volunteers not to mention people reporting crime and turning up at court to give evidence. In collaboration with local communities we can make even more progress towards delivering a fairer and more just society.”

The aim of Inside Justice is to engage communities in the delivery of justice and show that as individuals they can make a difference; for example by participating as jurors, acting as witnesses and reporting crime and anti-social behaviour. Information on local events and the week in general can be found in the Inside Justice Week section within this website. Alternatively for a national overview of Inside Justice please visit www.cjsonline.gov.uk/insidejustice.