Judge for yourself
If someone’s broken a driving ban and pleaded guilty in court, what should happen to them?
Should they be jailed, be ordered to do unpaid work in the community or be given a fine? What if they’ve been caught with a knife in the centre of Peterborough? Or if they’ve admitted to carrying illegal drugs through the city?
Ever wondered what happens when someone’s sent to court, accused of breaking the law? Or what it’s like to volunteer as a magistrate? Or serve as a Crown court judge?
Inside Justice Week is a major campaign aimed at opening up the criminal justice system to the public. It’s about explaining how the system works and giving people the chance to look behind the scenes. The theme for this year's campaign was ‘Justice For All’.
Throughout Inside Justice Week, which ran from 18 to 25 October, The Evening Telegraph in Peterborough gave readers a chance to see how justice is done locally – and take part in the justice system.
Readers were invited to have their say on sentencing using three hypothetical scenarios in an exciting initiative developed between the Cambridgeshire Criminal Justice Board and Her Majesty's Courts Service.
The cases and the people featured within them were totally fictional – but they’re typical of the kind of cases magistrates deal with every day.
The Evening Telegraph also featured interviews with Peterborough Combined Court Judge Nicolas Coleman and local magistrate Gordon Smith, as well as explaining how the Cambridgeshire Criminal Justice Board brings together the county's justice agencies.