Inside Justice Week 2007
Dorset’s Inside Justice Week campaign proved a great success.
A number of public events gave people in Dorset the chance to get a better understanding of the criminal justice system during Inside Justice Week.
The events also helped to raise the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system during the week-long campaign which ran from 3-10 November.
Events took place throughout the week at Durweston Primary School, Bournemouth University and Portland Young Offenders Institution.
Year 4 pupils at Durweston Primary School enjoyed an interactive presentation performed by staff from HM Courts Service on Tuesday 6 November. The presentation highlighted how justice today is very different to how it was in the Victorian era.
As part of the presentation, Rod Brummitt, Area Director of HM Courts Service and Chair of the Dorset Criminal Justice Board, sentenced one of the children to 14 days hard labour and four years in a reformatory for stealing 10 shillings!
After playing his role as a stern Victorian magistrate in the presentation Rod Brummitt said: “I think this is a very promising idea to develop as I think the earlier that children understand the Criminal Justice System the better.”
The class were also given an introduction to our modern courts and justice system and were given the opportunity to take part in activities including fingerprinting, designing a modern outfit for judges and trying on the courtroom regalia of wigs and gowns.
Over 120 first year Law students from Bournemouth University enjoyed a special criminal justice lecture at 10am on Wednesday 7 November.
Matt French, Dorset Criminal Justice Board Business Manager, Roger Hall, Head of Dorset CPS’s Magistrates Remand Unit, and Judge Wiggs, Resident Judge at Bournemouth Crown Court, all spoke about the criminal justice system at the lecture.
Matt French said: “Giving this special lecture to the students today was great as it gave the students a chance to hear experiences from people directly involved in the criminal justice system. I hope the students found the lecture informative and interesting."
An interactive criminal justice seminar, which explored how crimes are investigated and prosecuted, took place at Bournemouth University at 2pm on Wednesday 7 November.
Sgt Danny Thompson from Dorset Police and Richard Oakley, Head of Dorset CPS’s Summary Trials Unit, delivered the two-hour seminar to the second year Law students.
Evaluation forms were handed out after the Bournemouth University events, and the results showed a significant rise in students’ confidence and knowledge in the criminal justiuce system as a direct result of the two events.
On Wednesday 7 November, 10 members of the public got the chance to be locked up in a cell as part of a prison tour of Portland Young Offenders Institution.
The tour party enjoyed the rare opportunity to see what life behind bars is really like in Dorset.
Governor Steve Holland led the tour around the prison, and was happy to answer any questions that the group had. He said: “Bringing members of the public into the prison on this tour has given them the chance to see with their own eyes what a prison is really like on the inside.
“We work hard here to run a prison that the people of Portland can be proud of and I hope that the 10 members of the public that came in today enjoyed the experience and found it interesting. It is important for our local community to understand what goes on in their prison.
An extensive media campaign was also run with our local media partners during Inside Justice Week, which highlighted some of the excellent work and initiatives that take place across Dorset’s criminal justice system.