Events Archive
Inside Justice Week
November 2007
To find out what happened in and around Staffordshire during Inside Justice Week 2007, please go to the Inside Justice Week page or click the banner above. You can also download the November 2007 Issue of Across the Board here.
Overseas Visit
September 2007
Staffordshire Criminal Justice Board hosted a two-day visit in the historic city of Lichfield from the Criminal Justice Board of the Flevoland, a county in the centre of the Netherlands.
The 22 strong-team consisted of the Chief of Police, Chief of the Crown Prosecution Service and senior staff from the Court Service, Probation Services, Prison Service, Bureau of Child Care, Child Protection Board and Victim Support. The group was also accompanied by state official from the biggest cities in the county, the city of Almere and city of Lelystad.
The visit on 13 and 14 September 2007 was arranged at the request of the Dutch who wanted to learn from the experiences in Staffordshire and to share good practice regarding joined-up-justice work.
On the first day of the visit the group received presentations from board members and senior criminal justice staff in Staffordshire on the vision of the future, how the joined-up criminal justice system works in Staffordshire, Government and inter-agency partnership links, organisational priorities and successes, measuring performance, improving public confidence and the justice awards, the Beacon Approach for Staffordshire, Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements, Electronic Tagging and the Police Agenda.
Gerard Veenstra, Chief of the Crown Prosecution Service and Chair of the Criminal Justice Board of Flevoland said: “Our work and challenges are similar enough to want to learn from each other. We are especially interested in the way the CJS in Staffordshire is trying to speed up procedures and to find ways of reducing crime to enhance public safety.
“We have learned more about subjects like the work of the Youth Offending Teams, persistent offenders, domestic violence and the way the work of the justice systems is linked to the work of local organisations and local councils.“
The day was rounded off with a civic reception at the offices of Lichfield District Council where visitors were met by Councillor and Chair Janet England, Councillor and Council Leader David Smith and Councillor and Community Issues Portfolio Leader Valerie Richards.
Councillor Janet Eagland, Chairman of Lichfield District Council, said: “It was an honour to welcome our distinguished visitors. It is always a pleasure to introduce Lichfield to new people as I am so proud of our beautiful district. I hope they found their visit constructive and I would like to thank them for their generous gifts.”
On day two further presentations included information about Community Resolution - an initiative of the Stoke-on-Trent Youth Offending Service, Tackling Domestic Abuse and Persistent Offenders.
The visitors were then split in to groups to visit the premises of various local criminal justice agencies and partners, to meet practitioners in the Youth Offending Services in Lichfield, HM Prison at Swinfen Hall, Lichfield, Victim Support in Lichfield, the Staffordshire Area of the National Probation Service in Stafford and the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership team from Staffordshire County Council, in Stafford. The visit concluded with a trip to Lichfield Cathedral.
Harry Ireland, Vice Chair of Staffordshire Criminal Justice Board, said: “The agencies that make up our Board work together to ensure that the system is being rebalanced in favour of the law-abiding majority and we’re delighted that our efforts have drawn the attention of the Flevoland Criminal Justice Board.
“We have been very interested to hear about how criminal justice is delivered in Holland and are eager to see how the processes from successful programmes can be adopted here, particularly to improve sharing data via our information technology systems.”
Inside Justice Week 2005
October 2005
As part of Inside Justice Week Staffordshire's Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) opened the doors of Tamworth Magistrates Court to give residents in the area the opportunity to see how the Criminal Justice System works in the county.
Last Saturday's open day gave over 700 members of the public the chance to walk through the court and meet the agencies and their partners who all had displays and giveaways. These included fingerprinting sessions, a walk-the-line challenge wearing specialist 'beer goggles' which gave wearers the impression of being under the influence of alcohol and mobile phone security marking from the community safety partnership.
Visitors were also given the opportunity to see how prison dogs discover drugs, they had the rare opportunity to ask Magistrates and Judges questions and witnessed justice in action at a series of mock trials before being led out through the cells into the forecourt where they inspected mobile custody units, police vehicles and speed camera vans.
LCJB Communications Co-ordinator Matt Eccles said: "The event was a great success. We were particularly pleased with the amount of young people that it attracted and everyone I spoke with had a great time. More importantly, perhaps, our visitors had the chance to witness how the criminal justice system works in their community."
In the North of the County Hanley Town Hall also opened its doors to over 300 local schoolchildren who took a rare behind-the-scenes look at the old court room. The oak panelled room provided the perfect setting for them to re-enact a trial scenario, with each of the pupils playing a role in the proceedings across the week. They were also treated to talks, displays and goody bags from the Prison Service, Police, CPS and the Probation Service.
The LCJB were also transformed into Staffordshire superheroes and children aged 11 and under were encouraged to create a new member of the 'Staffordshire League of Justice' to win a Sony PSP. The winner was Sam Hume, 11, from St Edwards Middle School in Leek, who designed a knight called Sir Staffordshire. The judges felt that the character reflected the county's rural and historical nature.
The theme had been extended to bus advertising to raise awareness of the week and the LCJB website staffs.cjsonline.gov.uk
Court in the Act Open Day
March 2005
Pictured Below: Rebecca Huxley, aged seven, of Endon, with her brother Jordon on the open day quiz trail (courtesy of The Sentinel)
Over two thousand people visited and enjoyed Stoke Combined Court's open day in Hanley. The Court had opened its doors on Saturday March 12 to give the public a rare behind scenes view of how the Criminal Justice System works.
The attractions on the day included mock trials and cell visits, question and answer sessions with the judges, fingerprinting and visitors were also encouraged to walk a straight line with specially designed 'beer goggles' which left wearers disorientated, similarly to if they had been drinking heavily.
Chief Inspector Peter Hall enthused: "The turn-out was amazing and the Police stand had a huge queue of people from start to finish who all wanted their fingerprints taken. The event was so busy that one lady even likened the queues to Alton Towers. This has been a huge success and all of the Criminal Justice Agencies involved deserve huge credit."
The fun-filled family focus was evident across the whole building, with hundreds of children filling in quizzes which served to increase their knowledge of the agencies represented at the event. Their parents were especially keen to take their children on the cell tours to give them a stark reminder of what happens to offenders.
The wills of the famous were also a popular draw with parents and children alike with Princess Diana, George Harrison and local hero Stanley Matthews testaments on display.
The fun was balanced with a serious tone as the Criminal Justice Board wanted to give visitors full access to the services on offer, these included advice for victims and witnesses, information about drug and alcohol abuse, a fostering and adoption section and visitors were also keen to find out exactly how Anti-Social Behaviour Orders work.
Chief Inspector Hall concluded: "It is encouraging to discover from the feedback forms that visitors had increased their understanding of the Criminal Justice System and their confidence in it."
The next series of open days are planned to take place during Inside Justice Week 17-21 October 2005.
Staffordshire's Criminal Justice Board is one of 42 such Boards across England and Wales.The other board members are the Chief Officers of the following law enforcement agencies:
- Staffordshire Police
- The Crown Prosecution Service
- The Magistrates Court Service
- The Crown Court Service
- The National Probation Service, Staffordshire
- Her Majestys Prison Service
- Youth Offending Service
