Community News
Local people have a say on crime and justice in Surrey
A series of public meetings about different aspects of the criminal justice system and how crime affects communities has been piloted in 3 areas of the county. The series, called ‘Crime and Justice in Surrey’, was hosted by the Surrey Police Neighbourhood Panels in Ash, Woodhatch, and Sheerwater & Maybury, and gave people an opportunity to learn more about the work of the criminal justice system and have a say on how to make their communities safer.
The series was part of a wider project in Surrey to identify the best ways of engaging communities, and making the CJS more aware and responsive to their needs and concerns. It began in April with Surrey Youth Offending Team, who gave some talks on community reparation and how people could identify work for young offenders to carry out in their neighbourhoods, and ended in October with the Crown Prosecution Service on how and why decisions were made whether to prosecute or discontinue a case. Intervening sessions involved the magistrates' courts who spoke about the role of volunteer magistrates and their sentencing options; Surrey Probation who explained how offenders are managed within the community; and HM Prison Send detailing how prisoners are prepared for their release.
Surrey is the only criminal justice area (there are 42 nationally) to have been chosen for this project and our results will inform the rest of England and Wales. The series is currently being evalutated and a decision as to their future will be made early in 2007.