THE long arm of the law extended to Worcester Sixth Form College as part of Inside Justice Week.

Students at the college spent the day passing sentence, as they acted as magistrates in scenarios based on real-life cases with an audience of chief officers.

They were given the chance to take part in the launch of the Local Crime Community Sentencing (LCCS) Project in West Mercia, while learning about the effectiveness of community sentences.

Chief officers from criminal justice agencies throughout West Mercia were present to see the students pass their judgements on the mock cases.

LCCS is a joint project of the Magistrates’ and the Probation Boards’ Associations. The aim is to raise public awareness about the effectiveness of community sentences.

The day consisted of a member from probation and a magistrate working together in carrying out interactive, case-study-based presentations to the students. All the cases used are ‘cusp’ cases where the offence is serious enough to warrant a prison sentence.

The students voiced their opinions about what should happen to the offender, based on minimal information about the offence.

Once they were taken through what actually happened and what the possible options were, they were then asked again what they thought should happen to the offender.