People who want to know more about community sentences will get the chance at an event in Bradford next month being run by the magistrates and probation associations.

The Local Crime: Community Sentence (LCCS) event, hosted by the Telegraph & Argus at the Midland Hotel, will give people the chance to decide on a sentence in a real-life case.

LCCS is a national public education project run jointly by the Magistrates’ Association and Probation Association. It is one of the first such events to be held in Bradford.

Local co-ordinator Anne Beckett, of the probation service: “The idea is to give people a wider knowledge of community sentences as an option, other than prison,” she said.

Magistrate Nigel Reynolds and senior probation officer Clare Ball will make the one-hour presentation, which will feature an anonymous version of a real-life crime involving the theft of drugs from an ambulance while a woman is being treated.

The presentation begins with the reading of a newspaper article about the crime and asking the audience to vote on what they think should happen to the offender.

The magistrate and probation officer will then mock up an interview with the offender to give information about his background and the reasons for his offending.

The audience will then be asked to vote again on what they think should be the sentence.

The event starts at 4.30pm on Thursday, June 16, and will take place in front of an invited audience.

For a chance to attend, complete and return the coupon in today's T&A.

  • Read the full story in Tuesday's T&A