Law Week events go behind scenes of crime and justice

Two events involving the University of Winchester helped shed light on the worlds of crime and punishment as part of the Cathedral’s Law Week Festival. 

Death in the Cathedral, a Tudor whodunnit got the festival off to an exciting start and tested the public’s detection skills.  

Behind Closed Doors staged at University’s Stripe Auditorium took a close look at today’s criminal justice system, following the progress of the accused from charge to conviction and beyond. 

Mystery of the murdered monk 

The whodunnit staged by the members of the University’s Policing, Criminology, Forensics and Law departments focussed on the death of monk, Brother Peter, found battered to death in the Fisherman’s Chapel. 

After combing the crime scene for clues the amateur investigators headed to the undercroft, which was set up as a forensics lab and police incident room. 

The three 90-minute sleuthing sessions were sold out and only one team solved the mystery! 

Natacha Harding, Head of Department of Policing, Criminology and Forensics at the University, wrote the story and hosted the event. “It was a great day - people seemed to really get into the case and ask all sorts of questions!” said Natacha. 

Amelia Riviere (second from right) who devised and played the accused in Behind Closed Doors with three of the panel members Chief Inspector Korine Bishop, Carrie Ord of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Criminal Liaison Division and solicitor Chloe Jay of law firm Shentons.

Justice system journey 

Questions were the order of the day at Behind Closed Doors which charted the journey of the accused, ‘Miss Scarlett’, following her arrest for the murder of wealthy ‘Doc Black’. 

The event, which attracted an audience of around 150, was devised Amelia Riviere  – a former magistrate and High Sheriff of Hampshire – who also played Miss Scarlett. 

Amelia began by recounting an exchange with an officer while making a prison visit. “’Don’t judge these people,’ he said. “’They could be in here because of a split-second lapse and you could end up here too!’” 

In a reversal of the usual roles, it was Amelia/Miss Scarlett who asked the questions. She quizzed a panel of professionals from the judiciary, legal profession, and the police. The panel, which included a police inspector and a judge, explained what would happen to Miss Scarlett at every stage.  

The evening yielded some amazing insights, including: 

• Women first offenders are much more likely to have a history of drugs and alcohol abuse than their male counterparts. 
• Miss Scarlett’s clothes would be removed at the police station because they would be classed as a ‘crime scene’ and must be examined for clues and evidence 
• If deemed ‘vulnerable’ Miss Scarlett could be accompanied by an ‘appropriate adult’ at her police interview in addition to her solicitor. 
• The legal custody limit for some offences is 182 days, meaning a defendant could spend up to six months in prison on remand before their trial even starts. 
• On arrival at prison, new inmates at some prisons are have to sit on the ’magic chair’ which scans their body cavities. 
• The length of Miss Scarlett’s ‘life’ sentence could be 15 or 25 years depending on whether or not she took the murder weapon to the scene. 

Dean of the Faculty of Law, Crime and Justice, Bill Davies, who introduced the event, said: It was an engaging and informative evening that shone a light on the criminal justice process.  A fabulous panel of experts, brilliantly interviewed by Amelia Riviere.” 

Shaun Romain, Director of Creative Programmes, Winchester Cathedral, who attended both events, said: "All of us at the Cathedral would like to thank the University of Winchester's Faculty of Law, Crime and Justice for their contribution to Law Week 2024.  

“Staff and students produced some of this year's standout events; attracting record numbers of people wanting to find out more about the criminal justice system." 

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