CRIMINOLOGY and law students have been getting a closer look at the trials and tribulations of offenders who become the responsibility of the probation service.
A role-play exercise featuring heroin user Tommy, who is found guilty of theft, assaulting a police officer and breaching bail conditions, forms the centrepiece of a presentation at the University of Teesside, as part of Inside Justice Week.
The role play was developed as a way of illustrating the work that the service does in supervising offenders and diverting them from a life of crime.
Chief officer of the Probation Service on Teesside, Elaine Lumley, said: "The role play was first devised by our staff as a means of explaining our role in the justice system to local magistrates.
"This was the first time we have presented it in front of students, so it was interesting to see how they responded.
"Tommy, the offender at the centre of the presentation, is an individual with a range of problems typical of the kind which we face in our day-to-day work."
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