DLS CrimeBusters: Law Week 2019

Want to crack a cold case, try your hand at sentencing or talk to judges and barristers? It’s all part of Law Week.

Deakin Law School (DLS) will play a major role in Law Week 2019 with a road show that offers regional Victorians unique insight into the everyday legal issues and behind-the-scenes knowledge.

Presented by Victoria Law Foundation, Law Week is an annual festival of events that makes learning about the law easy.

As part of the week-long program, DLS is presenting a regional roadshow – CrimeBusters – that will give Ballarat, Shepparton and Geelong residents the opportunity to crack cold cases, try their hand at sentencing and hear from some of Australia’s leading barristers and detectives.

These free events have been organised in collaboration with the Sentencing Advisory Council, Victoria Police, the Adult Parole Board, and local legal services in each regional city.

The DLS ‘CrimeBusters’ bus will travel to Ballarat on Tuesday 14 May, Shepparton on Wednesday 15 May, and Geelong on Thursday 16 May.

In a packed program of events, high school students are invited to afternoon sessions which include a ‘You Be The judge’ workshop, where they decide on a sentence for a real crime, and a ‘Thaw and Order’ presentation from Victorian Police’s Cold Case Unit.

There will also be sessions on the role of the Adult Parole Board, local crime issues and how the community can access legal support.

Evening sessions at 5pm will give members of the general public the opportunity to hear from DLS Associate Professor Theo Alexander, the barrister for Bourke Street killer James Gargasoulas, about defending the mentally impaired.

DLS Deputy Head Professor Marilyn McMahon says the DLS CrimeBusters program is a way to promote community discussion about crime and the management of offenders.

‘Our speakers are experts and include senior police, academics, a barrister, and a former judge – people who can provide unique behind the scenes insights into how our criminal justice system really works,’ she says.

‘We have sessions in the early afternoon aimed at students taking legal studies classes and later sessions aimed at the general community. Anyone who is interested in crime and the working of the Victorian criminal justice system should come along to these events.’

For more information and a full CrimeBusters program, visit the Law Week website here.

CrimeBusters events near you

What: CrimeBusters – Ballarat
When: Tuesday 14 May 2019
Where: Ballarat Town Hall, 225 Sturt Street

What: CrimeBusters – Shepparton
When: Wednesday 15 May 2019
Where: Eastbank Function Room, Riverlinks

What: CrimeBusters – Geelong
When: Thursday 16 May 2019
Where: Room D2.194, Deakin University Geelong Waterfront Campus, 1 Gheringhap Street