Eight members of the West Midlands Criminal Justice Board will field questions today from 200 students from across the region, at an event at the University of Birmingham.

Students, from 15 schools, will have the opportunity to put questions to the panel on issues in crime and justice. Subjects tackled are likely to include: Should life mean life? What constitutes reasonable force in defending our properties? And how is the rise in firearm crime being dealt with?

Panel chairman, Stephen Shute, Professor in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at the University says: “This is an excellent opportunity to engage students in issues of criminal justice that affect everyone in our day to day lives.”

The panel represents a distinguished panel of representatives from local criminal justice agencies across the West Midlands including David Blundell, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service West Midlands, Gary Cann, Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and His Honour Judge Howard Morrison, CBE QC.

Today’s event is co-organised by the University of Birmingham and the West Midlands Criminal Justice Board.