Open day at Porirua District Court

The public will get a unique opportunity to learn more about the justice system and its work with the community at an open day hosted by Porirua District Court on Saturday 27 November.

Mock court cases run by local Judges will run throughout the day and the public will also be able to take a tour of the of the court house and speak with staff from various agencies involved in the justice system who will be running information stalls.

The open day is a follow up to a workshop held at the Court in February which brought together local community organisations, social workers, Police, lawyers, health workers, teachers, Council and Court staff to discuss working together to identify and do something about the underlying causes of crime in the Porirua area.

The group was brought together and hosted by Porirua Judges Jan Kelly and John Walker who say a unique approach is making use of Porirua’s huge spirit of co-operation to build strong collaborative relationships with the community.

“We hope that people who come to the open day will go away with a better understanding of the Court and have a greater appreciation of the important part it plays in their community.

“We want people to feel that the Court is not a just an official building but that it is crucial in building safer communities for us all,” Judge Kelly said.

Judge Walker has seen firsthand how Community Justice Centres in Australia and the United Kingdom have enhanced public perception of justice and the role of the court in the community.

“We firmly believe that by everyone involved in the system working together in a holistic manner we can create a network that will address the whole crime picture and not just each of its parts.

“We envisage increased community involvement will lead to justice become more relevant to the community and will result in greater accountability on offenders to change their behaviour,” Judge Walker said.

The open day will run at the District Court on Hagley Street from 10am to 2pm on Saturday 27 November.