We meet the 1st Friday of the month, at 2pm in members home.

CRIME GROUP 1 celebrates their 4th Anniversary this April!

It's interesting that there is so much interest in all things criminal
amongst the inhabitants of our comparatively small village.

We've had lots of discussions regarding all things crime related, from
covering the psychology of criminals, infamous cases, looking at the UK
Justice system, with all that entails, ranging from detection,
sentencing, prison system, rehabilitation etc.

It's a huge subject with of course, lighter areas, such as the origin of
policing, crime fiction writers and never ending programs on both tv and
film.

We have been fortunate to welcome various speakers to our meetings over
the years, including an ex magistrate, prison librarian, scene of crimes
officer, local pcso team, prison art therapist, victim support and a
lecturer specialising  in the psychology of male life prisoners.

Over the years we have enjoyed various site visits too.

First trip was to Shepton Mallet prison museum, complete with a (very
realistic) hanging scene!

We've visited Portsmouth Crown Court where we met various court
officials, including one of the Judges, and of course, observed various
cases being held that day.

Also a visit to Winchester University Forensics department who had set
up a crime scene for us to attempt to solve, which was a real learning
curve but great fun for us all.

We joined forces with the Gosport Criminology group for a terrific visit
to the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where we took part in an
historical murder trial with each of us taking on the various roles
involved, including that of the defendant, who was subsequently found
not guilty - which was actually not the case!

There was also a Stubbington combined groups day trip to the True Crimes
museum in Hastings and some of us attended the Portsmouth University
Festival of Crime day back in May 2024.

That was so good, we could've done with a weekend to enjoy all the
various events and talks they had, however, they are repeating it again
this May, so we are definitely heading back there again next month!

So all in all we've had a great 4 years, learned lots, laughed lots and
look forward to continuing our excursions into the world of Crime!

Sue Yorke - Group Leader