A major public debate organised later this month will consider the challenge of crime in Nottingham, how the community is fighting back and what more needs to be done.

Organised by the Nottingham Speakers’ Corner Trust, the debate will feature experts, politicians, Notts Police and young people from across the city but the main contributors will be the Nottingham public themselves.

The debate will take place on Monday September 29 at 7pm at the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham. It will be the first major event organised by the Nottingham Speakers’ Corner initiative which was launched in February this year to promote public debate on important issues in the city.

A new Speakers’ Corner, the first in the UK for almost 150 years, is currently being developed in a pedestrianised area at the bottom of King Street and Queen Street in the city centre.

Some of the questions that will be addressed at the Nottingham Speakers’ Corner Trust debate will include:

• How big is our crime problem - and is Nottingham’s reputation as a crime capital a fair reflection of life in the city?
• How has Nottingham reduced its crime rate – what’s worked and what hasn’t and what’s next - and have we got something to teach other towns and cities as well as lessons to learn ourselves?
• How do we continue to reduce crime and the fear of crime and whose job is it anyway? What’s the police’s role, and the politicians’ and the courts’ – and what’s ours as citizens?

The debate will be chaired by Steven Fletcher, News Editor of the Nottingham Evening Post, and feature contributions from:

• Vernon Coaker, Gedling MP and Home Office Minister with a special responsibility for crime reduction
• Howard Roberts, Deputy Chief Constable, Notts Police
• Cllr Jon Collins, leader of Nottingham City Council
• Cllr David Mellen, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services at Nottingham City Council (invited)
• Judge Andrew Hamilton
• Maggie Blyth, chair of the Nottingham Youth Justice Board
• Roger Hopkins Burke, criminologist, Nottingham Trent University
• Young people from Radford, Broxtowe Estate, Clifton, and Bulwell

Chair of Nottingham Speakers’ Corner Trust, Tim Desmond says:

"Crime is the number one issue in Nottingham and is an ideal subject to be aired in a Speakers’ Corner debate. There’s bound to be a wide range of views on this subject and this is a great chance for people come along and share their thoughts at this event with some of the key experts in the city.

"The whole idea of Speakers’ Corner is to bring people together to exchange and enjoy ideas and opinions, to learn from each other and to have a greater say in how our lives are run. I’m really looking forward to this debate and would encourage people, whatever their interest in this topic, to come along and join in”.

Entry to the debate is limited to 90 and is by ticket only on a first come first served basis. Tickets are free and can be obtained in advance by contacting the Galleries of Justice on: 0115 952 0555 and quoting ‘Speakers Corner event’.

For more info about Speakers' Corner, visit www.speakerscornertrust.org