The Festival of Crime: my experience as a volunteer

I am Anuja Mitra, an international student at the University of Portsmouth pursuing a Masters’ in Criminal Psychology. I was one of the student volunteers/ambassadors for the Festival of Crime held on 4th of May, 2024.

The event was stretched across 3 buildings of the University of Portsmouth - Dennis Sciama, Richmond, and Portland. The event was one of a kind, showcasing and featuring 30 years of studies involving crime, criminology and related fields.

There were highly impressive exhibitions displayed by the Hampshire Police, University Police Education Team, Ramora: Explosive ordinance disposal, Community justice and probation teams, Grow Transform Belong, Future technology centre, Thames Valley Police, Royal Military Police forensic investigation, Hampshire search and rescue, Hampshire Police Forensic Services, Students Union, placement and student centre of University of Portsmouth.

The exhibitions comprised of Psychology and Crime, history of crime, cybercrime, economic crime and cybersecurity, virtual reality and crime, interactive investigation, to name a few. The famous British crime novelist, Elly Griffiths, was one of the stars of the show as she was actively present and involved in the event.

There was also a tour of the courtroom in Anglesea building where the visitors were shown how the court operates, through simulation exercises.

There was a Young Criminologists Room – a family room - set up for children of primary school age, which involved arts, crafts, games, to keep them engaged and involved.

The well-received presentation, were informative, intuitive and interesting. Some of the talks were on Crime scene investigation, Could you do it? The use of imagery in forensic science, Crime fiction vs crime fact, Personal story of prison, Organised crime, mafia gangs and dirty money, rehabilitation of offenders and a lot more. 

Besides that, I assisted in an Alumni Panel organised by my Course MSc Criminal Psychology, along with my course leaders. I also had a supporting role in coordinating and manage the event and make sure that everything ran smoothly.

It was a highly engaging and adventurous day for me as a whole, where I got to perform and explore various tasks, roles and interact with a bunch of visitors and students. 

The presentations were live streamed, so my family and friends could also join and be a part of the event!

I was overwhelmed and overjoyed seeing the visitors enjoy the event with their family, and be aware of the agencies that deal with and fight crime. The main aim of the event was to celebrate the power that the agencies hold against crime and protects the community and society.