DPP office to debate sentencing

The system for sentencing criminals is to be discussed at a major conference today.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions will host the Annual National Prosecutors’ Conference in Dublin Castle Conference Centre.

The event will see prosecutors discuss topics such as the sentencing of convicted criminals, an area of the operation of the courts that has regularly hit the headlines.

Speakers at the event are also set to tackle the use of the defence of diminished responsibility, as well as the use of witness statements as evidence in trials.