Norwich crime festival includes Mindhunter's Colin Sutton

The Crime Lab which is based in Maple Drive, Taverham, is bringing together a group of undercover officers, criminal psychologists and detectives to lift the lid on real-life cases and issues.

From legalising the sale of class A drugs and going undercover as a young mum, to dealing with organised crime on the high seas, the festival's organiser Steve Gaskin hopes it will provide a behind-the-scenes look at various cases.

Participants in the festival will be sent a case file of evidence prior to January 28 (Image: Steve Gaskin)

Mr Gaskin, a senior police officer within the Metropolitan Police for more than 25 years, said: "We want people to get a chance to explore some of these gritty cases and also recruit young people to these professions who wouldn't usually get a chance to access it.

"We've got experts from various fields like former division of criminal investigator (DCI) Colin Sutton, of Manhunter fame, who convicted serial killer Levi Bellfield.

"There's also 'Danni' who was one of Britain's most successful undercover officers, who's been locked up and sent death threats - talking about how to balance work and home life.

"Richard Veale deals with crime in the oceans, from piracy to murder.

Steve Gaskin, former detective chief inspector in the Metropolitan police force for 30 years (Image: Steve Gaskin)

"This is the third festival we've put on and we're already starting to see the fruits of that labour with more people coming in from all over the UK."

Participants will also be sent a case file to take part in their own immersive investigation.

Mr Gaskin added: "It's a case of an officer who's been arrested for drug trafficking.

Steve Gaskin said The festival will cater to those interested in true crime as well as those looking to get into the profession (Image: Steve Gaskin)

"Anyone who attends will be sent a pack a week in advance which will include a list of exhibits with potential evidence, a witness statement, and fingerprints.

"These items will be used in an online investigation during the event where people will have to decipher if the officer arrested was guilty or not.

"At the end we'll all have a debrief and see how many people successfully found out the correct answer."

Tickets for the festival, starting on January 28, can be purchased here from £29.99.

• Check out the True Crime Newsquest channel on YouTube, where Mark Williams-Thomas and Jody Doherty-Cove investigate some of the UK's biggest crimes – featuring solved, unsolved and missing cases

The case file will include a fingerprint kit, exhibits and witness statements (Image: Steve Gaskin)