The "Public Square" discussion, which starts at 5pm, is open to the public and will be held at the University of Otago's Allen Hall Theatre.
If successful, the event could become the first in a new series of public debates, hosted by the university's Centre for Theology and Public Issues, organisers said.
The panel comprises National MP Michael Woodhouse, Labour MP Clare Curran, restorative justice facilitator Janet Sim Elder, Dunedin barrister Anne Stevens and Howard League for Penal Reform president Paul O'Neill.
Organisers said crime and its punishment was one of those issues which was always in the news, and related topics, such as arming the police, the privatisation of prisons and the "three-strikes" law, were all subjects of the current debate, as well as the wider question of how to reduce crime and make society safer.
Centre director Prof Andrew Bradstock said the panelists would answer questions previously submitted to organisers by members of the public.
Prof Bradstock, who is also Howard Paterson Professor of Theology and Public Issues at the Otago department of theology and religion, said the panelists were being asked not to simply repeat established positions, but to take part in a dialogue seeking to find practical ways forward.
The centre aimed to "create space" for a conversation to take place that was "fresh and constructive", he said.
