Irish Criminology Research Network

8th North South Irish Criminology Conference – Call for papers

nicola carr — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:07:06 +0000

The Committee of the 8^th North South Irish Criminology Conference welcomes submissions for this year’s conference which takes place in University College Dublin on the 28^th & 29^th June, 2012. The general theme of the conference is: Economy, Crime and Punishment. Sub themes include but are not limited to:

Crime, Punishment and Recession
White Collar Crime
Economy, Prisons and Penal Policy
Young People, Crime and Justice
Victims and the Criminal Justice System

Papers from early career researchers are encouraged and there will be a limited number of student bursaries available for bus/rail travel within Ireland to the conference.

While there is no registration fee, as in the past, delegates must register in advance - criminology@ucd.ie -. The conference is being hosted and administered by the UCD Institute of Criminology

Key dates: Please submit an abstract (max. 300 words) to criminology@ucd.ie by Friday 30th March 2012

Irish Probation Journal

nicola carr — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:11:40 +0000

The latest edition of the Irish Probation Journal has been published and is freely available to access from the Irish Probation Service and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland. This year’s edition includes articles on defining probation, changes in community supervision practice, desistance and ageing prisoners. If you are interested in contributing to future editions of the journal, please contact either of the coordinating editors:
Suzanne Vella , Probation Service, Tel. 00353 1 817 3600 or Jean O’Neill, PBNI, Tel. 028 9026 2400.

Prison Law Seminar: “Creative Use of Legal Instruments: Current Prison Law Developments in England and Wales.”

nicola carr — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:30:08 +0000

Irish Penal Reform Trust

Prison Law Seminar: “Creative Use of Legal Instruments: Current Prison Law Developments in England and Wales.”

The 8^th in our series of Prison Law Seminars, co-hosted with the DSBA and the ICBA, will take place @ 5.30pm on Thurs 8th December, 2011 at the Distillery Building, Church St, Dublin 7

The seminar will be presented by Caoilfhionn Gallagher BL, leading prison law practitioner with Doughty Street Chambers in London. Caoilfhionn is a human rights and civil liberties specialist, and has particular expertise in prison law and community care for children and vulnerable adults. She is a co-author of the best-selling Oxford University Press textbook on the Human Rights Act, Blackstone’s Guide to the Human Rights Act (4th ed, 2007; 5th ed, forthcoming), and she has been appointed as a Council of Europe expert on Articles 10 and 11 ECHR.

Among her recent cases have included representing survivors and families of victims at the 7/7 inquests, as well a wide range of prison-related judicial reviews on matters relating to children leaving custody, parole decisions, healthcare and disability, separation of mother and baby, challenges to sentence miscalculations, challenges to revocation of licences and recalls to custody, and matters arising in privately run/ ‘contracted out’ prisons. Caoilfhionn also regularly represents lifers, IPPs (indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection) and recalled prisoners before the Parole Board, and prisoners wishing to transfer jurisdiction, including many UK-based Irish prisoners who wish to serve the remainder of their sentences in Ireland. She has also given expert evidence to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee on electronic tagging.

This seminar qualifies for CPD Points (1.5hours).

Fee for the event is; €20 per person (€10 for Students) / FREE for members of IPRT and former prisoners/families – and you can register for the event here

Alternatively, you can contact us on 01 874 1400 or info@iprt.ie

This Prison Law Seminar will be followed by a social event – details of which to follow!

IPRT calls on Government to commit to specified timeframes on addressing sub-standard prison conditions and lack of independent complaints mechanism

nicola carr — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:41:38 +0000

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), Ireland’s leading independent penal reform organization, has today called on Government to commit to specified timeframes in its commitment to bring prison conditions in line with international standards, and to put in place an effective independent complaints mechanism for adult prisoners and children held in St Patrick’s Institution, which is required before Ireland can ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture (OP-CAT). IPRT was responding to the Outcomes Report of Ireland’s first hearing under the UN Universal Periodic review, published today (Monday, 10^th October 2011.)

Speaking today, Liam Herrick, Executive Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust said:

“While we very much welcome the unequivocal acceptance by Government of all the recommendations on prison conditions, this is not the first time that an Irish government has committed on the international stage to addressing these issues. What we need now are specific plans, which are adequately resourced and linked to concrete timelines.

“IPRT strongly believes that for as long as prisoners have to slop out in overcrowded conditions, the State is leaving itself open to legal action by prisoners. Currently, around 1,000 men are slopping out every day, often in cells which are shared with others. While recent moves to install in-cell sanitation in Mountjoy’s C-wing are positive, there has been no action at all to address the chronic situation in Cork Prison, where around 300 men in shared cells have to slop out. The urgency to address the situation in Cork Prison was firmly stated by the Thornton Hall Review Committee in its recent report.

“IPRT is disappointed at the government’s failure to address directly the recommendation to extend the remit of the Ombudsman for Children to accept individual complaints from the children held in St Patrick’s Institution. Around 40 children are held in St Patrick’s at any given time and, along with asylum seeking children, these are the only children in the State excluded from the Ombudsman’s remit. All it would take to end this appalling discrimination is a decision by Government – it would require no resource investment at all.

“We also need the new Government to act on its commitment in the Programme for Government to build the long-promised National children Detention Centre at Oberstown in Lusk, and to bring an end to the imprisonment of children in St Patrick’s Institution.”

The Government also accepted the recommendations of the Member States on the need to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture (OP-CAT). This commitment was previously made in the Programme for Government, and will require Ireland to put in place a National Preventative Mechanism of anti-torture safeguards.

“From an IPRT perspective, the glaring gap in Irish law that would allow us to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture (OP-CAT), is the continuing lack of an independent complaints system for prisoners. While we welcome the commitment to move ahead on this issue, we have not yet seen any proposals from Government on prisoner complaints that would meet the standards of independence required by international law.”

Measures to address overcrowding, slopping out, violence, and the lack of effective complaints and monitoring mechanisms were recommended by 17 of the 48 Member States present at Ireland’s first hearing under the UN Universal Periodic Review, which took place in the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Thurs 6^th October 2011.

14 Member States recommended that the government ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OP CAT).

What if …? A series of challenging pamphlets

nicola carr — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:22:57 +0000

The Howard League for Penal Reform and the Mannheim Centre at the London School of Economics are working in partnership to establish a new pamphlet series that challenges conventional thinking on penal issues. We would like to invite you to the first seminar in the series which focuses on policing on Thursday 27^th October 2011 at 6.00pm at the London School of Economics. Professor Robert Reiner has agreed to be the author of the first pamphlet which has a working title of: In praise of fire brigade policing: challenging the police role.

The premise of the pamphlets is to challenge conventional thinking about various aspects of the penal system. We want to work with established and well thought of thinkers, academics and practitioners to develop innovative, and perhaps controversial, ideas that can work as a stimulus to new policy initiatives and ultimately achieve change.

We are keen to test, challenge and improve the ideas to be promulgated in the pamphlet. To achieve this, the author, in this case Robert Reiner will subject his ideas to ‘peer review’ at this invitee seminar, with the ideas initially subject to scrutiny from one or two discussants. We are pleased to announce that the discussants will be Sir Denis O’Connor, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary and the Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee. The event will be chaired by Professor Tim Newburn from the LSE.

Information about this event is available at http://www.howardleague.org/what-if/ and in the days before the event a short exposition of Professor Reiner’s ideas will be available. Places are limited. If you would like to attend this event you can book a place here: http://www.howardleague.org/what-if-event-bkg/?no_cache=1

Yours sincerely

Professor Jennifer Brown Anita Dockley

Mannheim Centre, LSE Research Director, Howard League

Launch of Care After Prison Project

nicola carr — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:20:15 +0000

We are pleased to invite you to the launch of a new project Care After Prison (CAP) taking place at

5.30pm on Thursday the 13^th of October in the Carmelite Community Centre, 56 Aungier St., Dublin 2.

The six month pilot project, which is a joint initiative partnered by the City of Dublin YMCA and the Carmelite Community Centre, will commence in October. We are very grateful to have John Lonergan, the former long-serving Governor of Mountjoy Prison, officially launching the project. Attached is an information leaflet explaining CAP in further detail.

Registration will open at 5.30p.m and the event should last no longer than an hour and a half concluding with light refreshments.

Please RSVP to secure your place by 5pm Friday the 7^th of October to bgrogan@ymca.ie.

About CAP

In summary

CAP will advocate on behalf of the ex- prisoner and support him/her as they address the issues they identified. Our team of keyworkers will actively work with the service user by ensuring that they are involved in their care plans, by attending meetings with them and as- sisting them in many tasks that are daunting upon their release.

This is a start-up project and may change along the way depending on the service users needs. We will continu- ously have the service-users best inter- ests at heart and will aim to include their needs and ideas in our service de- livery as much as possible through feed- back, evaluations and reflective prac- tice.

Our Goal is to promote safer communities and support ex-prisoners in leading crime free lives.

We believe that proper rehabilitation will in turn lead to a reduction in rates of recidivism and that a reduction in the overcrowd- ing of Irish prisons is vital to the lives and well-being of prisoners.

Referrals

CAP intends to work with offenders as they pre- pare themselves for release but would look to the Probation Service or other agencies to in- dentify service users for engagement.

Youth referrals

CAP will also work with youth offenders and will link with local JLOs, Community Gardai and local YouthWork services to best support young peo- ple who have been displaying criminal and/or anti-social behaviour. The aim of this is to try and work with the young person and their fami- lies before the situation escalates to imprisonment.

Care After Prison (CAP) 56 Aungier St, Dublin 2

Phone: 01-4720973 E-mail: careafterprison@gmail.com

1st Irish Penology Symposium – 18th November 2011

nicola carr — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:11:41 +0000

1st Irish Penology Symposium

Law Faculty, Griffith College Cork, Friday 18th Nov. 2011

Organisers: Clíodhna Dineen, Head of Law, GCC and Dr. Liam Leonard, IT Sligo

09.00 am: WELCOME & REGISTRATION

Tea/Coffee available all day

09.30 – 11.00 am:

Welocme and Opening Speech:

Clíodnha Dinneen & Liam Leonard

Women with Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland

Elizabeth Craig, University of Ulster

Sentencing in the Children Court: An Evaluation in Light of the Fair Trial Rights of the Child

Sarah Jane Judge, Griffith College Dublin

The Mandatory Death Penalty in a Modern Society

Jacinta Victor John, Griffith College Dublin and TCD

11.30 – 13.00 pm:

What the Literature is saying about Crime and Prisons: The Challenges to Penology and Criminology

Dr. Liam Leonard I.T Sligo & Tatiana Kelly, NUI G

The Universality of Suffrage: A Prisoner’s Right to Vote

Paul Gavin, King’s College London

13.00 – 14.00 pm: LUNCH ON CAMPUS

14.00 – 15.30 pm:

The Irish Innocence Project

David Langwallner, Dean of Law, Griffith College

Contemporary themes in Irish Penal Policy: the Relationship between research and policy

Jane Mulcahy & Liam Herrick, Irish Prison Reform Trust (IPRT)

Towards an understanding of organisational change in the Irish Prison Service

Assistant Chief Officer Jim Howe, Irish Prison Service Training and Development Center, Beladd House, Portlaoise

16.15 – 17.00 pm:

Keynote Speaker – Dr. Ciarán McCullagh, UCC

‘Prisons and the failure to reform’

Closing Speech:

Clíodnha Dinneen & Liam Leonard

Tel: 353 (0) 21/4507027

Email: law@gcc.ie

Law, Policy and Practice for Children and Young People: The Role of Social Research

nicola carr — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:29:47 +0000

Social Futures Institute Annual Conference

Law, policy and practice for children and young people: the role of social science research

23 September 2011, Teesside University (Darlington Campus)

The Social Futures Institute at Teesside University is hosting a one day inter-disciplinary conference to critically examine the relationship between social science research and the design and implementation of law and policy concerning children and young people.

The keynote speaker is Professor Sir Albert Aynsley Green. Sir Albert is an internationally recognised authority on children’s services, child health and childhood.

There will also be original paper presentations on topics including:

young people’s experiences in the criminal justice system
education policy and practice
young people’s capacity to consent to medical treatment
the role of the Independent Safeguarding Authority

This conference will be delivered at Teesside University’s new campus at Haughton Road, Darlington. The Darlington campus benefits from proximity to Darlington Railway Station, and the A1 and A66 motorways.

Conference fee: £45 (includes conference papers and all refreshments).

There are limited places available and early booking is advised, please visit this link to book your place: http://www.tees.ac.uk/sections/research/social_futures/events_details.cfm?event_id=3719

Car parking will be on a first come first served basis.

For further information on this event, please contact r.arthur@tees.ac.uk.

I look forward to welcoming you to Teesside University at Darlington.

Kind regards

Dr Raymond Arthur
Social Futures Institute

Irish Penal Reform Trust Annual Lecture

nicola carr — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:27:19 +0000

IPRT Annual Lecture 2011

Friday, September 16^th, 2011 at 6pm

Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7

As you already know, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, will deliver the 2011 IPRT Annual Lecture on Friday 16^th September. In his address, Minister Shatter will set out his vision for the development and reform of penal policy under the coalition Government. The evening will be chaired by Judge Catherine McGuinness; a Questions and Answers session with the Minister will be hosted by Colm O’Mongáin, editor and presenter of RTÉ’s ‘This Week’.

Tea & coffee will be available from 530pm; a wine reception will follow the event. The event is free but numbers are limited. To reserve your place, please contact Mary Gaffney at 01-8741400 or email: info@iprt.ie

IPRT is delighted that KOD Lyons are on board as a sponsor of the event.

Keep up to date on IPRT news and activities or become a member at;

W: www.iprt.ie / Tw: www.twitter.com/iprt / Fb: www.facebook.com/irishpenalreformtrust

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies – Call for papers for special issue

nicola carr — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:15:43 +0000

http://arrow.dit.ie/ijass/

CALL FOR PAPERS: Special Issue on

CRIMINOLOGY IN IRELAND

Guest Editor Liam Leonard, PhD; Institute of Technology, Sligo

___________________________________________________

Context: Ireland has undergone many socio-cultural changes in the initial years of the 21^st century, including a prevailing perception that serious crime and criminality is on the increase. Nonetheless, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) statistics on crime published in July 2011 indicate a downward trend in criminal activity in many categories. These dichotomous perspectives provide a contested platform for Irish criminologists who wish to research the salient issues surrounding crime in Ireland.

Call for Papers: The Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies is issuing a call for papers for papers from researchers whose work will provide further understandings of relevant themes including criminological theories, deviance, criminal justice and law, criminal justice policies, policing, imprisonment and penal reform, probation, alternatives to prison and post release programmes, crime and media, terrorism and security issues. Book reviews on criminological publications relevant to Ireland will also be accepted.

Publishing Schedule: The call for papers is now open. The deadline for submission of papers is March 31st 2012.

Provisional publication date: September 2012.

Notes for contributors:

IJASS Style Guide:

http://arrow.dit.ie/ijass/policies.htm

Submissions to Dr. Liam Leonard, School of Humanities, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Email: leonard.liam@itsligo.ie

All papers will be peer-reviewed, with final decision on publication of papers from Dr. Kevin Lalor, IJASS Editor.