IPRT Conference 2010: Shifting Focus – From Criminal Justice to Social Justice

Date: Thursday 23rd September 2010

Time: 9.45am-4.30pm (Registrations from 9.15am.)

Venue: Gresham Hotel, O’Connell Street, Dublin – **Please note change of venue!**

IPRT has joined together with Barnardos and IAYPIC (the Irish Association of Young People in Care) to propose a simple, yet fundamental change in policy – from criminal justice, to social justice. The conference highlights the links between social inequality and contact with the criminal justice system, and seeks to find a way to refocus policy on prevention and early intervention in order to break the cycle of disadvantage.

The conference hopes to address three key questions:

• How can justice policy be more integrated with social policy?
• What do service providers need to do to persuade policy-makers to invest in long-term prevention and intervention strategies?
• Can political commitment to long-term prevention strategies be achieved? If so, how?

Some of the speakers appearing at the conference are Prof Lesley McAra of Edinburgh University, Prof Pat Dolan of NUI Galway, Prof Nick Frost of Leeds Metropolitan University, and Dr. Paul O’Mahony of Trinity College, Dublin. It will also be an opportunity to hear from those currently working in intervention programmes throughout the country, providing information from ‘on the ground’ and informing us of their experiences and of what works. Finally, the conference brings together some of Ireland’s best-known political faces for what promises to be a stimulating discussion on how to translate academic into meaningful action.

For updates on the Conference, please visit the IPRT website or contact Mary Gaffney at info@iprt.ie