News

The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.

According to General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271 of 15 June 2007, which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness". The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence".

Introducing the resolution in the General Assembly on behalf of 140 co-sponsors, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Anand Sharma, said that the wide and diverse sponsorship of the resolution was a reflection of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his philosophy. Quoting the late leader’s own words, he said: "Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man".

Course overview

This five-day CPD course draws on management lessons from the private and public sector and applies them to the modern policing environment. The course has been designed to equip police personnel with the necessary management and leadership skills to serve as future leaders within modern police forces. The course has been developed under the aegis of the Institute for Global City Policing, an independent centre based at University College London’s Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science (the JDI).

Course content

Topics studied in this course will include:

• types of effective leadership styles
• management skills
• enhancing communication skills
• motivational strategies
• managing political expectations
• succession planning

The course will also focus on lessons police managers can draw from the voluntary sector, which have special salience given the increasing reliance of the UK police on volunteers, e.g. special constables, citizen patrols, and neighbourhood watch coordinators.

Course Dates

11th to 15th February 2019 (Note: This is a five-day block residential course, ie. It must be attended at our Canary Wharf campus in east London.)  Venue:  UCL School of Management, Level 38 One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AA.

Case studies

The course will examine how Turnaround Management has transformed police organisations and the role of Strategic Leadership in engendering reforms and modernization. These case studies will be used to develop an understanding of the mechanism and implementation of change and reform concepts.

Who this course is for

This short course is suitable for dynamic officers wishing to become future leaders of a modern police organisation, who are versed in evidence based practices, are able to use scientific principles to make smart decisions, engender change and transformation and aim to be excellent managers. By equipping officers with these skills and grounding practice and policy in ethical considerations, this CPD offers excellent value to individuals and law enforcement organisations wishing to invest in developing future leaders.

The conference ‘Reframing Sexual Abuse: Practical Directions’ will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2018 in Riga, Latvia. The conference will be facilitated by the CEP and spearheaded by the Latvian Probation Service and the Latvian Prison Administration. It is aimed at practitioners, mainly probation staff. Registration will close on the 1st of November.

Conference themes

The conference has the following four different themes:

1. Community engagement and understandings related to sexual abuse;
2. Professional practice and working in the field of sexual abuse;
3. Sexual abuse prevention and public health approaches to sexual abuse;
4. The treatment of sexual abuse.

Click on the link for more information about the Reframing Sexual Abuse: Practical Directions Conference or to register for the event.

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is seeking applicants (through an approach to market) for a new research program that aims to address a key government priority.

The Child Exploitation Material Reduction Research Program is a partnership between the AIC and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. It aims to explore new approaches to tackling child exploitation material (CEM) from both a crime prevention and crime detection perspective.

The program will bring together multi-disciplinary research teams to explore new solutions to reduce CEM.  Researchers are expected to work in close collaboration with policy-makers, law enforcement practitioners and/or industry representatives to develop and undertake CEM reduction research.

For more information and details on how to apply, click on the link below, or visit the AusTender website and search for reference ID P18/320.


 

On the 3rd and 4th of September 2018, sixteen participants from seven European countries gathered in Helsinki, Finland for the CEP Technology in Probation Expert Meeting. The participants exchanged their knowledge on important technology topics and there was also time for good discussions. The meeting was co-organised by the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency. 

A lot of new and inspiring technologies are under development within Europe. At the same time there is a lot of discussion around the topics security and ethics. These topics were also part of discussion during the Expert Meeting. The Finish Director General Mr. Esa Vesterbacka visited the meeting and stated the fact that technology can be a good tool in the work with clients, but the face-to-face meeting are still the most powerful tool.

New technologies

The amount of participant that are creating apps is high. The apps produced by Northern Ireland, Finland and Sweden al have the goal to support the offenders in their rehabilitation process.

Another technical innovation was presented by the Dutch Probation Service: the alcoholmeter. This is an ankle bracelet that is able to measure if the offender drinks alcohol and the amount of alcohol that is in their blood. The Netherlands is also experimenting with the use of artificial intelligence. This technique will provide the probation officers with analyses based on big data. This gives them the opportunity to compare their professional judgement with analysis based on similar cases from the past.

The Swedish Probation service, not only presented their app, but also showed the participants how they use Skype in their probation services. The geographical distances in in the northern part of Sweden make it hard for clients to visit the Probation office as often as they should. Not all the meetings are replaces by Skype calls. They are combined with meetings at the probation office.

Presentations

Presentation Pia Andersson ‘The Finnish Probation Service and its development work’

Presentation Hannah Graham ‘Using technology in Probation: Reflections on the evidence and questions for probation work’

Presentation Pauli Nieminen ‘Development of Services and Service Charts’

Presentation Rikku Pammo ‘Current status of ICT and future development in the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency’

Presentation Gail McGreevy ‘Supporting Engagement with Service Users; Changing Lives App’

CSG Justice Center © 2018

September 1, 2018

This publication from the Justice Policy Institute and the National Center for Victims of Crime examines the barriers to treating youth involved in violent crime in the community instead of incarceration as well as gauges support for proposed reforms through interviews with members of the victims’ community. The justice system treats youth charged with violent offenses in ways that are often expensive and ineffective even though research shows that many youth convicted of a violent crime are best treated in a community-based setting. Crime victims who offered input for the report expressed a belief that there should be no categorical bar on serving more young people involved in violent crime in the community, particularly because youth engaged in violence are overwhelmingly victims themselves and should receive appropriate services.

Upcoming Event

October 16, 2018

MPI Europe Webinar

When: 

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

16:30 CEST / 15:30 BST / 10:30 A.M. ET 

Where:

MPI Europe Webinar

Speakers: 

Will Somerville, UK Programme Director, Unbound Philanthropy; UK Senior Fellow, Migration Policy Institute

Antonio Silva, Senior Advisor, Behavioural Insights Team

Meghan Benton, Senior Policy Analyst; Assistant Director for Research, International Programme, Migration Policy Institute

Can tiny tweaks in how public policy is designed and how services work really “nudge” us to become better citizens? An increasing number of governments think so. Policymakers have used behavioral insights—an interdisciplinary, research-based approach to policy design grounded in understanding how people make choices in practice—to great effect to inspire people to become organ donors, encourage them to pay their taxes on time, and more. 

But while behavioral insights have been adopted in everything from education to health policy, their application in the field of immigrant integration has so far been limited. Could this method be used to promote social mixing and reduce inequality between those with and without a migrant background? Emerging experimental and real-world evidence suggests a range of ways a behavioral lens could to help policymakers reach their integration goals, from fostering open-mindedness among young people and reducing classroom segregation to encouraging immigrants to become citizens. 

Join us for this webinar to explore what untapped potential behavioral insights may hold for integration policy, and how policymakers can start fitting this approach into their work. This webinar marks the release of a new Migration Policy Institute Europe-Behavioural Insights Team report, Applying Behavioural Insights to Support Immigrant Integration and Social Cohesion, produced under the framework of MPI Europe's Integration Futures Working Group. 

Register to attend event

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has released its Annual Report 2017–18, which demonstrates the Institute’s achievements in providing timely, accurate and sound research to inform public policy.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has achieved all of its key performance indicators, fulfilling its mandate as the nation’s research and knowledge centre on crime and justice.

This year, AIC researchers produced 67 research products, 39 of which are available free on the AIC’s website, further adding to the Institute’s collection of crime and justice research reports.

Research topics included national security, identity crime, fraud, illicit drug markets, child protection, family and domestic violence, missing persons, forced marriage, justice reinvestment, and youth crime.

In 2017–18 the AIC launched a new website which includes more than 1,400 reports and access to more than 92,000 documents, making the AIC’s publications and services more accessible than ever.

The Institute also added information on the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program and National Deaths in Custody Monitoring Program to the Crime Statistics Australia website. This is a comprehensive online resource providing a one-stop-shop for current and trend data on Australian crime and justice datasets.

In 2017–18, 38 per cent of the AIC’s research was used in government publications, and a further 6 per cent was used in parliamentary documents.

The Australian Institute of Criminology had a strong year communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice in 2017–18.

The Institute looks forward to another year of promoting justice and crime reduction strategies through the dissemination of timely, accurate and sound research on crime and justice issues in Australia.

The Annual Report 2017–18 can be found on the AIC website: www.aic.gov.au
To view the latest crime and justice statistics visit www.crimestats.aic.gov.au
 

New research conducted for the current independent inquiry suggests that – despite recent policy improvements – cultures of child abuse are liable to emerge while youth custody exists, and keeping children in secure institutions should be limited as far as possible.

History tells us that it is impossible to ‘manage out’ the risk of abuse through improved policies alone

Caroline Lanskey

A new report on the history of safeguarding children detained for criminal offences in the UK has concluded that it is impossible to remove the potential for abuse in secure institutions, and that the use of custody for children should only be a “last resort”.

A team of criminologists and historians from the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh were asked by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to build a “collective memory” of the abuse cases and preventative policies that emerged in the youth wing of the UK’s secure estate between 1960 and 2016. 

The research was commissioned to help prepare HMPPS to give evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. It covers physical and sexual abuse in secure children’s homes and training centres, young offender institutions such as Deerbolt and Feltham, and their predecessors: detention centres and borstals.

Drawing on often limited archival records – as well as inspection reports and previous findings – the research reveals how past safeguards broke down, failing to recognise children in custody as vulnerable.

Researchers found abuse was especially likely at times of overcrowding and budgetary constraint, and occurred despite contemporary beliefs that protective policies were working.

The historical overview goes beyond individual misconduct to show how whole institutions become “detached from their purpose”, with undertrained staff collectively drifting into “morally compromised” cultures where abusive acts appear acceptable even as procedure is followed.    

The researchers say this “acculturation” at times extended to inspectorates and monitors overfamiliar with failing systems. They argue that it is vital to ensure effective complaints processes and protect whistle-blowers.

The report has been produced by Cambridge criminologists and Dr Lucy Delap and Professor Louise Jackson from the History and Policy network, and is published online today alongside a policy paper summarising the findings.

Although crime rates across the country are near all-time lows, each state faces a unique combination of public safety challenges, including increasing crime rates in some communities, growing numbers of people who have mental illnesses entering county jails and state prisons, spiking opioid and other drug-related deaths, high recidivism rates, rising correctional populations and costs, pervasive barriers to employment and housing for people with criminal records, and more. These challenges may appear overwhelming, but many states are using innovative approaches to tackle them and are achieving results.

One Comprehensive Public Safety Roadmap.

The 50-State Report on Public Safety is a web-based resource that combines data analyses with practical examples to help policymakers craft impactful strategies to address their state’s specific public safety challenges. The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center analyzed millions of data points, and with support from the Association of State Correctional Administrators, interviewed corrections staff in all 50 states to collect new data on each state’s research capacity and supervision practices for use in this first-of-its-kind resource.

This Web site is funded in whole or in part through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice