The adult and juvenile justice systems are experiencing significant and powerful change driven by justice reform and innovative practices focused on promoting public safety in a more fair, just, and effective manner. America’s ever-changing landscape poses challenges and opportunities to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in justice system program development, culturally competent and trauma-informed service delivery, and organizational change.

This summer’s training institute, which focuses on the theme of “Passion, Courage, and Endurance: Transforming Community Corrections,” provides an interactive learning experience for professionals involved in the community corrections, juvenile justice, and treatment professions. The training institute comprises workshops, intensive sessions, guest speakers, and a resource expo on topics such as policy reform, organizational development, and strengthening community partnerships, providing knowledge and tools to help shape the future of community corrections by meeting the needs of today’s professionals.

Date: August 17–21
Location: San Francisco, California

Learn more and register.

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

This infographic highlights the connections between risk and protective factors and social determinants of health at the various levels of the social ecology and can be used to link sexual violence prevention with anti-oppression and related public health issues in order to create more effective change. (Source: NSVRC).

The second edition of the CEP Awards will be presented during the General Assembly in October 2019! With the awards, CEP would like to celebrate outstanding contributions to probation. From the 5th of February 2019, you can start with submitting your nominations in the following categories:

• Rehabilitation in the community
• Social inclusion
• Public protection
• Research
• Development of national probation services

Please click on the link to nominate your project for a CEP award. Registration is open until the 31st of May 2019.

Domestic Violence Experts gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the 7th and 8th of March 2019 for the CEP and EuroPris Expert Meeting on Domestic Violence in Prison and Probation. During this first meeting of the expert group on domestic violence the group has been given national presentations that provided a good picture on what’s going on in this field.

Domestic violence stands for at least 1/5 of all crimes in many countries and there is a common belief that domestic violence still is underreported. Many cases of domestic violence include very serious crimes like murder and the minor ones seem to be forgotten or neglected. It is important to remember that victims of domestic violence can be both men, women and also children. There is also a cultural dimension on how acceptable domestic violence is and what is considered domestic violence. Economic factors and opportunities that are offered to victims of domestic violence have a strong influence on the possibility to leave a violent relationship.

Many NGO´s in this field focus on the victims and distrust the prison and probation sector. They tend to forget that working with offender is a way to protect future victims. The Prison and Probation service in some countries works with victims of crimes but in many countries there are other services for victims. There is lack of programmes for treatment of domestic violence in prison in many countries. The Istanbul convention gives some direction for the work with perpetrators but is in general strongly victim oriented.

Close cooperation with different services is very important in domestic violence cases. Common tools provide for a common language which is important when many stakeholders are involved. SARA is a good example of that.

There is lot of good working already running in prison and probation organisations. But still there is a lot to be learned and developed. The first meeting of this expert group was a good start for further learning and development in this important field.

Refugees who are more willing to take risks, who tend to reciprocate friendliness, and who are more strongly convinced than others are that they are in control of their lives integrate into society faster. This is the result of a study undertaken on the basis of the “IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees in Germany” which researchers from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at the German Institute of Economic Research (DIW) devised in conjunction with researchers from the University of the Saarland and the University of Münster. The study was published recently in the “Collabra: Psychology” journal.

The “IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees in Germany” is the largest representative longitudinal survey of refugees who came to Germany between 2013 and 2016. In order to determine which factors contribute to successful integration, the researchers evaluated the data of more than 4,000 participants in the study who had already been living in Germany for an average of 18 months at the time the survey was carried out.

“Our study demonstrates for the first time that, in addition to socio-demographic factors, it is also individual personality traits which play a decisive role in any successful integration of refugees,” says psychologist Elisabeth Hahn from Saarland University, the lead author of the study.

According to the study, refugees who are more willing than others to take risks, for example, find work faster and have more social contacts with local residents. Those who are more strongly convinced that they are in control of their lives and who reciprocate the friendliness shown by other people find it easier to make inroads into society than others do. They have more friends and are more self-confident, more contented and healthier.

The – frequently traumatic – experiences undergone while fleeing, and the unfamiliar circumstances in the new country, place a heavy burden on refugees. “But if people are convinced that they can influence their fate,” explains SOEP researcher David Richter, “they have a far greater scope for action than if they think they are at the mercy of their circumstances.” “Also, a general tendency to take the occasional risk, and to reciprocate people’s friendliness, seem to be helpful in the difficult process of integration,” adds Münster University’s Mitja Back, an author of the study.

The study also confirms a series of findings arrived at in earlier studies on the integration of immigrants – findings which also hold true for refugees who have recently arrived in Germany: “People who have been living in Germany for a longer period of time find it easier to integrate than others,” says Jürgen Schupp, Deputy Director of the SOEP. A better knowledge of German and a good level of education acquired in their home country also help decisively in making integration succeed. Gender also evidently plays a role: Female refugees are less frequently employed and they have fewer social contacts. “Religious affiliation of the participants – whether Islam or Christian – was not related to the extent to which refugees are integrated,” adds Mitja Back. “This contrasts with the prejudices commonly found in host societies“.

Refugees who wish to live in Germany permanently currently find support in various areas of life – for example, in acquiring language skills or in looking for work. Based on the findings, the authors of the study also call for refugees’ individual personality traits to be taken into account in integration programmes. “Help for refugees should also include supporting and encouraging the personal resources and social skills which these people bring with them – for example, the ability to make new contacts with other people,” says Elisabeth Hahn.

Originalpublikation:
Hahn, E., Richter, D., Schupp, J., & Back, M. D. (2019). Predictors of Refugee Adjustment: The Importance of Cognitive Skills and Personality. Collabra: Psychology, 5(1), 23. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.212

Informationsdienst Wissenschaft - idw - Pressemitteilung
adelphi research, Christopher Stolzenberg, 15.05.2019 00:01

UNDP-supported report finds solutions to Lake Chad crisis must address climate change; and that climate impact must be considered a factor in many conflicts around the world

Climate change is playing a critical role in the persistent crisis blighting the communities and countries that depend on Lake Chad in West Africa, combining with violent conflict, endemic corruption, environmental mismanagement and poverty, according to a new United Nations Development Programme-supported report.

Shoring Up Stability: Addressing Climate and Fragility Risks in the Lake Chad Region reveals that a crisis so often blamed on violence, poor governance and a shrinking lake is in fact profoundly impacted by climate change, and that any solution to stabilise the region must take into account the impacts of climate change.

“In many countries, we are seeing crises grow and worsen because of factors which seem obvious, be it armed conflict, corruption or poor governance. But in many cases, climate change is also playing a subtle but fundamental role,” said Ulrika Modéer, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy at UNDP.

“This new report shows that the crisis in Lake Chad is one of these crises. It makes a clarion call to consider climate change as a key driving factor in the crisis, and to seek solutions that address the climate change and the challenges it is presenting to the region,” said Modéer, who launched the report today at the Stockholm Forum for Peace and Development.

Janani Vivekananda, lead author of the report and Senior Advisor with independent think tank adelphi said: “In this report, we identified four climate-fragility risks in the region.”

“These are risks that climate change can exacerbate and include the undermining of livelihoods, conflict over natural resources, recruitment into armed opposition groups and the over-militarised response by local governments. All of these risks underline the fact that we need to focus our responses on addressing the root causes of a conflict to achieve lasting and sustainable solutions rather than thinking in traditional military terms,” said Vivekananda.

The report found that Lake Chad, which borders Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, is not shrinking, contrary to popular belief. But, the report says, that does not mean this vital resource for tens of millions of people is not being affected by climate change. As well as intensifying the other factors contributing to the crisis, climate change is contributing to the changing size of the northern pool of the lake and the increasing variability in the timing and amount of rainfall. The resulting uncertainty means that communities that depend on the lake no longer know what to plant and when, or when to switch from one livelihood to another.

“Communities are vulnerable to the pincer movement of climate change and continuing conflict. Years of conflict, poverty and human rights violations have fragmented social bonds, making it harder for people to cope with and adapt to climate impacts,” said Modéer.

“At the same time, climate change is aggravating the political and economic conditions that caused the violence in the first place, which undermines efforts to break this vicious cycle,” she added.

Ultimately, the report said, conventional approaches to stabilising volatile contexts have limitations when tackling conflict over resources if they do not take climate change into account. The report concludes that its findings resonate well beyond the Lake Chad region and demonstrate that climate-resilient and conflict-sensitive interventions offer a better chance of delivering peace.

The new report is the first of its kind study on the Lake Chad region and a pioneer of climate-fragility risk assessments globally. It is the product of an intensive two-year period of research across Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. It combines long-term hydrological data from the Lake Chad basin as well as brand new analysis of 20 years of satellite observations. It also builds on almost 250 interviews with community members, including past and present members of armed groups, as well as experts and officials.

Shoring up Stability was supported by UNDP, with additional research supported by the Foreign Ministries of the Netherlands and Germany: https://www.shoring-up-stability.org/

 

This EUCPN monitor on radicalisation presents an overview of the current state of affairs in the prevention of radicalisation. After discussing the concept of radicalisation and the problems connected to it, it presents the most important European data on the phenomenon as well as recent trends in jihadist, right-wing, left-wing, and nationalist extremism and terrorism. The monitor concludes that it is necessary to continue to invest in an evidence-based approach to the prevention of radicalisation and a cross-fertilisation between practice and research.

Read the monitor

The EUCPN and the European countries will launch the first EU-wide Focus Day on domestic burglary on 19 June 2019. It aims to encourage citizens to protect their home by the use of a prevention campaign and local preventive initiatives. The campaign ‘Keep the surprises for your holiday!’ includes a poster, flyer and three short social media posts. The municipalities of several countries will organise events that focuses on the prevention of domestic burglary. All these initiatives and prevention tips are gathered on a national prevention website.

More info

A recent Finnish crime prevention review deals with the improvement of safety in the local environment. The review examines the different elements of the built environment that affect criminality and the sense of safety. Furthermore, the review introduces different models for increasing the sense of safety in neighbourhoods and residential areas. These include participatory budgeting, resident-oriented development of the urban environment and activities that aim to remove prejudice and conflicts. The review also gives recommendations on how to take the crime prevention perspective to consideration in the planning process.

Read the review
 

We decided to give you extra time to submit your nominations for the CEP Awards. You now have until the 19th of June to submit your nominations in one of the five categories. 

The CEP Awards will be presented during the General Assembly on the 23rd of October 2019. With the awards, CEP would like to celebrate outstanding contributions to probation. From the 5th of February 2019, you can start submitting your nominations in the following categories:

• Rehabilitation in the community
• Social inclusion
• Public protection
• Research
• Development of national probation services

Click on the link for more information and nomination examples for the CEP Awards or nominate your project by filling in the nomination form!

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) and The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), are seeking applications from up to seven state and local jurisdictions to participate in the new Transforming Juvenile Probation Certificate Program. The program will support multidisciplinary teams from state and local jurisdictions—including probation leadership, judges, attorneys, and other key stakeholders—to fundamentally rethink their system-wide approach to probation to increase public safety and improve youth outcomes.

The weeklong certificate program will take place on November 4-8, 2019 in Washington, DC. It will  provide intensive instruction, discussion, and planning for selected teams under the guidance of nationally recognized researchers, policymakers, and practitioners as well as staff from the CJJR, CSG Justice Center, and AECF. The program curricula draw on principles and practices outlined in the AECF publication Transforming Juvenile Probation: A Vision for Getting it Right and the CJJR and CSG Justice Center publication, Transforming Juvenile Justice Systems to Improve Public Safety and Youth Outcomes.

Specific training modules of the certificate program will include:

Module 1: A New Vision of Probation: Foundations for Success. Using facilitated conversation, this module will identify the key foundational principles that must underpin any successful effort to fundamentally transform juvenile probation.

Module 2: Applying a Fairness and Equity Lens to Probation Practice. This session provides strategies on ensuring juvenile probation practices are cognizant of implicit bias as well as structural and institutional racism. It will also focus on gender and culturally responsive approaches and how to use data to identify and reduce disparities in the probation system.

Module 3: Youth, Family, and Community Engagement and Empowerment. In this module, participants will learn how to meaningfully engage youth, families, and community partners in core probation practices and court processes.

Module 4: Diversion: Right Sizing the System. Participants will learn about identifying opportunities to divert youth from formal juvenile justice system involvement, when appropriate, to achieve better youth outcomes and reduce probation caseloads.  

Module 5: The Probation, Attorney, Court Partnership: Disposition Decisions. This session will focus on strengthening collaboration among probation officers, attorneys, and judges to determine the right disposition for individual youth.

Module 6: The Role and Practices of Probation Officers. Attendees will learn to position probation officers as agents of positive youth behavior change through rethinking organizational culture, staff hiring and promotional practices, and day-to-day operations.

Module 7: Leading Transformation. This session will highlight key elements of system-wide transformation, such a evaluating and modifying practice; increasing staff and stakeholder buy-in; and promoting sustainability and continuous quality improvement.

During the certificate program, participating teams will also have dedicated planning time to develop and refine detailed strategic action plans to advance system-wide improvements in their jurisdictions based on the program curricula and additional analyses of strengths and weaknesses across the key domains of juvenile probation practice in their respective jurisdictions. Further, teams will receive one year of distance and on-site technical assistance (TA) from CJJR, the CSG Justice Center, AECF, and relevant subject matter experts to help them implement their plans. TA will help jurisdictions to develop new policies and practices; identify and advance best practice implementation strategies; train staff and stakeholders to promote their buy-in and collaboration; and assess, evaluate, and sustain progress.

The request for applications provides additional information on the program and how to apply. Applications are due July 26.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is accepting applications for the FY 2019 Innovations in Supervision Initiative (ISI): Building Capacity to Create Safer Communities Program, which is funded through the Second Chance Act.

The ISI program provides funding for states, units of local government, and federally recognized Indian tribes to implement more effective practices to reduce recidivism. This includes training and technical assistance to assist in developing ways to improve supervision capacity and partnerships with other justice agencies to prevent recidivism and reduce crime in their jurisdictions. ISI is part of the BJA’s Innovations Suite, which invests in the development of practitioner-researcher partnerships that use data, evidence, and innovation to create strategies that are effective and economical.

The solicitation provides further details about the program. Applications are due by June 25.

Watch a webinar about responding to this solicitation

WAR AND CRIME are cascade phenomena. War cascades across space and time to more war; crime to more crime; crime cascades to war; and war to crime.

John Braithwaite and Bina D'Costa investigate the complexity that arises from these Cascades of Violence to show that increasing our understanding of how these cascades work can assist in the simultaneous prevention of both crime and war. For example, understanding the way refugee camps are nodes of both targeted attack and targeted recruitment into violence can stimulate more effective humanitarian prevention efforts to target such nodes of risk.

The book also shows how nonviolence and nondomination can also be made to cascade, shunting cascades of violence into reverse.

"Cascades of Violence is one of the few books that all at once constructs a sophisticated and innovative theoretical framework, relies on a wealth of primary material, and presents extraordinary comparative breadth and depth. It will be of great value to students and scholars of violence.” Séverine Autesserre, Barnard College, Columbia University, author of Peaceland and The Trouble with the Congo

“Braithwaite and D’Costa’s metaphor of violence cascades is the starting point for a landmark analysis of complex reciprocal relationships between war and crime… This book’s remarkable formulation and analysis of ten provocative propositions yields hopeful lessons that illuminate new pathways to the reduction of war and crime.”  - John Hagan, Northwestern University and American Bar Foundation, author of Darfur and the Crime of Genocide (with Wenona Rymond-Richmond) 

Download Cascades of Violence for free or purchase hard copies from ANU Press: doi.org/10.22459/CV.02.2018

https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/cascades-violence/

The conference will be held in Stavanger, Norway, 7th - 8th November 2019.

The theme of the 24th Workshop on Aggression is

International Perspectives on Bullying, Segregation and Inclusion

Call for proposals – Extended deadline

Extended deadline for submission is 14th June 2019. Date for notification of acceptance of abstracts is June 20th 2019.

Read more about requirements on the website.

Special issue

Presenters of the 24th Workshop on Aggression are invited to submit their manuscripts for a special issue of the International Journal of Developmental Science.

Registration

Extended deadline for registration is June 26th 2019 (early bird) or September 1st 2019 (regular).

Read more about the conference on the website, or go directly to registration.

Less isolation and more access to family crucial for young people’s wellbeing in custody

Prison suicide in Scotland ten times higher than general population

An evidence review on mental health and wellbeing of young people in custody has identified that prisoners should not be isolated or denied access to family or support, and that time outside of their cells should be maximised.

The review, which was co-written by Dr Sarah Armstrong, Director of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research based at the University of Glasgow and research assistant John McGhee, reveals important factors that can affect young prisoners.

Dr Armstrong said: “The evidence of research and prior reviews makes clear that everyone in prison is vulnerable and that institutions can further exacerbate this through practices such as being locked in cells for extended periods of time, repeated strip searches and experiencing indifferent treatment by staff.

“One of the most important factors is isolation which has a profoundly damaging effect on a person’s ability to cope in prison and is particularly intense for young people. International and European human rights frameworks make clear that isolation of young people should not be used at all and that young people should be diverted from custody wherever possible. “

She added: “Keeping someone alive through suicide prevention measures is not the same as keeping someone well. Time out of cells should be maximised with support for both staff and prisoners to develop relationships of trust in prison.”

The report comes after the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf MSP called for a review of mental health services for young people in custody following recent deaths at Polmont Young Offenders Institution. The SCCJR report is part of this review which can be found in its entirety on HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland website.

In their report Dr Armstrong and Mr McGhee highlighted the importance of access to support and personal belongings even for those being disciplined in prison.

They also find that prison staff themselves should be offered support in learning more about mental health issues and empowering and giving space and time for them to form more trusting relationships with prisoners.

Dr Armstrong said: “There is evidence to back the idea that frontline staff and officers are suffering from stress through increased workloads, conflicting demands on their time and the sometimes distressing nature of their day-to-day job. Acknowledging this and supporting staff appropriately would be a positive step forward.”

In conducting their review SCCJR researchers also found that there timing of publishing data on prison suicide means the suicide rate had been underestimated in published research.

“We found the quality of research data on suicide numbers in prison varied greatly with one report basing their analysis on the Scottish Prison Service’s published figures that showed there were 22 suicides between 2011 and 2014 when in fact, according to SPS’s own internal analysis, it was actually 31.

“Categorisation of self-inflicted deaths along with lengthy delays in Fatal Accident Inquiries can fuel misleading analyses about prison suicide rates. Scotland’s suicide rate for 2015-18 is 125 per 100,000 which is substantially higher than that observed in England and Wales and is around ten times the rate for the general Scottish population.”

Dr Armstrong added: “Suicide is the leading cause of death of young people in prison in Scotland and so it is essential that the data captured on this is both robust and independently verified to ensure accuracy of further research. “

The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Young People in Custody: Evidence Review written by Dr Armstrong and Mr McGhee is available to download from SCCJR website.

END

Notes to editors

1. The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, headquartered at the University of Glasgow, is a collaboration of several Scottish universities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Strathclyde) that aims to produce research and develop researchers so as to better the development of policy, practice and public debate about crime and justice.
2. Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf MSP announced in January 2019 that there would be an independent review of mental health and wellbeing support for young people in custody that would consider;
   - The background information available to the Scottish Prison Service ahead of admission
   - Reception arrangements on entry
   - Ongoing support and supervision while in custody
3. The full review documents are now available to view on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland website.

3 & 4 JUNE 2019

UTRECHT UNIVERSITY

Digitization and the use of social media have dramatically changed most aspects of our everyday practices, perceptions and cause severe changes in human mobility (Innes, 2016, Gray, 2018). While the importance and effects of technological innovations in social science research has been increasingly recognized, the role of new technologies and how these shapes the security of people on the move is still limited in scope.

This international event of UGlobe seeks to address questions on the digital features of forced mobility, how technology shapes the approaches of migrant’ security, particularly the unintended effects of digitization and social media use. This event aims to bring together multiple stakeholders: NGO representatives, social workers, media representatives, artists and academics.

The first day of our event is a seminar with invited speakers from different disciplines. The second day is organized in workshops to facilitate interactive knowledge exchange and inclusion of visual material. For the workshop sessions we invited papers, films and art works that rethink issues of the ‘digital’ in the study of human mobility and security.