The ACJRD 26th Annual Conference, Accountability and Monitoring in the Criminal Justice System, will take place on Friday, 9th June 2023.
See Programme information and Booking details below
Accountability to society in general, and to participants in the criminal justice system, enhances public respect for the institutions and agencies who are entrusted with the delivery of justice, within a human rights framework.
The Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty requires public bodies, in the performance of their functions, to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality and protect human rights of staff and people availing of their services.
Independent auditing of the responsibility entrusted to these sectors of our society where citizens have safety and justice delivered equitably, necessitates systematic review through monitoring.
In this full day conference, we aim to consider accountability and monitoring of policing, victim support, sentencing, prisons and parole during plenary sessions. In breakout sessions we plan to have presentations and discussion of themes that include discrete areas of diversity, the role of evidence-based data and knowledge, and some current innovative developments.
Our annual conference will appeal to those working in government agencies and in the community to include policymakers, practitioners, academics, civil society and a wide range of disciplines that focus on the victims and perpetrators of crime either within or tangential to the Criminal Justice System.
Members get a discounted registration fee and non-members of ACJRD are welcome to attend this event, which will take place in the Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 2.
Delegates will be given the opportunity to attend one of three Thematic Sessions offered, each of which will feature three different presentations.
Programme: The ACJRD 26th Annual Conference
To view a PDF of the Conference Programme, please click here.
Confirmed Plenary Speakers include:
- Chief Commissioner, Sinead Gibney, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).
- Commissioner Emily Logan, Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
- Ellen O’Malley Dunlop, Council of Europe’s GRIEVO Committee.
- Professor Cyrus Tata, Director of the Centre for Law, Crime and Justice, University of Strathclyde, Scotland.
- Ciairín de Buis, Chief Executive Officer, Parole Board.
- Mark Kelly, Chief Inspector of Prisons.
Plenary presentations include The Potential of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, Oversight of Policing in Ireland - Opportunities and Challenges Ahead; An Overview of the Istanbul Convention; Criminal Justice, Sentencing & Public Confidence; Parole: protecting the community, fair to applicants and listening to victims, and Inspections and Investigations in Places of Detention and Imprisonment.
Confirmed Thematic Session Speakers Include:
- Janice Hickey, Manager/MST Supervisor Bail Supervision Scheme, Cork.
- Rachel Lillis, APPO for Social Inclusion & Reintegration with a Community Partner.
- Professor Eilionóir Flynn, School of Law NUI Galway.
- Caroline Finn, IGEES Policy Analyst (Assistant Principal) at Irish Prison Service.
- Andrew O’Sullivan, Chief Information Officer, An Garda Síochána.
- Gurchand Singh, Head of Data Analytics, Department of Justice Data Analytics.
- Professor Yvonne Daly, School of Law and Government, DCU.
- Dr. Áine Kearns, School of Allied Health at the University of Limerick.
- Emer Darcy, Acting Head of Strategy and Reform, Courts Service.
Thematic breakout sessions will explore The Bail Supervision Scheme; Collaborating with communities to respond to offending by women; Access to Rights for People Detained in Secure Forensic Mental Health Facilities in Ireland; Measuring what matters, counting what counts’: the introduction of organisation scorecards across the Irish Prison Service; Addressing data deficits on Ethnicity in the CJS and challenging hate crime; Using data to support outcomes; Accountability in the moment: Lawyers attending Garda Interviews; A Vision for Intermediaries and People Centred Changes.
At the conclusion of the conference there will be a Panel Discussion and Q&A on the topic of Building Trust and Improving Services through Transparent Monitoring and Accountability, where experiences of ‘monitoring’ and ‘being monitored’ will be discussed.
The speakers in this panel session are:
- Helen Hall, CEO Policing Authority.
- Mark Toland Chief Inspector at Garda Síochána Inspectorate.
- Professor Ursula Kilkelly, UCC, outgoing Chairperson of Oberstown.
- Patrick Bergin, Head of Service, National Forensic Mental Health Service.
Event details
Date: Friday 9 June 2023
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm (registration 9am)
Location: Camden Court Hotel, Camden Street, Dublin D02 W086
Conference fees:
- ACJRD Member €99
- Non-Member €120
- Student ACJRD Member €25
- Student Non-Member €45
Booking: To book your place through Eventbrite, please click here.
ISL Interpretation is available by request, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you require this service. If you would like to avail of ISL interpretation we would appreciate an early booking to facilitate the interpreter arrangements (preferably by Thursday 1st June).
Chatham House Rule
To encourage openness and the sharing of information, the Chatham House Rule will be invoked at this conference.
The Chatham House Rule reads as follows: "When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed".
See: https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/chatham-house-rule