🚨 Announcing: Prevention First – Designing Safer Communities from Systems to Streets 🚨

We are thrilled to launch a groundbreaking conference exploring how communities can prevent crime before it happens by integrating social supports, environmental design, and multi-agency collaboration.

Join us as leading experts share insights on shifting from reactive justice to prevention-first approaches that build safer, more resilient communities:

The Conference will be launched by Senator Lynn Ruane – Author of Moving Towards a Public Health Approach to Violence and Chair of the Canal Communities Public Safety Forum.

Dr Katharina Swirak, Senior Lecturer, School of Society, Politics and Ethics, UCC & Gráinne Berrill, CEO, National Office for Community Safety – Shifting focus from criminal justice to social justice: the case for prevention and early intervention.

Prof Iain Brennan, Professor of Criminology, University of Hull – exploring the links between school exclusion and youth violence.

Karyn McCluskey, CEO, Community Justice Scotland and founder of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit on how prevention-first approaches across health, social services, education, and justice reduce offending.

Prof Graham Farrell, Professor of Crime Science, University of Leeds – Situational crime prevention: designing out crime and nudging behaviours, including the impact of security improvements on crime trends.

Dr Meghan Coghlan, Asst Professor in Criminology, Maynooth University, on how tackling disadvantage and social exclusion is likely the most effective long term strategy for addressing factors that lead to reoffending

David Hoey, on the work of Cork Street Pastors

Sergeant Graham Kavanagh, An Garda Siochána on the gap between awareness and application of CPTED (Crime Prevention through Educational Design) in Ireland

More speakers to follow……

This conference will bridge research, policy, and practice, demonstrating how prevention-first strategies can transform communities from the systems that support them to the streets they inhabit.

📅 Save the date Thursday 11^th June 2026 – Ashling Hotel, Dublin 8 – More details and registration coming soon!

We expect this conference to be popular and priority is given to ACJRD members. More information on membership and how to apply is here

The ACJRD annual conference is aimed at those working in government agencies and in the community, including policymakers, practitioners, academics, civil society and a wide range of disciplines that focus on all those affected by the Criminal Justice System.

• CPD Points: Attendance at the event may qualify for CPD points. Qualification is determined by the points’ issuer. ACJRD is happy to provide certificates of attendance on request. For GDPR purposes, attendance lists will be deleted after 12 months and it will no longer be possible to provide certificates of attendance after that. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. after the event if you will require a certificate of attendance.
• Photographs are taken ACJRD's event, please let a member of ACJRD's team know if you do not want your photo taken.
• ISL Interpretation is available by request, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Mon 1st June 2026 if you require this service. We would appreciate an early booking to facilitate the interpreter arrangements.