Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conferences
The annual Irish Criminal Justice Agencies (ICJA) Conference is a collaboration of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, The Courts Service, An Garda Síochána, the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA), the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the Parole Board and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD).
ICJA 2023 - Penal Policy Reform: Putting Community at the Heart of the Criminal Justice System
The 9th Annual Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conference took place on Tuesday, 10th October, 2023 in Dublin Castle. The theme for this year’s conference was "Penal Policy Reform: Putting Community at the Heart of the Criminal Justice System",
This annual one day conference is a collaboration of the Department of Justice, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Irish Prison Service, An Garda Síochána, The Probation Service, Policing Authority, Courts Service, Garda Síochána Inspectorate, Office of the Revenue Commissioners, Parole Board, King’s Inns, Maynooth University, University College Dublin, Limerick University, non-agency Criminal Justice System Actors and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD). The lead partner for 2023 was The Probation Service.
The Conference Programme can be downloaded here. Links to presentations, when available, will be found on this page. A Conference Report is being prepared for publication at a later date.
The conference included the following plenary presentations:
Conference Welcome and setting the scene
Mark Wilson, Director, The Probation Service introduced by Maura Butler, Chair, ACJRD
Conference Opening
Minister James Brown
Sanctioning and the Public Interest - the Role of the Prosecutor
Presenter: Catherine Pierse, Director of Public Prosecutions
Community Based Sanctions: An Effective Alternative to Prison?
Presenter: Judge Paul Kelly, President of the District Court
Local Community Safety Partnerships: Shared Ownership, Shared Responsibility
Presenter: Ben Ryan, Head of Policy for Criminal Justice, Department of Justice
Creativity in the Criminal Justice System:
- The Transformative Power of the Arts
Presenter: Tom Shortt, Arts Officer, Irish Prison Education Service - Rehabilitation Through Education
Presenter: Pat Sheedy, Author & Winner of Listowel Writers competition - Showcase of Bloom Garden
Presenter: Brian Hogan, Deputy Director Operations, Oberstown Detention Centre
Have Community Sanctions and Measures Widened the Net of the European Criminal Justice Systems?
Presenter: Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology and Social Work, University of Glasgow, Scotland
The Guardians of the Peace
Presenter: Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman, An Garda Síochána
Unmasking the ‘Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector’ in the Republic of Ireland: Towards a Research Agenda
Presenter: Katharina Swirak, Deputy Head of Department of Sociology and Criminology, University College Cork
ICJA 2019 - Sexual Offences: The Challenge of Balancing Rights in the Criminal Justice System
The 6th Annual Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conference took place on Tuesday, 4th June, 2019, in the Conference Centre, Upper Yard, Dublin Castle. The theme for this year’s conference was “Sexual Offences: The Challenge of Balancing Rights in the Criminal Justice System”.
This one day conference was a collaboration of the Department of Justice and Equality, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Irish Prison Service, the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS), An Garda Síochána, The Probation Service and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD). The lead partner for 2019 was the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The report includes the following plenary papers:
Conference Welcome and setting the scene
Maura Butler, ACJRD Chairperson
Conference Opening
Charles Flanagan TD, Minister for Justice and Equality
Fidelity to Constitutional Values in the Trial and Punishment of Sex Offences
Tom O’Malley BL
Keywords: Fidelity; Punishment; Sexual Offenders; Sexual Assault.
Balancing Victims’ and Offenders’ Rights in Managing Criminal Sanctions
Vivian Geiran, Director, The Probation Service
Keywords: Victims' Rights; Probation; Sexual Violence; Offenders' Rights; Criminal Justice; Restorative Justice.
Recent Adjustments to the Adversarial Law of Evidence
Associate Prof. Liz Heffernan, School of Law, Trinity College Dublin
Keywords: Sexual Violence; Sexual Offences; Law of Evidence; Criminal Law Reform.
Offence Reporting by Victims, Stereotypes and Juries – Accessing Experiences from Experts in the Field
Noeline Blackwell, CEO, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre
Keywords: Sexual Violence; Trial Juries; Irish Law; Trauma; Victims' Rights; Privacy.
ROUNDTABLE: Reviewing the Balancing of Rights; Insights and Challenges
The Rt Hon. Sir John Gillen, Tom O’Malley BL and Caroline Biggs SC
Conference Conclusions/Summary of Discussions
Peter McCormick, Asst. Chief Prosecutor, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
The report includes the following workshop summaries:
Consent in Rape Trials: Turning Laws into Reality
Dr Susan Leahy, School of Law, University of Limerick
Media and Social Media - Impact on Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Offences
Monika Leech BL
A Multi-Agency Service for Child Victims of Sexual Abuse
Kate Gillen, Social Work Specialist, Child Care Performance and Social Work Unit, DCYA; Rhonda Turner, Principal Clinical Psychologist, Tusla, National Inter-Agency Prevention Programme (NIAPP); and Detective Inspector Michael Lynch, Garda National Protective Services Unit (GNPSU)
Sex Offender Management: Contextualising Policy and Exploring Challenges
Dr Margaret Fitzgerald O’Reilly, School of Law, University of Limerick
Courts Service Provision and Future Plans
Tom Ward, Principal Officer, Circuit and District Courts Operations Directorate
Garda Divisional Protective Services Units
Detective Superintendent Aidan McCarthy, Garda National Protective Services Bureau
Restorative Justice and Sexual Offending: Dilemmas and Complexities
Maeve Lewis, Executive Director and Deirdre Kenny, Advocacy Director, One in Four
Juveniles who have Sexually Abused and the Realities of “Risk”
Rhonda Turner, Principal Clinical Psychologist, Tusla, National Inter-Agency Prevention Programme(NIAPP)
Balancing Rights in Sex Offender Treatment in Prison and in the Community
Sarah Hume, Senior Psychologist, Irish Prison Service and Daragh Bailey, Senior Probation Officer, Sex Offender Risk Assessment and Management (SORAM)
ICJA 2018 - Toward a Trauma Responsive Criminal Justice System: Why, How and What Next?
The 5th Annual Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conference took place on Wednesday, 4th July, 2018, in the Conference Centre at Dublin Castle. The theme for this year’s conference was “Toward a Trauma-Responsive Criminal Justice System: Why, How and What Next?”.
This one day conference was a collaboration of the Irish Prison Service, the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS), the Department of Justice and Equality, An Garda Síochána, The Probation Service and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD). The lead partner for 2018 was the Irish Prison Service.
Videos which give an insight into Adverse Childhood Experiences were shown at the Conference. To view these videos, please click on the following links:
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Watch the Video
Opening Doors: Trauma-Informed Practice for the Workforce: Watch the Video
Toward a Trauma-Responsive Criminal Justice System: Why, How and What Next?
It is the responsibility of the Department of Justice and Equality to work toward Ireland being a safe, fair and inclusive place to live and work. Public safety and preventing future victims are fundamental to this objective. Far too many people cycle through Ireland’s Criminal Justice System (CJS), wrestling with chronic mental health and personality difficulties, addictions, relationship difficulties, unemployment, poor use of leisure time, homelessness and isolation from the broader community. It is time to name the, at times unpalatable, but near universal theme likely to be the genesis of many of these biological, psychological and social challenges: Trauma. Trauma is not an ‘excuse’ for criminal behaviour but an experience common to almost all men, women and children who have contact with the Irish CJS and therefore a valid ‘contributory explanation’ of criminal behaviour. In order for the Department of Justice and Equality to fulfil on its responsibilities, it is time for the Irish CJS to focus on trauma for a safer, fairer more equal Ireland.
Men and women involved with the CJS report a history of significant traumatic experience prior to imprisonment (95.5% and 88.6% respectively; Steadman, 2009). Experiences in the CJS can often contribute to new traumas, from arrest, through to sentencing, incarceration and release; in itself, it can become a cyclical relationship. It is also the case that some victims of crime, because of the seriousness of the crime committed against them can experience trauma up to and including PTSD. In addition, the operation of the criminal justice system can also in certain circumstances re-traumatise victims and this is known as secondary victimisation. Add to this ‘system’, the experiences of trauma and vicarious trauma experienced by members of An Garda Síochána, the Judiciary, Prison and Probation staff who are tasked with the safe custody, sentencing, management, care, support and rehabilitation of traumatised individuals.
Recognition and understanding of the role that trauma plays in contributing to an individual’s journey toward involvement in the CJS and the role that the CJS can have in perpetuating trauma and flight/flight/freeze trauma reactions is vital. In highly stressful, potentially volatile or violent situations (as is often a feature of contact between Criminal Justice Agency staff and individuals), a history of repeated exposure to trauma can become a recipe for disaster for both users of the CJS and Criminal Justice Agency staff. To address these problems, trauma informed justice systems have the ability to facilitate capacity building through appropriate supports for both individuals who are in contact with the CJS and individuals who work within the CJS.
It was the task of the 5th Annual Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conference to develop trauma-responsive principles of care for consideration across all Criminal Justice Agencies.
The report includes the following plenary papers:
Conference Welcome and setting the scene
Michael Donnellan, Director General, Irish Prison Service
Conference Opening
Charles Flanagan TD, Minister for Justice and Equality
Better the Devil you Know? Alternatives to the Adversarial System
Mary Rose Gearty, SC
Keywords: Criminal Justice; Reform; Restorative Justice; Probation Service; Victim-Offender Mediation.
What Happened to You? Understanding the Impact of Chronic Early Adversity and Neglect in Infancy and Early Childhood
Ciara McCarthy, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Primary Care Psychology Service, Health Service Executive
Keywords: Psychology; Infancy; Childhood; Trauma; Infant Mental Health; Self-Regulation.
Vicarious Trauma: The Impact of Working with Survivors of Trauma
Dr Sharon Lambert, School of Applied Psychology, UCC
Keywords: Victims' Rights; Psychology; Trauma; Social work.
Homeless Men with Mental Illness in Irish Prisons
Dr Conor O’Neill, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Central Mental Hospital
Keywords: Ireland; Prison Service; Penal Policy; Homelessness; Mental Illness.
The report includes the following workshop summaries:
The Potential for Applying the Tusla-led Meitheal Practice Model in a Trauma Responsive Criminal Justice System
Fergal Landy, Regional Implementation Manager for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support, Tusla, Galway, Claire Foley, Assessment Consultation and Therapy Service (ACTS) and Eimear Ryan, Senior Speech and Language Therapist ACTS
Towards Trauma-Responsive Addiction Treatment Service at Tabor Group in Cork
Mick Devine, Clinical Director, Tabor Group, Cork
Poverty, Homelessness, then Prison - and back to Poverty, Homelessness again
Fr Peter McVerry
Prisons: Trauma Informed Interventions - Them and Us?
Claire Moloney, Chartered Counselling Psychologist, IPS Psychology Service, and Aoife Rice, Assistant Psychologist, IPS Psychology Service
From Exclusion, through Muddle, to Rights: The Place of Victims in Sexual Offences Trials
Noeline Blackwell, Chief Executive Officer, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre
Every Woman Every Story: Trauma, Criminality and Women in Prison
Governor Mary O’Connor and Dr Maggie McGovern, Dóchas Centre
Pathways to Prison - The Experience of the Traveller Community
David Joyce, Solicitor, Mercy Law Resource Centre and Anne Costello, Coordinator Travellers in Prison Initiative
Vulnerable Migrants and the Criminal Justice System
Wendy Lyon, Solicitor, KOD Lyons Solicitors
Trauma in Probation Practice
Margaret Griffin, Regional Manager, Probation Service, Elaine Kavanagh, Probation Officer and Jane Mulcahy, UCC PhD Candidate
Addressing Psychiatric and Psycho-social Morbidity in Irish Prisons
Dr Gautam Gulati, Consultant Psychiatrist, University Hospital Limerick, Adjunct Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Limerick
ICJA 2017 - Youth Justice Policy in Ireland - Where to Next?
This one day conference was a collaboration of the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS), the Department of Justice and Equality, An Garda Síochána, The Probation Service, the Irish Prison Service and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD). The lead partner for 2017 was the Irish Youth Justice Service.
Opportunities were provided throughout the day for delegates to share information, exchange views and network with colleagues who engage in similar or complementary areas of expertise. The Chatham House Rule applied for this conference.
The report includes the following plenary papers:
Conference Welcome and setting the scene
Michelle Shannon, Director, Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS)
Conference Opening
David Stanton TD, Minister of State for Justice, with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration and Integration
What Works and What Could Work Better in Irish Youth Justice Policy
Judge John O’Connor, Children Court
Keywords: Ireland; Youth; Juvenile justice; Penal Policy; Reform.
Reflections on the Irish Legislation
Professor Geoffrey Shannon, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection
Keywords: Criminal Justice; Responsibility; Juvenile justice; Probation; Restoration.
The Juveniles in the Romanian Criminal Justice System
Roxana Ungureanu, West University Timisoara, Romania
Keywords: Romania; Juvenile justice; Education; Custody; Internment.
Children’s Voices
Julie Ahern, Membership and Public Affairs Officer, Children’s Rights Alliance
Keywords: Child Rights; Children's Rights Alliance; Juvenile justice.
Detention or Not?
Professor Ursula Kilkelly, Professor and Dean of Law, University College Cork
Keywords: Children Court; Detention; Juvenile justice; Reform.
Conference Closing
Dr. Fergal Lynch, Secretary General, Department of Children and Youth Affairs
The report includes the following workshop summaries:
Prevention – How can it act effectively as a Gatekeeper to the Criminal Justice System?
Patrick Gates, Coordinator, Young People at Risk, (YPAR) North Inner City & Frank Mulville, Meitheal Services and Support Coordinator, YPAR
New Challenges in Diversion and the Way Forward
Superintendent Colette Quinn, Director of the Diversion Programme, An Garda Síochána with Joan Cherry, Director, The Northside Inter-Agency Project (NIAP)
Family Conferencing – The experience under the Children Act 2001
Dr. Etáin Quigley, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Applied Research for Connected Health (ARCH), UCD
Victims of Young Offenders
Inspector Lorraine Stack, An Garda Síochána Victim Liaison Office, and Dr Johnny Connolly, Irish Research Council Scholar in the Centre for Crime, Justice and Victim Studies, School of Law, University of Limerick
The Non-Adversarial Challenges for a Juvenile Justice Lawyer
Aoife McNickle BL
Mainstreaming Youth Crime Prevention in Youth and Other Services
Miriam Ryan, Area Manager Blanchardstown Youth Service, Foróige
Offenders aged 18-24 years – The Justifications and Challenges for extending Juvenile Justice approaches to them
Eoin Carroll, Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice and Brian Santry, Regional Manager, Young Person’s Probation
Dealing with Prolific Offending – Research and Future Practice
Eoin O’Meara Daly and Dr Catherine Naughton, University of Limerick (Greentown Project) and Rose Sweeney, Assistant Principal Officer, An Garda Síochána (Youth Joint Agency Response to Crime YJARC)
Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing in Detention and into the Community - The Oberstown Experience.
Eimear Ryan, Senior Speech and Language Therapist, and Sanna Cramnell, Social Worker, Assessment Consultation & Therapy Service (ACTS)
Children at Risk and in Trouble with the Law - the role of Children and Young People’s Services Committees
Margaret Mastriani, Co-Ordinator, Limerick Children and Young People’s Service Committee and John Cole, Policy Innovation Unit, Department of Children and Youth Affairs
ICJA 2016 - Evidence-Informed Decision Making: Putting Research into Practice in Criminal Justice
The 3rd Annual Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conference took place on Tuesday, 28th June, 2016, at the Dublin Castle Conference Centre. The 2016 theme was “Evidence-Informed Decision Making: Putting Research into Practice in Criminal Justice". This year’s Conference was a collaboration of The Probation Service, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA), An Garda Síochána, The Irish Prison Service and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD). The Lead Collaborator for 2016 was The Probation Service.
A parallel session to the workshops took place, where invited research representatives held a roundtable discussion. Feedback from the roundtable sessions was then relayed to the other delegates prior to the Conference closing.
Pictured (L-R): James Martin, Department of Justice and Equality, Prof. Ioan Durnescu, University of Bucharest, Dr. Niamh Hourigan, University College Cork, Maura Butler, Chairperson, ACJRD, Professor Fergus McNeill, University of Glasgow, and Vivian Geiran, Director, The Probation Service.
The report includes the following plenary papers:
Conference Welcome and Opening
Vivian Geiran, Director, The Probation Service
Prisoner Population and Trends
James Martin, Assistant Secretary, Department of Justice and Equality
Keywords: Ireland; Prison Service; Prison Demographics; DPP.
What Good is Punishment?
Professor Fergus McNeill, University of Glasgow
Keywords: Rehabilitation; Punishment; Criminal Justice; Sanctions.
The Process of Re-Entry: An Ethnic Approach?
Professor Ioan Durnescu, University of Bucharest
Keywords: Ethnography; Prisoner re-entry; Rehabilitation; Ethnicity; Identity.
What is Evidence? Knowledge, Reason and Power in Criminal Justice Practice in Ireland
Dr. Niamh M Hourigan, Dept. of Sociology, University College Cork
Keywords: Criminal Justice; Evidence; Resources; Research Project.
Conference Closing
Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality Ms. Frances Fitzgerald, T.D.
The report includes the following workshop summaries:
Linking Research to Implementation: Some Examples of Learning from Practice
Aisling Sheehan, Project Specialist, and Mary Rafferty, Senior Manager, Centre for Effective Services
Sexual Experience Evidence in Rape Trials
Kate Mulkerrins, Head of Prosecution Policy & Research Unit, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Understanding the Role of Pre-sentence Reports in the Irish Criminal Justice System
Dr Nicola Carr, Queen’s University Belfast
Evaluation and Research in the Department of Justice and Equality
Hugh Hennessy, Department of Justice and Equality
Building Relationships with Young People in Oberstown to Improve Pro-social Outcomes
Pat Bergin, Campus Manager, Oberstown Children Detention Campus
Multi Agency Approach in Interviewing Victims of Child Sexual Abuse
Det. Superintendent Declan Daly, Garda National Protective Services Bureau
Role of the Central Statistics Office in Developing Research for use in the Irish Criminal Justice System
Sam Scriven, Central Statistics Office
ICJA 2015 - Engagement with Young People
The 2nd Annual Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conference took place on Wednesday, 15th July, 2015, at the Dublin Castle Conference Centre. The 2015 theme was “Engagement with Young People”. This Conference was a collaboration of the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA), An Garda Síochána, The Probation Service, the Irish Prison Service and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD).
The report includes the following plenary papers:
Conference Welcome
Nóirín O’Sullivan, Garda Commissioner
Conference Opening
Ms. Frances Fitzgerald T.D. Minister for Justice and Equality
Diverging or Emerging from Law? The Practice of Youth Justice in Ireland
Professor Ursula Kilkelly, School of Law, University College Cork
Keywords: Ireland; Youth justice; Policy reform; Restorative justice; Children Court.
Input from a Young Person
Jade
IRiS Integrated Offender Management System
Temporary Chief Constable John Long, QPM, Avon and Somerset Police
Keywords: Criminal Justice; Youth; Young offenders; Restorative justice; IRiS.
How Local Criminal Networks can affect the Crime Trajectories of Children in Ireland - 'Greentown' - a case study
Dr Seán Redmond, Research and Evaluation Unit, Department of Children & Youth Affairs
Keywords: Restorative justice; Greentown Project; Anti-social influence; Young offenders.
Garda Initiatives in the Dublin Region
John Twomey, Assistant Garda Commissioner
Keywords: Ireland; Youth Outreach; TAG; Youth initiatives; An Garda Siochana.
Conference Closing
Dr James Reilly T.D, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
The report includes the following workshop summaries:
The Diversion Programme
Superintendent Colette Quinn, An Garda Síochána
Online Child Exploitation - The Multiplier Effect of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on Crimes against Children
Detective Inspector Mick Lynch, Garda National Protective Services Bureau, and Detective Sergeant Mary T McCormack, Garda National Protective Services Bureau
Sex Offender Risk Assessment and Management (SORAM)
Detective Sergeant Jennifer Molony, Garda National Protective Services Bureau, Pauline Downey, Senior Probation Officer, Probation Service, Detective Geraldine Goldrick, An Garda Síochána, and Shane Donnelly, Social Work Team Leader, Tusla
Ballyrunners - Heading in the Right Direction
Rachel Lillis, Senior Probation Officer, Patricia Kavanagh, Career Guidance Officer, Ballymun Job Centre, and Garda Mark Higgins, Community Policing, Ballymun
Building Bridges Restoratively In Limerick - Using Restorative Processes to Engage Young People Effectively
Mary Henihan, Southern Regional Manager, Le Chéile Mentoring and Youth
Justice Support Services and Sergeant Séamus O’Neill, An Garda Síochána
Engaging young people through Mentoring
Anne Conroy, CEO, Le Chéile Mentoring and Youth Justice Support Services and Alan Hughes, Probation Officer, Young Persons’ Probation
ICJA 2014 - Penal Policy Reform
The Department of Justice and Equality, the Irish Prison Service, The Probation Service and ACJRD held the inaugural Irish Criminal Justice System conference 'Penal Policy Reform' in Wheatfield Place of Detention, Dublin on September 20, 2014.
The report includes the following plenary papers:
Conference Opening
Minister for Justice and Equality, Ms. Frances Fitzgerald, T.D.
Leading Change from the Emerging Future
Tom O’Connor, Ph.D., CEO., Transforming Corrections, Adjunct Professor, Criminal Justice, Western Oregon University
Keywords: Criminal Justice; Penal Reform; Rehabilitation; Policy Review.
A Blueprint For Change: From Agreement To Action
Deirdre Malone, Executive Director, Irish Penal Reform Trust
Keywords: Reform; Penal Policy; Accountability; Transparency; Strategic Review.
What Do Victims of Crime Want?
Maeve Lewis, Executive Director, One in Four
Keywords: Victim psychology; Abuse; Sexual abuse; Trauma; Victim's rights.
Closing Remarks and Next Steps
Vivian Geiran, Director, Probation Service
The report includes the following workshop summaries:
Co-ordination of Data Management in Practice
Tim Linehan, Central Statistics Office, Aidan Gormley, The Probation Service and Ciaron McAuley, Irish Prison Service
Prisoner Empowerment
Dr Graham Betts Symonds, Irish Prison Service CBHFA Programme Manager & IRC CBHFA Master Trainer, Lydia O’Halloran, Irish Red Cross CBHFA Programme Manager and Red Cross volunteers
The Community Return Programme
Andy Brennan, Assistant Principal, Irish Prison Service & Claire Brennan, Senior Probation Officer, Probation Service
Employment on release
Paddy Richardson, Chief Executive, Irish Association for the Social Integration of Offenders (IASIO)
The Change Process – Dialogue Coaching and Adaptive Leadership
Tom O’Connor, Ph.D., CEO., Transforming Corrections, Adjunct Professor, Criminal Justice, Western Oregon University
Perspectives on the needs of victims of sexual and domestic abuse crime
Maeve Lewis, Executive Director, One in Four