A very valuable report called The Vicious Circle of Social Exclusion and Crime: Ireland’s Disproportionate Punishment of the Poor was launched today by the Irish Penal Reform Trust with Community Platform. The details of the report are outlined below, but there was a couple of examples of the uneven nature of the Irish justice system [...]

Last Saturday night when disturbances in Tottenham began I tweeted the following “Its a bus and a few cars. Bigger problems in London that 24 hour news doesnt tell you to talk about.Keep calm and carry on. #tottenhamriot“.
It was not my intention to be as dismissive as it now seems I was . Rather, [...]

The identification of offenders as members of a criminal gang is generally not an essential criterion in the prosecution of offences. It is not therefore possible to ascertain the precise number of criminals who are members of criminal gangs operating in this country. Nor is it possible to provide statistics of the kind sought by [...]

Using evidence-based policy to build better and safer communities
Instead of throwing increasing amounts of taxpayers’ money at an ineffective prison system, we should be investing in communities by way of prevention and early intervention strategies, addressing the marginalization associated with offending behaviour, and thereby reducing crime.
This is the core message which the Irish Penal Reform [...]

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has today expressed deep concern at the resignation of Kathleen McMahon, Governor of the Dóchas Centre.  The issues cited by the Governor on her resignation are worrying in the extreme, and IPRT is calling on both prison management and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to take [...]

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) welcomes the Cabinet decision to increase the use of Community Service Orders. This follows recommendations made by the Probation Service to greatly extend the number of community service places; it also answers consistent calls from IPRT for a greater use of community sanctions in dealing with less serious offences.
Against [...]

4,132 IN PRISON CUSTODY IN IRELAND
The number of prisoners in custody in Irish prisons was 4,132 on Monday 1st Feb, 2010. This is an increase of 11% on the numbers of custody the same week in 2009. (These figures do not include those out on temporary release.) This acceleration in prison population growth, in an [...]

The Irish Penal Reform Trust will publish a new report: Detention of Children in Ireland: International Standards and Best Practice. The report, which will be launched Monday 30th November in Dublin, considers the implementation of international human rights standards to children detention in Ireland, and details best practice examples from Ireland and other European jurisdictions.
The [...]

Incontrovertible and devastating evidence of chronic conditions in the largest prison in the State has been released in the Report of an Inspection of Mountjoy Prison by the Inspector of Prisons, which had been published today. The report details the appalling treatment of prisoners in Mountjoy Prison. These are core human rights issues, and the [...]