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19th Bill McWilliams Memorial lecture on penal reform and probation in Europe
Vivian Geiran, Director of the Irish Probation Service delivered the nineteenth Bill McWilliams Memorial Lecture in Cambridge University on Monday 20th June 2016. The theme of Vivian’s lecture was: Penal Reform and Probation in Europe: Positive Change of Direction, ‘Nudges to the Rudder,’ or ‘Steady as She Goes’?
Vivian’s presentation highlighted some of the positive ‘straws in the wind’ of penal policy change in Europe and the influence of probation and other factors on this. He concluded that while positive gains can be fragile and must be protected and fostered, we should be confident for the future, as long as we keep forward momentum, even in small ways, and exercise leadership, including listening to voices from the side and outside (the otherwise excluded, and those whose voices may not otherwise be heard, including offenders).
A video of the lecture can be accessed via the following link: Bill McWilliams memorial Lecture June 2015
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