On the 5th April 2017 the Sheffield Institute for Policy Studies ran a seminar on the topic of ‘Citizenship and Engaging Marginalised Populations’ in conjunction with the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
The seminar explored the complex issues of those involved in the criminal justice system experiencing significant levels of trauma such as, mental health problems, addictions, complex life histories of abuse, looked-after care and homelessness. The narrower question of the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders was focused on but embedded in a wider context of the citizenship and inclusion of vulnerable and stigmatised groups. All of the speakers discussed innovative approaches to addressing the problems of exclusion and reintegration and discussed the implications of what it means to be an ‘active citizen’.
The seminar featured contributions from:
- Graham Beck, Governor of HMP Kirkham, the largest open prison in the UK on ‘Citizenship and the Opportunities for Social Justice in the Criminal Justice System‘.
- Professor David Best, Professor of Criminology in the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at SHU, and Associate Professor of Addiction Science at Monash University, Melbourne on ‘Recovery as an issue of citizenship and social inclusion‘.
- Dr Jennifer Sloan, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at SHU, and an expert in the reintegration of offenders on ‘What are the challenges of engaging marginalised populations within inclusive communities?’
- Sergeant Steve Hodgkins – Lancashire Constabulary and Founder of Jobs, Friends & Houses CIC, on ‘Rehabilitation or throw away the key‘.
The Sheffield Institute for Policy Studies 