Latest Conferences from Policy Review TV

Judicial Recusal: 21st-Century Challenges

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:00:00 BST

This is a pay per view event and will be published here on Monday 29 September at 9.00am. Purchase here now for £49 + VAT.

The Panel: The Rt Hon Lord Roger Toulson, The Hon Sir Grant Hammond, The Hon Michael Kirby, The Hon Raymond J McKoski
Chair: Mark George QC

Judicial recusal is the principle that judges must disqualify themselves from participating in proceedings if they decide that it is not appropriate for them to hear a case. In Blackstone’s time judges were only required to recuse themselves in cases of actual bias. Subsequently there has been a tendency to widen this to include apparent bias – a doctrine of appearances.

A recent series of high profile recusal cases has come before courts across the world in which:

a Justice of the Supreme Court of New Zealand was forced to resign his office
the Supreme Court of the United States implicitly reprimanded a State Supreme Court Justice for his failure to recuse
in the UK, Lord Hoffman's failure to recuse in In Re Pinochet resulted in the case having to be reheard.

This timely seminar brings together a pre-eminent panel of serving and former judges from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States to discuss problems of recusal, the reasons for its recent rise in significance and to identify unresolved issues. They will also submit papers for publication by The Modern Law Review.

Police and Crime Commissioners Conference

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

On 15 November 2012, the first Police and Crime Commissioners were elected in England and Wales, bringing to an end the structures of Police Authorities and establishing new lines of accountability to which other public bodies will need to adjust.

Restorative Justice Approaches #rja13

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The evidence is clear; using restorative justice is effective in reducing reoffending rates by 14%, and 85% of victims find it helpful. Jeremy Wright MP recently launched The Restorative Justice Action Plan for the Criminal Justice System to bring about real change in the use of restorative justice.

Youth Justice Convention 2012

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Annual Youth Justice Convention is the leading annual event for all those working in youth offending teams, police, local authorities, secure establishments, courts, probation and other key organisations.

It is a must-attend event for all managers, professionals, practitioners and policy makers in the youth justice system preparing for the localisation of custody budgets and the election of Police and Crime Commissioners.

Leading speakers address the current policy and management issues across the spectrum of youth justice policy and practice. The wide range of seminars at this convention will provide an opportunity to critically assess effective practice in the challenges facing youth justice today.

Catch up on the 2011 event here.

Youth Justice Convention 2011

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The Youth Justice Convention is the leading annual event for all those working in youth offending teams, police, local authorities, secure establishments, courts, probation and other key organisations.

Read main news story from event here

Watch Frances Done CBE, chair, and John Drew, chief executive of the Youth Justice Board on the highlights of the Convention.

Offender Management

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:00:00 BST

Bringing together representatives from police, probation, local authorities and voluntary organisations with expert speakers in the field, this event looked at specific outcomes from the Justice Green Paper, including the rehabilitation revolution, the role of the voluntary and private sectors and payments by result.

Annual Domestic Violence Forum

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 BST

This annual national forum offered delegates the timely opportunity to hear the latest government policy as well as learn from and discuss best working practices and value for money at a local level.

Serious and Organised Crime

Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 BST

This annual forum provided the principal public event where the government, police authorities, local government, business associations and academics can set out threats, strategies, collaborations and trends in serious and organised crime.

Offenders’ Learning, Skills and Employability

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:00:00 BST

Supported by:

Prisoners'
Education Trust

This conference brought together senior decision makers including prison governors and officers, probation officers, heads of OLASS, education managers, representatives of LEAs and FE colleges to examine the shape of future provision.

Restorative Approaches

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

This conference brought together leaders from across central and local government, education and third sector to examine how to manage and exceed government’s expectations in these challenging times.

Youth Justice

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This convention brings together delegates from youth offending teams, police, local authorities, secure establishments, sentencers, probation and other key stakeholders and policy makers.

Successful Employment and Resettlement of Ex-Offenders

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This conference will share best practice and consider recent policy developments and effective programmes that are in place to deliver services to support the resettlement of ex-offenders.

Victims and Witnesses

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 BST

This conference provided the opportunity to hear from senior stakeholders in the criminal justice sector discussing the latest government policy and practice strategies designed to address gaps, implement and improve provision systematically in every locality in a time of austerity.

Autumn of Decision - Criminal Justice

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 BST

An evening reception and live broadcast discussion on the outlook for the criminal justice sector including the 20th October announcements, legislation and reform.

Discussions were led by the following distinguished panel of leading criminal justice policy makers and commentators:

Simon Reed, Vice Chair, Police Federation, England and Wales
John Graham, Director, Police Foundation
Blair Gibbs, Head of Crime and Justice Unit, Policy Exchange
Jon Silverman, Professor of Media and Criminal Justice, University of Bedfordshire

Offender Management

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:00:00 BST

With contributions from leading experts in the field, this conference brought together representatives from all corners of the criminal justice arena to build on achievements and innovative best practices by increasing dialogue between stakeholders in the management of offenders.

Offender Learning, Skills and Employment

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 BST

This conference addressed the challenges facing prison governors and education providers in the midst of public spending cuts.

European Serious Organised Crime

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This event critically examined the scope of the response to organised crime in the UK and the wider system in which the UK participates.

Please note that for security reasons we are unable to make the presentations from this event available online. If you are interested in any of the speakers' conference materials, please contact martin.ruston@policyreview.tv

Successful Employment and Resettlement of Ex-Offenders

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This conference provided an opportunity for delegates to learn about government strategies for the next few years, discuss learning and skills and share good practice on resettlement and employment of ex-offenders.

Citizen Focus Policing

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This conference provided key policy updates on citizen focused policing and its implementation and set out, in practical terms, how the police and their partners are connecting with the communities.

Domestic Violence

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This conference provided an opportunity to hear the latest policy developments on the strategy to end violence against women, learn about the various forms of violence affecting women and children and discuss ongoing challenges to joined-up service provision.

Youth Justice Convention 2009

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

For 10 years the Youth Justice Convention has brought together delegates from youth offending teams, police, local authorities, secure establishments, sentencers, probation and other key stakeholders and policy makers in the youth justice system. This year's event brought together leading speakers to address current key issues across the spectrum of youth justice policy and practice. The wide range of seminars and workshops at Convention 2009 also provided an opportunity to critically assess key issues facing youth justice today.

Victims and Witnesses

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This event looked at the findings from the joint thematic review of victims and witnesses experiences and provided an opportunity for delegates to hear the latest policy developments and debate and discuss service provision and measures needed to further improve the outcome for victims and witnesses of crime.

Reducing Re-offending

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 BST

With contributions from leading experts in the field, this conference brought together representatives from local and central government with criminal justice agencies, prison, probation and police officers to explore how to work in partnerships to increase successful resettlement and reduce re-offending.

Offenders’ Learning, Skills and Employability

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 BST

This conference focused on skills for employability with delegates hearing the latest developments in government policy and discussing the role of OLASS and how to improve offender employability. Keynote address: Edward Garnier QC MP, Shadow Minister for Justice.

Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 BST

To boost public confidence in the criminal justice system and increase the visibility of police work in the communities, the Government has taken advice from the report Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime and the responses from the Policing Green Paper to give local communities more power in setting priorities for the safety of their local area. The announcement of millions in funding for projects such as volunteer Community Crime Fighters, Community Payback and Crime Mapping along with the setting up of dedicated neighbourhood policing teams in every community is a step towards increasing confidence and empowering communities. This national conference brought together local authority representatives with police, local criminal justice boards and crime reduction partnerships to discuss the implications of implementing these new policies.

International Criminal Justice 09

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 BST

Local leadership and community justice are internationally recognised as the new imperative to the future of the criminal justice system and to holding the key to preventing crime and reducing re-offending by responding to the needs of local communities and delivering improved, integrated services. This international criminal justice conference brought together colleagues from across the world to highlight and share best practice around reducing crime and re-offending through strategic and joined up approaches to the criminal justice system. The conference provided an opportunity to highlight the challenges and successes of criminal justice policy in relation to islands, small jurisdictions, local communities, counties and regions.

European Serious Organised Crime

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Organised crime networks in Europe continue to prosper but the collective state response is gathering pace and sophistication and positive results have been forthcoming. The OCTA states that, “In general, the main OC groups are transnational, multi-ethnic and poly-crime oriented” which necessitates a multi-agency, international law enforcement response. Last year’s inaugural conference created a network of senior police officers and key law enforcement personnel from across the continent. This conference continued to build links and capacity and further improve the development of police forces and techniques across Europe. The programme looked at links to terrorism, organised crime gang recruitment, gun crime, financial organised crime and human trafficking and highlighted strategy and provided best practice case studies, both from the UK and the continent.

Communities and Youth Crime

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Government's Youth Crime Action Plan details a tough yet prevention-based approach to youth crime, striving where possible to divert young people from such behaviour. It follows Louise Casey's Crime and Communities Review which calls for visible ‘community payback', standardised neighbourhood policing across the UK , and for the community to play their part in fighting crime. This conference looked at the next five years of tackling youth crime and anti-social behaviour at a local level. Key speakers from Government, the criminal justice system, social care and wider community stakeholders discussed the measures outlined in both documents. The programme also mapped out how to successfully remove the drivers that lead to crime and how to implement the necessary deterrents.

Annual Youth Justice Convention

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Annual Youth Justice Convention is the leading policy and networking event for all those committed to tackling youth crime. Bringing together delegates from youth offending teams, the police, local authorities, YOIs, probation and other key stakeholders this conference considers key issues addressing youth crime today. It is 10 years since the Crime and Disorder Act introduced significant reforms to the youth justice system in England and Wales. This year's Convention assessed the development of the system over the past decade and debated the long-term challenges and opportunities for practitioners in light of recent changes to the youth justice environment such as the publication of the Home Office's Youth Crime Action Plan, the new sentencing arrangements, Youth Justice: the Scaled Approach, the implementation of Criminal Justice, Simple, Speedy, Summary and local government reforms.

Domestic Violence

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The provision and access of specialised support services are vital for the safety and justice of the over three million women across the UK who experience domestic and sexual violence each year. The introduction of an additional 30 specialised domestic violence courts across England and Wales and the roll out of MARACs nationally, further shows how important it is that protective measures are backed up with domestic violence services. The recently published inquiry into domestic violence by the Home Affairs Select Committee outlines a number of recommendations for the provision of services, including the availability of refuges and emergency housing for victims and perpetrator services. Bringing together families of victims, representatives from education, the police, probation, crown prosecution services, the health service, local authorities and voluntary organisations, this conference set out the latest policy developments and discussed how best to provide services and prevent domestic and sexual violence from happening and recurring.

What do we want from the next commissioner of the Metropolitan Police?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Chaired by Dean Godson, Research Director for Terrorism and Security at Policy Exchange, this seminar considered what should be the key attributes of the new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in the context of the current challenges facing the capital’s policing agenda. The Deputy Major of London for Policing, Kit Malthouse, set the scene by outlining how the new Met Commissioner needed to be someone who understood the often grey line between politics and policing. He highlighted three key points that those making the appointment should consider – an acceptance that the Met has to change; an appreciation for rigorous financial control, in the context of managing a big, complex organisation, allied with a concentration on where the money is going right down to the front line; and most importantly a focus on the day job, that is: "to put it simply, fighting crime". Malthouse talked about creating a better crime-fighting atmosphere in London. He also highlighted apparent weaknesses in what he referred to as ‘marketing’ by the Met and the new Commissioner needed to have a strong appreciation for effective communication with residents. Agreeing with Malthouse, Peter Clarke, former head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, now Visiting Fellow at New York University and a member of the Policy Exchange Advisory Council, stressed how the quality of local policing in London was inextricably linked with the Met’s national and international roles. He warned against removing these wider strategic roles as a potential weakness that would undermine local policing and safety across London. Counter-terrorist efforts must reach down to a community level, he declared. By contrast, the FBI in the US enjoys the resources but lacks proper local connectivity. Removing the Met’s counter-terrorist responsibilities would be unwise and dangerous, he said, adding that this was not a job for someone with double L-Plates. Agreeing with Malthouse, Peter Clarke stressed a need for a proper focus on operational issues and an unwavering focus on safety. The final speaker, the Rt. Hon. Charles Clarke MP, was critical of the recent intervention by the Mayor of London in discussions that led to the resignation of former Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. He flagged up an alternative list of key attributes, namely, and most importantly, independence and professional integrity, someone who had the personal strength of character and resilience to withstand pressure from politicians and the media. Charles Clarke agreed with a need for clearer accountabilities. The new Commissioner had to be someone committed to modernising policing in London and the former Home Secretary called for further significant reform on community policing and better partnership working. Thirdly, he added: "we need to have an outstanding police leader, in London and internationally, someone with a clarity of vision to deliver on all levels, including having sound media judgement, and competence in team-working and communication".

Successful Employment and Resettlement of Ex-Offenders

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The rehabilitation work carried out by various suppliers in the UK 's criminal justice system has made the Government take notice. Effective resettlement and support of ex-offenders results in dramatic reductions in re-offending rates and, given time, this will have the required knock-on effect on public confidence in the criminal justice system. The Green Paper on Resettlement of Young Offenders followed the trend of thinking on this topic. This event gave delegates the opportunity to hear from key government speakers, powerful voices from the third sector and innovative, passionate practitioners running the programmes that are making the most striking differences. Attendance at this conference provided policy updates, learning and inspiration – crucial tools for what should be a long period of supported improvement for all those working in resettlement.

Victims and Witnesses Conference

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims and witnesses continues to be a key government priority. Over the last few years extensive reform has been introduced to ensure the system is more focused on supporting victims and witnesses through the criminal justice journey. Acknowledging the positive developments, this conference helped move the debate on victims and witnesses forward by providing an opportunity to hear the latest government policy and discuss how to provide, implement and improve support services where they are most needed. Bringing together representatives from groups that provide care and assistance for victims and witnesses - the courts, the police and probation service, the witness service, voluntary organisations, social services and other key stakeholders - this conference explored how to provide better support for vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses.

Restorative Approaches

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 BST

Evidence regarding the effectiveness of restorative approaches has been growing year on year but when will this reach a critical mass? The Government has commissioned research on the technique and this year may prove to be a benchmark period for restorative justice in the UK . A recent debate in the Lords detailed a critical path for the take-up of restorative approaches in the secure estate, schools and the community. This conference brought together government representatives with key stakeholders in schools, local authorities, the secure estate, the police, local criminal justice boards, probation, youth offending teams and other professionals. Sir Charles Pollard, Board Member, Restorative Justice Consortium, talks about the difficulty of "marketing" restorative justice because of its complexity and the fact that it does not lend itself to sound bites. It does, however, have some good things going for it in marketing terms according to Sir Charles: "The public love crime stories, anything that is human interest is important, the public listen to... it is unusual, it works, it is common sense", he said.

Re-thinking Criminal Justice: Reducing Crime and Re-offending

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 BST

Crime costs the UK £60bn a year and re-offending rates currently stand at more than 60%. With a prison system at capacity, reducing re-offending and measures to reduce prison overcrowding beyond crisis management must be priorities for criminal justice reform. The release of the CBI report Getting back on the straight and narrow, represents the first critique the CBI has made of the criminal justice system. Neil Bentley, Director of Public Services at the CBI bluntly stated his organisation’s position: “We believe the Government’s prison and probation policies aren’t working and must be reformed if crime is to be reduced and public confidence restored”, he said. Taking exception to some of these views, and in particular the comment that “prison is little more than a glorified bed and breakfast”, the Rt. Hon David Hanson MP, Minister of State (Criminal Law and Prisons), responded by saying that: “We are doing a good job and the prison officers...are committed individuals who have a shared objective to turn round people who are very often some of the most difficult and dangerous in our society”.

Offenders' Learning, Skills and Employability

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 BST

This national conference addressed the key areas to develop offenders' skills and employment prospects from the recent Government and OLASS guidelines, including the Reducing Re-offending Corporate Alliance. It also highlighted the role of employers, discussed the work done with offender learning in the community, and set out what needs to be done to work towards equality of high-standard provision of prison education and offender learning. Focusing on the latest examples of best practice and detailing innovative programmes and case studies from the regions, the conference examined how offender learning will fare in an uncertain prison regime. Key speakers from Government, the secure estate, probation, business, education and local government contributed to the debate and make clear the strategy for offender learning in the years ahead.

European Serious Organised Crime Conference

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Bringing together leading experts from across Europe, this conference set out to build links and capacity and discuss the development of police forces and techniques in tackling money laundering, gun crime, human trafficking and counterfeiting. It explored relevant policy, both from the UK and multilaterally, and examined the need for cross-border cooperation and information sharing, in addition to showcasing best practice case studies demonstrating the successes of partnership approaches. The conference provided an opportunity for delegates at all levels of knowledge of approaches to tackling serious and organised crime to learn how to apply and implement new procedures and cultures to achieve real change in attitudes and behaviour. Listen to Sir Ian Blair, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, put forward his case that "...law enforcement has not kept pace with economic and social developments in Europe in the past two decades". He invites delegates to imagine the benefits of extending the DNA offenders database, the crime scene database and fingerprint recognition Europe-wide. If that were to happen, said Sir Ian, then "...suddenly were starting to move against organised crime in a way that 21st century Europe suggests". Other speakers included: The Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP, Home Secretary; Bill Hughes, Director General of SOCA; and Max-Peter Ratzel, Director of Europol.

Local Strategies for Local Crime Reduction

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The government's new strategic criminal justice plan for 2008-2011, Working Together to Cut Crime and Deliver Justice, sets out the key objectives and priorities for reducing crime over the next four years. This national conference was a must attend event for all those working to prevent crime and making communities safer. Bringing together local authority representatives with police, local criminal justice boards and crime reduction partnerships to discuss the implications of implementing the strategic criminal justice plan, the conference also examined the priorities set out in the National Community Safety Plan 2008-2011. These include the setting up of dedicated neighbourhood policing teams in every community and ensuring better communication to inform people in local communities about the performance of the criminal justice system and giving communities more power to influence the criminal justice process that affects them. Please note that overall sound quality for the podcasts on this conference is not up to the usual high quality of policyreview.tv. The question and discussion session 3 recording is especially poor.

Domestic violence

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This conference heard from speakers including Rt. Hon Harriet Harman QC MP, Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Women and Sandra Horley OBE, Chief Executive of Refuge. Every week 2 women die because of domestic violence, and every day millions more are affected. Statistics show that 1 in 4 women will be a victim of domestic violence, and a recent survey showing that 42% of young people aged 16-20 know girls who have been hit by their boyfriends.

Youth Justice Convention 07

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

David Hanson, Minister of State at the Department of Justice announced changes in the governance of the Youth Justice Board. Ed Balls Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families expanded on the changes in his address on day two of the convention. This event includes podcast interviews with Ed Balls MP, David Hanson MP, Polly Toynbee, Simon Weston and Graham Robb interim chair of the Youth Justice Board.

Vulnerable and Intimidated Victims and Witnesses

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Podcasts from this event include the keynote address from Jonathan Sedgwick who is Acting Chief Executive at the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Youth Justice Scotland

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 BST

Bringing together representatives from across youth justice, this year's annual conference marked the beginning of the new administration, and provided a platform for new ideas to discuss the future direction for preventing and tackling youth offending in Scotland

Reducing Anti-Social Behaviour

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 BST

This is a document and Podcast only event. Hear speeches from distinguished practitioners in the field including: Aileen Murphie Director, Home Affairs and Criminal Justice VFM, National Audit Office, Naomi Eisenstadt Director, Social Exclusion Taskforce, Bill Pitt MBE, Expert Practitioner and Director, ASB Action and Chief Superintendent Stephen Bloomfield Head of Safer Neighbourhoods for the Metropolitan Police Service.

Restorative Justice: When, Where and How it Works

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 BST

THIS IS A PODCAST AND DOCUMENT ONLY EVENT There are interference issues on some of the podcast presentations. PLEASE NOTE: More material is being edited for this conference and will be uploaded shortly. For more details about availability please e-mail us by clicking on the contact tab at the top of the page.

Successful Employment and Resettlement of Ex-Offenders

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 BST

A recent report from the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, ‘Building on Progress: Security, Crime and Justice’ has reinforced the argument that rehabilitation, resettlement, education and employment schemes for the offender, both during and after prison sentences, are vital to reducing re-offending.” Reducing Re-offending: Creating the Right Framework, NLGN, June 2007 The need to establish effective programmes to reduce re-offending has never been greater. Accommodation and employment are two of the seven pathways identified as crucial to providing ex-offenders with the support infrastructure they need in their lives to enable them to avoid falling back into crime. Evidence from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development also indicates that ex-offenders are very reliable and strong employees though work still needs to be done to convince employers to take on recently released prisoners. Similarly steady accommodation is key, as the NOMS website states: Accommodation can provide the anchor for a previously chaotic life and act as a springboard for other crucial steps such as getting and keeping a job, and accessing health care or drug treatment. With contributions from leading figures from criminal justice agencies, employers, housing agencies and the voluntary sector this important national conference set out how to develop programmes that will impact positively on ex-offenders and help them re-build their lives. Case studies of innovative and effective projects were used to illustrate the difference that businesses, housing agencies and the public sector can make to the benefit of the whole community.