Media Release
August 13 2007
Turning young offenders around
At
their annual
criminology conference next month, the Australian and New Zealand
Society of Criminology will sponsor a session dedicated to looking at
the issue of turning the lives of young offenders around.
The session will feature a leading international expert in theories related to juvenile offending, Dr Shadd Maruna, Reader in Criminology at Queens University, Belfast. His presentation will be followed by a panel of specialist commentators.
UniSA Professor of Law and Criminal Justice and co-convenor of the conference, Dr Rick Sarre, said that recent events highlight the importance of this issue.
“The release last week of Monsignor Cappo’s report To Break the Cycle is a measure of the importance of our society addressing urgently the problem of young repeat offenders,” Prof Sarre said.
“It is an issue faced by communities in all parts of the globe, and we are fortunate to have one of the world’s leading experts in the field speaking at the ANZSOC conference in Adelaide on September 25.”
Dr Maruna has been developing for a number of years theories around what are referred to in juvenile justice parlance as “redemption rituals”.
“Such ‘rituals’ may carry considerable social and psychological weight for those attempting to change their behaviours,” Prof Sarre said.
“These very exciting developments are likely to attract a great deal of attention during the conference. Indeed, the State Government’s Social Inclusion Initiative is sponsoring the Maruna session, and the sessions that follow will pursue similar themes”.
Criminology: Building bridges
20th Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society of
Criminology
September 23-26, Adelaide Convention Centre
Hosted by the University of South Australia, Flinders University and the
SA Government’s Department of Justice
Full program and details at
www.alloccasionsgroup.com/anzsoc
Dr Shadd Maruna is available for interview prior to and during his visit.
Contact for interview
-
Prof Rick Sarre office 8302 0889 mobile 0407 431 077 email rick.sarre@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
-
Vincent Ciccarello office 8302 0578 mobile 0434 603 457
email vincent.ciccarello@unisa.edu.au