Offender Supervision in Europe: Launch Conference

Our work began in March 2012, but the public launch of the Action’s activities takes place next year — on 25th and 26th April at Liverpool Hope University, when we will run out first annual conference on Offender Supervision in Europe. That conference will involve all four working groups (on experiencing supervision, practising supervision, decision-making and supervision and European policy and practice) presenting the results of their first year’s work. That first year’s work (of which we are now in the middle) is essentially about scoping out existing European research on offender supervision and assessing its merits and limitations — both methodologically and substantively.

However, there will be more to the conference than that. We aim to bring a range of leading, established and emerging researchers together (some from far beyond Europe) with colleagues in policy and practice from around the continent, so that the dialogue that we share also informs the development of our work over the rest of the Action. Given that the Action aims to build capacity and develop research that can inform not just academic theory but also policy, practice and public debate about offender supervision, it makes sense to develop that dialogue sooner rather than later. We’re delighted in that regard that we are already enjoying a fruitful relationship with the CEP (the European Probation Organisation).

The core group of ‘office bearers’ in the Action’s Management Committee meets in Reims next week to share our progress to date and to firm up our plans for the conference. After the meeting, we’ll be setting up conference registration process, so watch this space.