UCD Working Papers in Law, Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies Research Paper Series
The series publishes work in progress from scholars associated with the School of Law at University College Dublin and cognate schools of the University, including visitors and research students, and reflecting a wide range of fields and methodological approaches to understanding legal norms and processes in Ireland, Europe and in international contexts.Subscribe to this Journal: here
Current research in the Institute includes:
Crime, Desistance and Reintegration
The study will provide a detailed account of pathways to, and from, desistance and aims to identify the psychological and social processes involved in these transitions. The project constitutes the second phase of the first prospective study of desistance in Ireland and will be one of a small number of international studies of this kind.
Offender Recidivism in Ireland
This project was funded by a major grant from the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. It involves collaboration between criminologists at University College Dublin and the University of Missouri–St Louis. It could be said that the successful reintegration of offenders is the most challenging criminal justice issue facing national governments. The release of increasing numbers of prisoners back into their communities not only represents a potential threat to public safety, but may also undermine efforts to promote equality and social inclusion. Despite the central importance of this matter, it has never been examined in Ireland.
Social Capital and Civic Engagement in the Irish Penal System
This research will examine the social capital, civic engagement and political participation of prisoners. It will concentrate on one institution in the Irish penal system to explore the impact of imprisonment on the social capital of the incarcerated. An important part of this research will be an examination of the attempts by the prison to promote civic engagement of those we imprison and how the community is encouraged to maintain those links. As the 2007 election will be first in which prisoners can vote, a survey of the voting patterns of prisoners will form a central part of this research. For further information please click here
Crime, Punishment and Politics in Ireland
The research aims to explore the emergence of what has been termed a “new…penal, militant tendency” or “hard line consensus” in Irish society. This has been reflected in political rhetoric and ultimately in criminal justice legislation but must be explored within a context of a low prison population by international standards. The researcher hopes to examine the possibility that there has been a hardening of political attitudes towards the “front end” of the criminal justice system i.e. rights of the accused, while the “back end” i.e. prison population has remained relatively unaffected. Can a distinction between front-end and back-end punitiveness be drawn in an Irish context?
