International Experts on Penal Reform To Speak at Justice Conference

"The 25th Anniversary Prison Fellowship Conference, will feature two outstanding experts on Penal Reform", said Kim Workman, National Director, Prison Fellowship today.

"Baroness Vivien Stern and Professor Andrew Coyle, both of the International Centre for Prison Studies, Kings College, London, are the two most eminent authorities on penal reform in the world. They will be key speakers at the Conference, and will also hold a public seminar at the AUT, Auckland on Monday, 12th May. "

"Vivien Stern is the Honorary President of Penal Reform International (PRI), a non-governmental organisation promoting penal reform throughout the world which she founded with others in 1989. In 2003 she became the Convenor of the Scottish Consortium on Crime and Criminal Justice; she has been a Crossbench Peer since 1999 and a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights since 2004."

"Professor Andrew Coyle is Professor of Prison Studies in the School of Law. Between 1997 and February 2005 he was founding Director of the International Centre for Prison Studies in the School. He is a prisons adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Latin American Institute, the Council of Europe, including its Committee for the Prevention of Torture, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and several national governments. He is a member of the UK Foreign Secretary's Expert Committee against Torture."

Both speakers have practical experience of prisons, which make them unique in the academic world. Vivien Stern was the Director of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO) for nineteen years. Andrew Coyle worked for 25 years at a senior level in the prison services of the United Kingdom. Between 1991 and 1997 he was Governor of Brixton Prison in London.

The Conference "Changing the Landscape – Another Perspective on Crime and Justice' will explore what future justice policy should look like, beyond the current "Effective Interventions" policy. Key speakers include the Hon Eddie Durie, Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft, Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro, and CEO of Corrections, Barry Matthews.

The Conference will be held between the 16 – 18 May 2008. Participants can register at www.pfnz.org.nz.

ENDS

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