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FORUM OBJECTIVES
To contribute to the on-going debate and discussion within civil society, and to that society’s discussions with government about the importance of a clearly articulated and principled correctional practice in New Zealand. While acknowledging the need for public safety and supporting victims, the focus of this forum lies specifically on addressing the needs of those in prison or released from prison – this is a ‘common good’ discussion. ORGANISERS Liz Caughey, CEO Braveheart Youth Trust Liz's concerns about prisoner welfare were heightened during weekly visits over 14 months to Spring Hill Prison, and several visits to Mt Eden Prison, during 2009/10. In 2009, she founded Braveheart Youth Trust whose goal is to divert from the justice system young people who are at risk of offending. At the 2010 PFNZ conference, Liz was struck by a comment by the manager of Norway’s Bostoy Prison, that ‘prison should be a place to which we are not afraid to send our sons and daughters’. She believes that for our prisons to be places of respect, decency and new opportunity, where people will be strengthened to resume their place in society as good citizens, a major shift in governmental policy is needed, such that the principles enacted in our prisons will truly reflect the values of the just society that New Zealand believes itself to be. Dr Anne Opie, author and independent qualitative researcher Anne trained as a social worker in Scotland and England and worked in that capacity in London, Australia and New Zealand before moving into a research career. She has also worked in government agencies, including the Department of Corrections, as a contract researcher. Previous books and related publications reported on Anne's research into caregiving, social work practice and multi-disciplinary teams in the health system. Her most recent book, From Outlaw to Citizen. Making the Transition from Prison in New Zealand (2012, Dunmore Publishing) reports on her longitudinal study of 13 recently released ex-prisoners. It highlights how a successful transition from prison involves personal resolve and, critically, the nature of penal regimes and the societal climate, shaping and shaped by governments' social, economic and criminal justice legislative programmes. Her most recent essay, Developing the Correctional System for the 21st Century in New Zealand, was released in 2014. |