The Honourable Judge Professor Nancy Gertner (Harvard University USA) and Professor Arie Freiberg (Monash University, Australia
Chair: Sheriff Tom Welsh QC
Can the criminal justice system command a higher level of public trust? Around the world, levels of public confidence in the criminal justice system appear to be worryingly low and in decline. In an effort to pose as ‘tough on crime’, many countries have responded ever-more punitively, imposing mandatory minimum sentences, and squeezing professional discretion. The result is: spiralling prison populations, inequalities, and a drift to more public money being spent on incarceration than on education. And all of this has been done in the name of the public and yet has failed to improve ublic confidence – often the reverse.
Is there be better way, or, should Scotland accept that trust in the justice system is in inevitable decline? Can we find a way to pursue a rational approach to crime and punishment which attracts public confidence, or, at the very least, is not held to ransom by penal populism?
The Hon Judge Professor Gertner and Professor Freiberg will explore these issues followed by Q&A chaired by Sheriff Tom Welsh QC, Director of Judicial Studies.
All welcome but booking is essential.
Email: carol.hutton@strath.ac.uk
Full details at www.strath.ac.uk/clcj 'events' or at http://bit.ly/Jo2HAN
The event also launches the new Strathclyde Master's programme in Criminal Justice & Penal Change. Learn More: www.strath.ac.uk/ls-cjpc-e