Students of IT Sligo’s Higher Certificate in Custodial Care programme at the Irish Prison Service’s Training and Development Centre, Portlaoise, recently enjoyed guest lecturers from two prominent academics in the field of criminology, Dr Mary Rogan and Dr Michelle Butler.
Dr Rogan is a lecturer at the School of Social Sciences and Law at Dublin Institute of Technology, and Chair of the Irish Penal Reform Trust. Her recently published ‘Prison Policy in Ireland’, was very well received and is highly relevant to recruit prison officers studying on the custodial care programme. She spoke about the Irish prison system and provided an excellent historical perspective on prison policy, before looking forward towards potential future directions for policy.
Dr Michelle Butler is a lecturer in Criminology at Queen’s University Belfast. Her PhD thesis entitled “Prisoner confrontations – the role of shame, masculinity and respect” examined why some prisoners are more likely to engage in prisoner-on-prisoner violence than others. Michelle’s lecture explored these themes and was very well received by the HCCC students.
IT Sligo, in partnership with the Irish Prison Service, delivers a two-year Higher Certificate in Arts in Custodial Care to recruit prison officers. The programme started in 2007 almost 700 students have taken part to date, with almost 350 graduates. The programme is delivered through blended learning methodologies, with a mixture of face-to-face workshops at the Irish Prison Service Training and Development Centre at Beladd House, Portlaoise and online through the Moodle virtual learning environment.
Programme Manager of the HCCC, Fergus Timmons, commented: “We are delighted that Dr Rogan and Dr Butler were able to take time out of their busy schedules to come to Portlaoise and deliver such interesting and thought-provoking lectures for our students. Their recent research again highlights the importance, growth and interest among academics on issues relating to custodial care”.
Image Caption: Dr Mary Rogan, DIT.