On Monday 3rd of December, a public lecture by Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary, Mike Barton was held in Renehan Hall, Maynooth University. The lecture was entitled: “Developing a Progressive, 21st Century Policing Agenda”. We were delighted to welcome Mike to Maynooth and extend our thanks to Dr Ian Marder of Maynooth’s Department of Law for organising the event.
Mike Barton is known for his progressive approach towards drug liberalisation and for developing a local, evidence-based diversionary scheme, open even to more serious offenders. His insightful talk touched on the development of restorative policing in Durham and included an insight into the Checkpoint – Critical Pathways initiative led by Durham Constabulary. Checkpoint gives an opportunity for eligible offenders to engage in a contract to address the underlying reasons why they committed their crimes such as drug or alcohol abuse, mental and physical health issues, homelessness, money issues, or relationship problems, inter alia. This contract offers an alternative to prosecution for these offenders in an attempt to prevent them from committing further crimes of a similar nature. The aim of the programme is to reduce their reoffending and improve their life chances.
In response, Professor Aogán Mulcahy of University College Dublin spoke of the positivity shown by some police forces towards restorative justice due to their awareness of the failings of our current criminal justice system. Mike Barton emphasised the need for police forces to partner with academic institutions to produce evidence-based policing solutions. He closed with the line: “Do we not all deserve evidence-based policy and not just policy-based evidence?”
By Niamh Wade
Ph.D. Student, Maynooth University Department of Law