Dr Claire Hamilton was quoted in the Irish Independent on 17 June 2016 in an article by Shane Phelan, covering the Government’s plans to introduce minimum mandatory sentences to tackle violent robberies in homes.
Claire warned against the plans, stating that international evidence suggests such laws will only have a “marginal impact” on offending levels while simultaneously causing the prison population levels to rise.
Claire’s comments come ahead of the publication later this week of the Routledge Handbook of Irish Criminology, of which she is a co-editor. The Handbook will be launched by Michael Donnellan, Director General of the Irish Prison Service, at the 10th North South Criminology Conference which Maynooth University Department of Law is hosting.
Claire is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Maynooth University Department of Law. Prior to joining Maynooth University she worked for several years as a lecturer in criminology in Dublin Institute of Technology and Queen's University Belfast. She has published widely in various national and international legal and criminological journals including the British Journal of Criminology, the European Journal of Criminology and the European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research.