Race and incarceration: Comparing re-integration in Australia and the United States

A full day conference with a keynote speech by Harvard professor Bruce Western as well as other international experts

When

9.00am–5.00pm

13 March 2017

Where

Refectory, Holme Building, Science Road, The University of Sydney

Type

Conference

Why are racial disparities in the justice system so pronounced in two countries with such distinctive racial histories? Following a year in which revelations of abuse in Australia’s juvenile detention system provoked a national discussion on the treatment of our indigenous communities, and the establishment of a federal inquiry into the average representation of indigenous Australians in prisons, the United States Studies Centre convened a gathering of international experts to examine the racial disparity affecting the justice systems in both countries and to chart a way forward.

Presentations

Films

Race and incarceration: Comparing re-integration in Australia and the United States

Featuring

  • Professor Bruce Western
    Member of the International Academic Advisory Committee, United States Studies Centre

    Bruce Western is a member of the US Studies Centre's International Academic Advisory Committee. Western is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Malcolm Wiener Centre for Social Policy and Guggenheim Professor of Criminal Justice Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

  • Professor Simon Jackman
    Professor Simon Jackman

    Professor Simon Jackman was Chief Executive Officer of the United States Studies Centre from April 2016 to May 2022. Between 1996 and 2016, he was a Professor of Political Science and Statistics at Stanford University. Jackman's teaching and research centres on public opinion, election campaigns, political participation, and electoral systems with special emphasis on American and Australian politics.

  • Benjamin Mudaliar
    Benjamin Mudaliar, Assistant Secretary, Community Safety Branch, Indigenous Affairs Group , Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

    Benjamin Mudaliar spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. Ben is Assistant Secretary, Community Safety Branch, Indigenous Affairs Group at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

  • Judge Matthew Myers, AM
    Commissioner, Australian Law Reform Commission

    Judge Matthew Myers AM spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. Judge Myers was appointed as an ALRC Commissioner in February 2017 to lead the inquiry into the incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

  • Thomas Quayle
    Throughcare Manager, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency

    Thomas Quayle spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. Thomas was born and raised in New Zealand where he obtained his qualifications in social work and law. He has six years’ experience working with Aboriginal prisoners and Parolees in the Northern Territory of Australia where he developed and implemented the CAALAS Parolee Support Program and currently manages the NAAJA Throughcare Program.

  • Vincent Schiraldi
    Senior Research Fellow, Director of the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School

    Vincent Schiraldi spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. Vincent is a Senior Research Fellow directing the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management (PCJ) at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Schiraldi has long experience in public life, first coming to prominence as founder of the policy think tank, the Justice Policy Institute, then moving to government as director of the juvenile corrections in Washington, DC, and then as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation. Most recently Schiraldi served as Senior Advisor to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.

  • Catherine Sirois
    Project Coordinator with the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School

    Catherine Sirois spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. Cathy was a Project Coordinator with the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management (PCJ) at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Before leaving HKS in late August, 2015, she managed the Boston Reentry Study (directed by Bruce Western, Anthony Braga, and Rhiana Kohl) a longitudinal survey of 122 men and women recently released from Massachusetts state prison

  • Natalie Smith
    Project Manager, Harvard Kennedy School

    Natalie Smith spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. She is Project Manager for Harvard Kennedy School's New York Reentry Study. Natalie is a sociologist and visual artist, currently based in New York City.

  • Sarah Hopkins
    Chair, Just Reinvest NSW

    Sarah Hopkins spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. Sarah is Chair of the Just Reinvest NSW and the Managing Solicitor of Justice Projects at the Aboriginal Legal Service ACT/NSW. Sarah is an accredited specialist in criminal law and has lectured in criminal law at the University of NSW.

  • Calla Wahlquist
    Reporter, The Guardian Australia

    Calla Wahlquist spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. Calla is a reporter for The Guardian Australia focusing on Indigenous affairs, justice and the environment. 

  • Rick Welsh
    Manager, The Shed

    Rick Welsh spoke at the Race and Incarceration Conference on March 2017. He is involved with the Sydney Aboriginal Men's Network. Rick is currently working with Legal Aid and other parties on a strategy for managing Apprehended Violence Order-based jailing of Aboriginal men.