Webinar – Perspectives on Serious Offending 4pm 17th June 2025
Perspectives on Serious Offending: Understanding Risk, Reform and the Role of Probation
The management of serious offending remains one of the most complex and contested areas within criminal justice. Questions about how we assess and supervise individuals who pose a significant risk to others—particularly in cases involving domestic violence—have sharpened in recent years, not least in the wake of several high-profile serious further offences. While reforms have been attempted across different jurisdictions, gaps in understanding and persistent systemic limitations continue to challenge practitioners, policymakers, and researchers alike.
International Webinar
4pm-5.30pm BST Tuesday 17th June 2025
The Probation Institute and the International Network for Criminal Justice (IN-CJ) will host an online seminar that brings together three leading figures from the international field to reflect on how criminal justice systems respond to the risks posed by serious offenders. The session, which runs from 4pm to 5.30pm (UK time), on Tuesday 17th June 2025, will be chaired by Professor Nicola Carr of Trinity College Dublin. The event is open to professionals and members of the public with an interest in criminal justice, supervision, and social safety.
Professor Martine Herzog-Evans from the University of Reims in France will examine the risk dynamics associated with domestic violence offending, drawing on her extensive research into desistance, judicial legitimacy, and the architecture of probation and prison systems in Europe. Her contribution will consider whether our current frameworks are adequate for understanding persistent patterns of harm in intimate settings and what adaptations might be necessary to improve prevention.
From the United States, Professor Faye S. Taxman of George Mason University will share insights into effective models of probation supervision for high-risk individuals. Known for her work at the intersection of health services and criminal justice, Professor Taxman will explore how supervision practices can evolve to incorporate behavioural interventions and more integrated support systems. Her contribution raises the question of whether a more system-of-care approach can enhance public protection while also supporting rehabilitation.
Offering a UK perspective, Martin Jones CBE, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales, will reflect on the role of serious further offence reviews in identifying learning and accountability within probation services. His presentation will address concerns that review processes can sometimes fall short of producing meaningful change, and will ask what must be done to ensure that lessons are applied effectively in both policy and practice.
This webinar offers an opportunity for criminal justice professionals, researchers, educators, and students to examine some of the most pressing questions in the supervision and rehabilitation of serious offenders. What constitutes a robust and ethical response to high-risk individuals? How should practitioners balance the demand for public safety with the imperative to support change in the lives of those who offend? And to what extent do current review mechanisms enable or obstruct improvements in probation practice?
The session will also serve as a forum to consider the international dimensions of these questions. What can be learned from comparative approaches? How can jurisdictions share knowledge in ways that are sensitive to their differing legal, institutional, and cultural contexts?
By creating space for such a dialogue, the organisers aim to support more reflective, evidence-informed, and collaborative approaches to risk and reform in probation. Registration is free and open to all, and can be made by emailing admin@probation-institute.org by Tuesday, 10 June 2025. Attendance is via Zoom, and further details will be provided upon confirmation.
For those working at the intersection of research, policy, and front-line delivery, this event provides an important occasion to re-engage with the challenges of serious offending—not as isolated incidents, but as part of broader systems that require continued scrutiny, adaptation, and shared understanding.
