Justice Reform Initiative Media Release, 19 June 2024
Criminal justice reform advocates, researchers, community service providers and people with lived experience of incarceration will come together for a landmark 2024 Reintegration Puzzle conference in Sydney this week – the largest gathering of its kind in the country.
Amid an increasing national spotlight on high rates of incarceration across Australia, a record 350 participants will attend the sold-out 17th annual event, held at Rydges World Square from June 19-21, which will feature addresses from 90 speakers – using their experience to focus on how to reduce cycles of disadvantage and imprisonment.
Hosted for the first time by the Justice Reform Initiative, the 2024 Reintegration Puzzle will explore the theme of ‘Stepping Up’, analysing how communities and systems might change, or ‘step up’, to better support people returning from prison and reduce the use of incarceration.
The keynote address will be delivered by Dr Reuben Jonathan Miller, an Associate Professor from the University of Chicago who in 2022 was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship – an $800,000 award known as the ‘genius grant’ – for his research on race, punishment, and social welfare policy. Dr Miller will travel to Sydney from the US to speak at the event and continue his research.
Event chair Justice Reform Initiative Executive Director Dr Mindy Sotiri said the Reintegration Puzzle was a landmark occasion for those working to bring about change in Australia’s justice and legal systems.
“The Justice Reform Initiative is proud to host such an important event that provides a platform for voices right across the sector, allowing us to draw from that collective experience to drive ideas for real change,” Dr Sotiri said.
“The record attendance this year highlights a growing interest in solutions outside the traditional punitive approach to crime and incarceration, which are failing to reduce crime, address disadvantage, or keep communities safe.”
Other speakers at the three-day event include:
- Mounty Yarns, a youth-led project in Mt Druitt that gathers the stories, expertise, and knowledge by and with Aboriginal young people with lived experience of the criminal justice system.
- Associate Professor Ruth McCausland presenting ground-breaking Australian research into the social determinants of incarceration
- Claude Robinson, Manager of Rainbow Lodge hosting a panel featuring experts with lived experience of incarceration
The 17th annual conference will pay tribute to its founder, Professor Joe Graffam, who passed away last year. The first winner of the Joe Graffam Lived Experience Scholarship will be announced on Friday.
For more information and a list of speakers visit rpc2024.cw3.events
Media contact: Amy Price 0437 027 156
The Initiative respectfully acknowledges and supports the current and longstanding efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reduce the numbers of Indigenous people incarcerated in Australia and, importantly, the leadership role which Indigenous-led organisations continue to play on this issue. We also acknowledge the work of many other individuals and organisations seeking change, such as those focused on the rate of imprisonment for women, people with mental health issues, people with disability and others.
Criminal justice reform advocates, researchers, community service providers and people with lived experience of incarceration will come together for a landmark 2024 Reintegration Puzzle conference in Sydney this week – the largest gathering of its kind in the country.
Amid an increasing national spotlight on high rates of incarceration across Australia, a record 350 participants will attend the sold-out 17th annual event, held at Rydges World Square from June 19-21, which will feature addresses from 90 speakers – using their experience to focus on how to reduce cycles of disadvantage and imprisonment.
Hosted for the first time by the Justice Reform Initiative, the 2024 Reintegration Puzzle will explore the theme of ‘Stepping Up’, analysing how communities and systems might change, or ‘step up’, to better support people returning from prison and reduce the use of incarceration.
The keynote address will be delivered by Dr Reuben Jonathan Miller, an Associate Professor from the University of Chicago who in 2022 was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship – an $800,000 award known as the ‘genius grant’ – for his research on race, punishment, and social welfare policy. Dr Miller will travel to Sydney from the US to speak at the event and continue his research.
Event chair Justice Reform Initiative Executive Director Dr Mindy Sotiri said the Reintegration Puzzle was a landmark occasion for those working to bring about change in Australia’s justice and legal systems.
“The Justice Reform Initiative is proud to host such an important event that provides a platform for voices right across the sector, allowing us to draw from that collective experience to drive ideas for real change,” Dr Sotiri said.
“The record attendance this year highlights a growing interest in solutions outside the traditional punitive approach to crime and incarceration, which are failing to reduce crime, address disadvantage, or keep communities safe.”
Other speakers at the three-day event include:
- Mounty Yarns, a youth-led project in Mt Druitt that gathers the stories, expertise, and knowledge by and with Aboriginal young people with lived experience of the criminal justice system.
- Associate Professor Ruth McCausland presenting ground-breaking Australian research into the social determinants of incarceration
- Claude Robinson, Manager of Rainbow Lodge hosting a panel featuring experts with lived experience of incarceration
The 17th annual conference will pay tribute to its founder, Professor Joe Graffam, who passed away last year. The first winner of the Joe Graffam Lived Experience Scholarship will be announced on Friday.
For more information and a list of speakers visit rpc2024.cw3.events
Media contact: Amy Price 0437 027 156
The Initiative respectfully acknowledges and supports the current and longstanding efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reduce the numbers of Indigenous people incarcerated in Australia and, importantly, the leadership role which Indigenous-led organisations continue to play on this issue. We also acknowledge the work of many other individuals and organisations seeking change, such as those focused on the rate of imprisonment for women, people with mental health issues, people with disability and others.