Join us for the latest Vulnerability and Policing PhD Network webinar.
A restorative approach requires that all those with a stake in a particular situation are invited and facilitated to participate actively: to speak and listen to each other, and to play a role in deciding what that process should look like, and what should happen next to ensure their needs are met. To some people, and when applied in certain contexts, such an approach may be seen to present risks to the prospective participants because of their perceived vulnerability, whether inherent or emerging from their participation in the restorative process.
This workshop aims to reflect on the concept of vulnerability in policing research with reference to an ongoing project using restorative practices to facilitate dialogue and build understanding between police officers and young Black adults. This takes place in a part of Dublin which has been the scene of protests against the police after police officers shot and killed George Nkencho, a young Black man.
We will discuss the co-creation, co-facilitation and preparation of the project, and consider the implications of these for the ‘vulnerabilities’ of participating police officers, community members and researchers.
About the speakers
Dr Ian Marder
Dr Ian Marder is Assistant Professor in Criminology, Co-Deputy Director of the Centre for Criminology and Restorative Practices Officer at Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology. His research focuses on the development of restorative justice and restorative practices in criminal justice and higher education settings. His current projects include those funded by the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána and the Policing Authority (to facilitate dialogue between young Black adults and the police), and the National Open Research Forum (to embed a culture of interdisciplinary open research in criminal justice in Ireland).
Katharina Kurz
Katharina Kurz is a PhD candidate at the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Education at Maynooth University. In her third year, she is conducting ethnographic research in the field of socially engaged arts in three different European contexts. Her work critically examines topics such as the formations of gender, nationality and practices related to socio-economic marginalisations. She is particularly interested in the transformative potential of different countercultural alternatives at the intersection of informal pedagogic and artistic practice. She has also been involved in restorative practices, both as a researcher and circle facilitator, combining restorative approaches with participatory dialogue. Over the past years, she has been part of various projects in Ireland that aim to build understanding and further opportunities for democratic relationality.