David Stanton

The first project, the GYDP Action Research Project, will work with 15 of the 106 Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) across the country over a two-year period in order to identify and disseminate best practice in working with young people at risk.

The second project, Making it Count, will compare data recording practices in the youth justice system in Ireland to six other jurisdictions generally considered to be top performers in terms of data collection.

The two research projects were announced by David Stanton, minister of state for equality, immigration and integration, earlier today.

The GYDP Action Research Project will work with 15 volunteer GYDPs alongside the Irish Youth Justice Service and a research team from University of Limerick (UL) School of Law to engage in an “Operation Transformation”-style programme of change.

The findings of the research, due in June 2019, will be used as the basis for researchers and youth professionals to design new, more effective ways of working using the same resources.

Mr Stanton said: “Too often we get research reports which have useful findings and recommendations but don’t get implemented. The next steps with these research studies will be different.

“We have a determined collaboration of committed officials and local practitioners ready for change and a team based in the University of Limerick that is producing top-class practical research.”

The findings of the Making it Count project, jointly funded by the Irish Research Council and the Department of Justice, will be used to inform changes in data collection practices across the youth justice system with the objective of providing better evidence to enable the design of more effective youth diversion services.

Professor Sean Redmond, who leads the Research Evidence into Policy, Programmes and Practice (REPPP) Unit in UL School of Law, said: “This is an incredibly important partnership between the University of Limerick, policy makers and practitioners. Our mission is to produce high quality, relevant and practical research that can change things on the ground and help make things better for young people and communities.

“Whether it is about data, relationships or helping to unbuckle the stranglehold that crime gangs have on certain neighbourhoods, good quality research can have a real impact. It is a real privilege to work alongside policy makers willing to make the leap and humbling to work with youth professionals willing to look in the mirror and compare what they see to what the latest evidence is saying.”

Peter Brown, director of the Irish Research Council, added: “How we collect, preserve and use data is integral to the design and implementation of public policy. Making it Count provides a valuable insight into data collection practices in the youth justice system and demonstrates the potential for evidence-based research to positively impact on policies currently shaping key areas of Irish society.

“The development of research partnerships with government departments and agencies is a key priority for the Irish Research Council, enabling policy and decision-makers to benefit optimally from the networks of diverse expertise at the forefront of new knowledge and understandings in our research system.”