How to solve the problems of problem-solving courts

Dr Lacey Schaefer discuss the experience of problem-solving courts since their introduction to Australia 25 years ago.

Past event
Mar 6, 2023
11:30 pm
Mar 6, 2023
12:00 am
Monday, March 6, 2023
-
12:00 am
Mar 7, 2023
Online
Watch the recording

Problem-solving courts, also referred to as specialist courts, have been adopted around the world to better address underlying causes of offending.

Although they can vary considerably in how they seek to achieve this, they share a guiding philosophy: by targeting those factors that contributed to the offence, the individual is less likely to reoffend.

In this Research Network webinar, Dr Lacey Schaefer joins us to discuss the experience of problem-solving courts since their introduction to Australia 25 years ago. Dr Schaefer will also talk about some of the prospects and pitfalls of problem-solving courts and provide suggestions for the future.

Following the presentation, VLF Research Director, Professor Nigel J. Balmer and, VLF Principal Researcher, Dr Hugh McDonald host a discussion about the problems of problem-solving courts and where to from here.

Host

Professor Nigel J. Balmer
Director of Research
Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner
Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner

Participants

Dr Lacey Schaefer
Senior Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Griffith University
Griffith University
Dr. Hugh M. McDonald
Research Director
Victoria Law Foundation
Victoria Law Foundation

Participant details

Dr Lacey Schaefer

Dr Lacey Schaefer

Senior Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Griffith University
Dr. Hugh M. McDonald

Dr. Hugh M. McDonald

Research Director
Victoria Law Foundation

Studying legal need and capability from every angle, Hugh has worked on several landmark access to justice and legal needs projects. 

Previously at the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW for 15 years, Hugh joined Victoria Law Foundation in September 2019 as Principal Researcher, taking on the Research Director role in August 2024. He led the Foundation’s Data Mapping Project, a sustained examination of the use and utility of Victoria’s civil justice data and continues to work on the Public Understanding of Law Survey.

Throughout his career, Hugh has worked closely with legal aid commissions, community legal centres, and state and federal governments, giving him a deep understanding of legal institutions and access to justice issues throughout Australia.

Professor Nigel J. Balmer

Professor Nigel J. Balmer

As the inaugural VLF Research Director, Nigel led the development of the Research function at VLF including the Public Understanding of Law Survey (PULS). 

He has been conducting empirical research for over twenty years and is an expert in the application of social science and modern quantitative methods to explore how the public understand and interact with the law. 

Nigel’s research includes work on the role of law in everyday life; attitudes to justice; public experience of and response to legal issues; the interaction between legal and health problems; and design of legal services and legal aid. He is best known for his work on legal need surveys around the world, including recent guidance supporting global access to justice initiatives under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 16. Nigel is also Honorary Professor of Law and Social Statistics at University College London.

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