A joint initiative, involving An Garda Síochána and the HSE’s disability services in Tipperary has received international recognition in the 2024 Europol Excellence in Innovation Awards.
The “Inside Out” project in Tipperary Town works to raise awareness regarding the impact of crime on vulnerable people, including people with disabilities and the elderly.
Europol is the European Union agency for law enforcement co-operation. The Europol Excellence in Innovation Awards highlights how effective modern-day law enforcement requires partnership and collaboration. The Awards demonstrate the positive impact of agencies working together through taking new, creative approaches.
Nine projects under three categories were shortlisted in the 2024 awards, with the Tipperary based project in “Innovation in Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion” (the overall winners of which was a project in Croatia).
Completed in 2021 and also supported by Tipperary County Council and Tipperary Age Friendly, the “Inside Out” project involved a number of stakeholders including students from the Transition Year programme in St Anne’s, St Ailbe’s and the Abbey secondary schools in Tipperary Town.
The students heard directly from the victims of crime. The students also got the perspective of women prisoners in Limerick Prison about how they got involved in behaviour that led to their imprisonment and to offer an understanding to victims and to help steer young people away from crime.
A crime and disability awareness resource pack produced by the project also features a contribution from solicitor Kate Fleming of the LawEd education group, explaining the Irish legal system and setting out a summary of crime awareness.
Tipperary Town area Garda Inspector Des Bell and Anne Bradshaw (HSE Disability Services Officer, Tipperary) were in the Europol Headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands recently for the presentation of the awards.
Speaking about the project’s shortlisting, Anne Bradshaw said:
“The ‘Inside Out’ project came about due to concerns around people with disabilities and older people that have been victims of crime. Our handbook recounts and explores the impact of crime on its victim’s lives.”
“The women we met in Limerick Prison were invited to explore the issues that led them to crime and to highlight its negative effect on their own lives. The women scripted a play, not offered as an explanation for committing crime but to illustrate the often chaotic and stressful lives some of them lead.”
“From day to day, the HSE works closely with the Gardai in so many ways and we are especially pleased that such recognition has been afforded to the collaboration in this instance. It was an honour to be at the Awards Ceremony in The Hague, where we were delighted to be joined by the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.”
“We hope that working on this project has helped all of those involved in a positive way and that ultimately it will help to bring about a safer environment for us all to live in.”
A joint initiative, involving An Garda Síochána and the HSE’s disability services in Tipperary has received international recognition in the 2024 Europol Excellence in Innovation Awards.
The “Inside Out” project in Tipperary Town works to raise awareness regarding the impact of crime on vulnerable people, including people with disabilities and the elderly.
Europol is the European Union agency for law enforcement co-operation. The Europol Excellence in Innovation Awards highlights how effective modern-day law enforcement requires partnership and collaboration. The Awards demonstrate the positive impact of agencies working together through taking new, creative approaches.
Nine projects under three categories were shortlisted in the 2024 awards, with the Tipperary based project in “Innovation in Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion” (the overall winners of which was a project in Croatia).
Completed in 2021 and also supported by Tipperary County Council and Tipperary Age Friendly, the “Inside Out” project involved a number of stakeholders including students from the Transition Year programme in St Anne’s, St Ailbe’s and the Abbey secondary schools in Tipperary Town.
The students heard directly from the victims of crime. The students also got the perspective of women prisoners in Limerick Prison about how they got involved in behaviour that led to their imprisonment and to offer an understanding to victims and to help steer young people away from crime.
A crime and disability awareness resource pack produced by the project also features a contribution from solicitor Kate Fleming of the LawEd education group, explaining the Irish legal system and setting out a summary of crime awareness.
Tipperary Town area Garda Inspector Des Bell and Anne Bradshaw (HSE Disability Services Officer, Tipperary) were in the Europol Headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands recently for the presentation of the awards.
Speaking about the project’s shortlisting, Anne Bradshaw said:
“The ‘Inside Out’ project came about due to concerns around people with disabilities and older people that have been victims of crime. Our handbook recounts and explores the impact of crime on its victim’s lives.”
“The women we met in Limerick Prison were invited to explore the issues that led them to crime and to highlight its negative effect on their own lives. The women scripted a play, not offered as an explanation for committing crime but to illustrate the often chaotic and stressful lives some of them lead.”
“From day to day, the HSE works closely with the Gardai in so many ways and we are especially pleased that such recognition has been afforded to the collaboration in this instance. It was an honour to be at the Awards Ceremony in The Hague, where we were delighted to be joined by the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.”
“We hope that working on this project has helped all of those involved in a positive way and that ultimately it will help to bring about a safer environment for us all to live in.”
Last updated on: 10 / 12 / 2024
