Report of the Public Lecture

The 44th Public Lecture on Criminal Justice Policy was held on 30 January 2026. UNAFEI, the Japan Criminal Policy Society Foundation (JCPS) and the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation (ACPF) have hosted this annual event since 1982.

The event was held in a hybrid format (in-person and online) so that many participants from both Japan and overseas could participate. As a result, 103 in-person participants and 115 online participants attended, which shows that the lecture topic was of great interest to the public.

Lectures

Mr. Steve Pitts, Ambassador for the Confederation of European Probation, spoke on the important role of community volunteers in building a safe and secure society, whereas Mr. Fadly Safie, Second Superintendent of Institution B4 at Singapore's Changi Prison, spoke on the introduction of IT in the field of probation and correctional services.

Lecture 1
“Strengthening the critical role of community volunteers in building safer societies”

Mr. Steve Pitts
Ambassador, Confederation of European Probation (CEP)

Lecture slides are available here

Lecture 2
“Rehabilitation in the Digital Age: How Singapore Integrates Technology in Corrections & Reintegration”

Mr. Fadly Safie
Second Superintendent, Institution B4, Singapore Prison Service (SPS)

Lecture slides are available here

Overview of the Lectures

Mr. Pitts presented on “Strengthening the critical role of community volunteers in building safer societies.” He shared insights on community volunteering within the context of the history and background of the probation system in the UK, the current state and challenges of volunteer activities in the rehabilitation and probation field across Europe and international trends such as the development of the United Nations Model Strategies on Reducing Reoffending, along with good practices on community volunteers supporting offender rehabilitation from various countries. Notably, he introduced the CoPPer Project, which is implemented by CEP and aims to promote the active engagement of citizens and civil society in the reintegration and inclusion of people that commit crimes in Europe, and emphasized that this project is inspired by the hogoshi (volunteer probation officers) system in Japan.

Mr. Safie presented on “Rehabilitation in the Digital Age: How Singapore Integrates Technology in Corrections & Reintegration,” introducing the current status of IT-enabled treatment within facilities and in the community in Singapore. He shared Singapore's current efforts to explore better, smarter correctional administration through technology, addressing challenges such as the aging inmate population, and resource constraints like labour shortages, as well as the need to maintain family connections and community engagement. His presentation conveyed SPS’s strong initiatives to introduce state-of-the-art technology to facilitate offender management and rehabilitation within correctional facilities and in the community. He also emphasized that by utilizing technology, it is possible to overcome resource-related challenges and ensure the human involvement necessary for reducing reoffending.

Both lectures provided exemplary practices for reducing reoffending and building a safer, more secure society—such as community-involved efforts and utilizing IT to optimize resources for offender rehabilitation and correctional administration, which contribute to the promotion of the UN Model Strategies on Reducing Reoffending.

We sincerely hope this lecture series has provided valuable insights and perspectives for the future activities of all those involved in crime prevention and criminal justice policy and practice.

Report of the Public Lecture

Lectures

Overview of the Lectures

Training Courses/Seminars