Denis Bracken

• Doctor of Philosophy, London School of Economics & Political Science - University of London, 1994
• Master of Arts - University of Toronto, 1974
• Bachelor of Arts - College of the Holy Cross, 1973

Dr. Bracken’s research focuses on social work education & preparation for practice in criminal justice; desistance from crime, and programs for perpetrators of family violence. He specializes in the following areas:

• Social Work and Criminal Justice

  Services to Victims

  Aboriginal People & the Criminal Justice System

  Historical Development of Canadian Social Policy

Recent research projects:
Access to Rights & Justice for Migrants and Ethnic Minority People in Prison under the Human Rights & Equality Grants scheme 2020-21

€9,979 from the Irish Human Rights & Equality Commission to the Irish Penal Reform Trust for the project.

The project funding was given to the School of Law & Criminology, Maynooth University which also provided additional funding.  The project team was led by Dr. David Doyle and included Drs. Avril Brandon, Amina Adanan, Joe Garrihy and Professor Denis Bracken.

Selected publications:

Doyle, D., Brandon, A., Garrihy, J., Adanan, A., & Bracken, D. “Sometimes I'm missing the words": The rights, needs, and experiences of foreign national and minority ethnic groups in the penal system.  Dublin: Irish Penal Reform Trust April 2022. https://iprt.ie/site/assets/files/7076/iprt_the_rights_needs_and_experiences_of_foreign_national_and_minority_ethnic_groups.pdf

Bracken, D. Ethnicity, Identity and Criminal Justice in The Routledge Handbook of Irish Criminology Edited by Deirdre Healy, Claire Hamilton, Yvonne Daly, Michelle Butler London: Routledge (forthcoming, October 2015)

Hart, M. & Bracken, D. Canadian Social Work Practice and Indigenous People in Social Work in a Global Context Issues and Challenges. Edited by Palattiyil, G., Sidhva, D. & Chakrabarti, M. London: Routledge (forthcoming, July 2015)

Bracken, D. (2014) Probation Practice with Travellers in the Republic of Ireland Irish Probation Journal 11 (October) 44-62

Bracken, D. (2014) Correctional Officer Training in Canada in Understanding Penal Practices Fergus McNeill & Ioan Durnescu (eds.) London: Taylor & Francis

Bracken, D. (2010) Criminal Justice Social Work in Three Countries in Taylor, R. Hill, M. & McNeill, F. (eds.) 21st Century Social Workers: A resource for early professional development. Birmingham: Venture Press

McNeill, F. Bracken, D. & Clarke, A. (2010) Social Work in Criminal Justice in Ian Shaw, Katharine Briar-Lawson, Joan Orme, Roy Ruckdeschel (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Social Work Research. London: Sage

Bracken, D. (2010) Differing Conceptions of Risk & Need among Irish Probation Officers Irish Probation Journal 7 (10)

Mc Neill, F., Bracken, D. & Clarke, A. (2010) Social Work, Criminal Justice and their Reconfiguring Relationships. Revista de Asistenţă Socială 1

Bracken, D., Dean, L., & Morrissette, L. (2009). Desistance & Social Marginalization: The Case of Canadian Aboriginal Offenders. Theoretical Criminology.

Bracken, D.(2007). Probation in the US and Canada in Canton, R. & Hancock, D. Dictionary of Probation & Offender Management.  

Bracken, D.(2007). Risk Management and/or Punishment in the Community: Supervising Conditional Sentences. British Journal of Community Justice, 5(2).

Dean, L., Bracken, D. & Morrissette, L.(2007). Desistance within an urban Aboriginal Gang. Probation Journal, 54(2).

Bracken, D. (2004). Mergers between Community Corrections & Custodial Staff–the Canadian Experience. British Journal of Community Justice, 3 (2).

Bracken, D.(2003). Skills & Knowledge for Contemporary Probation Practice. Probation Journal, 50 (2).

Bacon, Brenda & Bracken, Denis.(2002). Evaluation of the Manitoba Justice Partner Abuse Short Term Intervention Program (PAST). Child & Family Research Group, Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba.