Sydney Institute of Criminology
CrimNet
10 February 2022
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Institute Events and Activities
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Current Issues in Criminal Justice Issue 34(4) released
The first Issue of Current Issues in Criminal Justice for 2022 is online now. Issue 34(1) includes articles on the burden on implied freedom of political communication through the Terrorism (High-Risk Offenders) Act 2017 (NSW) ( Pallas), informal reporting mechanisms for survivors of sexual violence ( Loney-Howes, Heydon, and O’Neill), police oversight in Victoria ( McCulloch and Maguire), information gathering processes in response to child sexual assault complaints ( Martschuk, Powell, Blewer, and Goodman-Delahunty), the evolution of youth justice conferencing in Queensland ( Price, Prenzler, McKillop, and Rayment-McHugh), and the correlation between self identification as drug dependant and contact with the criminal justice system ( Langfield and Payne). There are two book reviews in this first issue of 2022. One regards the interplay between law, and the struggle for security and risk in light of neo-liberal governance and populist revolt ( Simpson reviewing Pratt). The second is a multidimensional and comprehensive insight into the protection and care context for at risk children ( Tudor-Owen reviewing Fernandez and Delfabbro (eds)). Heed the call: the implied freedom of political communication and the terrorism high-risk offenders regime
Josh Pallas examines the impact of the Terrorism (High-Risk Offenders) Act 2017 (NSW) (THRO Act) on the implied freedom of political communication. Analysing recent NSW court decisions, the deeming provision used is argued to pose inherent dangers to political dissent of offenders and political communication of journalists. Pallas further argues the THRO Act places a burden on the implied freedom of political communication by empowering the state in a manner disproportionate to achieving community protection. See here. Connecting survivors to therapeutic support and criminal justice through informal reporting options: an analysis of sexual violence reports made to a digital reporting tool in Australia
Rachel Loney-Howes, Georgina Heydon, and Tully O’Neill analyse the content of 483 reports of sexual violence made to a digital reporting tool (DRT). The confidential and informal digital reporting suggests that DRT facilitates survivor’s therapeutic support and is capable of providing police with crucial information. The authors provide knowledge as to how survivors use informal reporting, crucial to enabling expanded future use. See here. Reforming police oversight in Victoria: lessons from Northern Ireland
Jude McCulloch and Michael Maguire discuss the system of civilian oversight of police misconduct in Victoria through examination of the parliamentary ‘Inquiry into the external oversight of police corruption and misconduct in Victoria’ (2018) by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) Committee and contemporary cases that have catalysed calls for reform. In drawing comparison with the hybrid model of civilian review and investigation between police and IBAC in Victoria with the civilian control model in Northern Ireland, where investigations are solely undertaken by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, the article reflects on the socio-political factors in Victoria which can support or undermine prospective reform in context of lessons taken from reform in Northern Ireland. See here. Legal decision making about (child) sexual assault complaints: the importance of the information-gathering process
Natalie Martschuk, Martine B. Powell, Robyn Blewer, and Jane Goodman-Delahunty consider the downstream implications of how evidence is received from child sexual assault complainants. Th article examines reforms across the 20th century reforms to the information-gathering process and reviews contemporary information-gathering strategies. The authors propose reforms to ensure congruence of contemporary procedures with evidence based practice. See here. The evolution of youth justice conferencing in Queensland, 1990–2021
Stephanie Price, Tim Prenzler, Nadine McKillop, and Susan Rayment-McHugh outline the implementation of youth justice conferencing in Queensland, through an analysis of official data and documentary sources. The main finding was that conferencing in Queensland remains substantially underutilised. This was associated in large part with the discretionary gatekeeping role of police, the absence of a systematic and comprehensive consultation process with victims and accused persons and governments ignoring the science of restorative justice. In terms of prevention, the authors argue for a more integrated approach involving conferencing, risk assessments and the post-conference supervision and welfare needs of offenders. See here. ‘I am drug dependent’: a study of self-identification and prior criminal justice contact using archival data from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program
Cameron T. Langfield and Jason L. Payne examine the emerging relationship between continuous drug-use and the intensity of individual identity as tied to drug dependence. Utilising archival quantitative data from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program, the authors provide new insights through analysis of the correlation between criminal justice contact and the self-identification of a drug dependency among drug-using police detainees. They found that, holding constant a detainee’s frequency, longevity and type of drug use, that contact with the criminal justice system is statistically associated with higher odds of self-identifying as dependent. This finding contributes to ongoing research into the complexity of identity and the management and engagement of drug-using offenders in treatment programs offered throughout the criminal justice system. See here. Law, Insecurity and Risk Control: Neo-Liberal Governance and the Populist Revolt, by John Pratt (reviewed by Alex Simpson)
Alex Simpson reviews Pratt’s examination of the development of neo-liberal governance from post WWII to today in the US, UK, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia and Canada, and its creation of contemporary populist struggle for security. Pratt’s examination of the shifting role of risk articulates the prevalence of the ‘security sanction’; a range of measures that share a common objective in controlling and preventing the risk of crime, from anti-behaviour laws to indefinite prison sentences, anti-terrorism laws, to targeted restriction of movement orders. Contrary to Pratt’s ultimate argument that there is a greater public desire for ‘the truth’ in the world-altering uncertainty of the pandemic, Simpson suggests that given the insularity of Australian and UK politics, a schism has formed in Anglophone politics, between progressive modes of governance in the US, Canada and Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the more punitive tone still found across the UK and Australia. See here. Child Protection and the Care Continuum: Theoretical, Empirical and Practice Insights, edited by Elizabeth Fernandez and Paul Delfabbro (reviewed by Jane Tudor-Owens)
Elizabeth Fernandez and Paul Delfabbro’s edited volume provides multidimensional insight into child protection and care, moving from a theoretical understanding through to the practicalities of proceedings to out of home care and beyond. The text provides important historical, social and theoretical context to enable readers to think critically about child protection itself, and the system as a whole. Tudor-Owens suggest that additional attention could be devoted in the literature more generally to examining how the needs of marginalised groups of children in care can best be accommodated. For example, considering the specific needs of LGBTIQ+ children, children separated from their siblings, and children who are culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse. See here. To prepare or submit your manuscript to Current Issues in Criminal Justice please visit the journal website. Questions or feedback, please email Dr Justin Ellis, editor-in-chief at law.cicj@sydney.edu.au.
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Rob Hoyles appointed Director Criminal Law, Legal Aid NSW
Rob Hoyles has been appointed as the Director of the Criminal Law branch of Legal Aid NSW. Mr Hoyles, who is a member of the Sydney Institute of Criminology Advisory Committee, was appointed as Director in December and has been acting in the role since October 2021. He joined Legal Aid NSW in 2010 when he left private practice and joined the Dubbo office. Since then he has worked in several Legal Aid NSW regional offices and held senior positions, including Deputy Director Criminal Law, Regional Program Coordinator and Solicitor in Charge of a Central Sydney Indictable team.
Congratulations to Mr Hoyles.
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Dr Carolyn McKay presents on digital criminology
Carolyn presented the seminar " The Digital Criminal Justice Project: Vulnerability and the Digital Subject" at Lund University's Social Studies of Science and Technology (SSST) seminar series. The seminar concerned her Australian Research Council-funded DECRA project, which evaluates the impact of digital justice - specifically digital audiovisual communication technologies - on fair and inclusive justice for vulnerable individuals involved in criminal proceedings. It aims to develop an understanding of vulnerability as criminal procedure is increasingly digitalised, and the range of vulnerable individuals who are subject to digital justice.
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Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame speak before the National Press Club
Advocates Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame have delivered speeches before the National Press Club on violence against women and children, and on meaingful responses to these crimes by policymakers.
PedestrianTV has transcribed their speeches here, while The Guardian Australia has transcribed some of the questions here. The full video can be found at ABC iview.
They also addressed commentary around their work, and the role of the media and civil society in amplifying or distorting their messages. Ms Tame voiced a frustration that "certain members of the commentary have consistently labelled me as politically divisive, failing to mention that I spent most of last year having frank, productive meetings with politicians on all sides at both the state and federal level". Indeed, the ACT will introduce a bill in Parliament today that responds to her criticisms of language in legislation.
Brittany Higgins is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at the ANU.
Grace Tame recently founded the Grace Tame Foundation, which works with political and community leaders for meaningful change.
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More than 100 companies and investors call for effective EU corporate accountability legislation
In February 2022, over 100 companies, investors, business associations and initiatives released a joint statement urging the EU to swiftly adopt a legislative proposal on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD), within the Sustainable Corporate Governance initiative. Signatories to the statement including Aviva, Danone, Ericsson, IKEA, Hapag-Lloyd and VAUDE express concern about the setbacks to the twice-delayed proposal, which is now expected later this month.
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Online survey: public expectations of tech companies for abusive content
Tuesday 8 February 2022 marks Safer Internet Day, and two weeks since the Australian government’s Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) came into force, making substantial changes to online regulation.
An online survey seeks to explore the views of the Australian community on whether tech companies should be more responsible for child abuse material that they host on their platforms.
The survey is open to all adults who are Australian residents or citizens. It is anonymous, multiple-choice and should take about 10 minutes.
To complete the survey and for more information please visit here. Participants are encouraged to share.
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WA could become the latest state to introduce affirmative consent laws
SBSNews reports that a review will examine whether Western Australia should introduce laws requiring people to actively seek and affirm sexual consent.
Western Australia could become the latest state requiring people to actively seek and affirm sexual consent as a review of existing laws is launched.
The Law Reform Commission of WA has been tasked with examining the laws and providing advice to the state government on possible changes.
It will consider whether WA should mandate affirmative consent, requiring people to ensure their sexual partners are giving consent or risk committing a crime.
The commission chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Lindy Jenkins will also look at the potential criminalisation of "stealthing", where a person removes a condom without their partner's knowledge or consent.
Read the full piece here.
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Podcast: Lawfully Explained - Should I represent myself at court?
It might seem a simple case of putting forward your case: you’ve seen all the crime dramas on Netflix, you know how it works. But will a judge go easy on you (given you didn’t even go to law school) or yell at you? Will the real lawyers in the room let you look at their notes? And how often do self-represented defendants actually come out on top?
Lawfully Explained is a new series initiated by the Law Society of NSW that attempts to take complex legal concepts and break them down into helpful, real information to get listeners a better understanding the legal system.
Hear the series at LiSTNR (free registration needed) or on Apple podcasts.
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Meta receives its first ever criminal charges from Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest
Campbell Kwan reports for ZDNet that Andrew Forrest has accused Meta of not doing enough to prevent scams from appearing on its social media platforms.
Australian iron ore magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest has launched criminal proceedings against Meta in local courts, accusing the company of failing to prevent various scam ads from using his name and image.
The lawsuit is the first of its kind as Meta, formerly known as Facebook, had previously never faced criminal charges.
The circumstances behind this lawsuit are also uncommon as it is a criminal proceeding arising from a private individual suing a corporation. Due to these circumstances, Forrest needed to get the approval of Commonwealth Attorney-General Michaelia Cash before he could go ahead with the lawsuit.
To read the full piece, see here.
Image: 6PR.
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Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service releases brief: Reforming Police Oversight in Victoria
VALS has released a brief on police oversight, which it states is necessary to address "deep-seated problems" of over-policing and over-incarceration of Aboriginal people and other marginalised groups.
The brief is prepared contemporaneously with the Victorian review of police oversight, which the brief argues has a scope that was "extremely limited, meaning that it will not address many of the key failings of the Victorian police oversight system and will not lead to strong accountability mechanisms to address systemic racism within Victoria Police".
The brief may be accessed here.
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We know how to keep people out of prison. Where is the political will and investment?
UNSW Associate Professor Ruth McCausland (chair of the NSW Community Restorative Centre board) and Dr Mindy Sotiri (executive director of the Justice Reform Initiative) report for Croakey Health Media. Edited by Cate Carrigan.
In its recent research paper ‘Australia’s Prison Dilemma’, the Productivity Commission found that despite stable or decreasing crime rates and commitments by governments to reduce reoffending, Australia is locking up a record number of people.
It noted that nearly 60 percent of people currently incarcerated have been in prison before and concluded, unsurprisingly, that prison is both ineffective in reducing recidivism and expensive, costing taxpayers more than $5 billion per year.
This echoes what many advocates, researchers and people who have experienced incarceration have been saying for many years: prison does not deter or rehabilitate and has enormous social as well as economic costs. It is deeply harmful for those who are incarcerated and their families, even for short periods. It disrupts lives, livelihoods and relationships and has a devastating intergenerational legacy.
The Productivity Commission went on to argue that a ‘critical first step’ is to build the evidence base for ‘what works’ in terms of alternatives to incarceration, including around good program design and implementation of services for people leaving custody. This is not an uncommon response after examining the apparent failures of criminal justice policy.
However, we argue that substantial expertise and knowledge already exists on this question within community sector organisations on the frontlines of providing support to people leaving custody or at risk of incarceration, like the Community Restorative Centre (CRC).
Read the full piece here. Image: Croakey Health Media.
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Judicial supervision of people who have offended
Researcher Michael Trood discusses insights from a systemic review and meta-analysis conducted with co-authors Ben Spivak and James Ogloff on judicial supervision. Published in the International Society for Therapeutic Jurisprudence blog.
Therapeutic jurisprudence practice assumes that judicial officers can play an important role in improving the lives of people appearing before them. A key element in the therapeutic jurisprudence practice is the use of judicial supervision. Judicial supervision, or judicial monitoring as it is sometimes known, involves a judicial officer monitoring defendants via designated review hearings and is commonly associated with drug courts and problem-solving courts, though it is also used on some mainstream court lists.
Judicial supervision allows judicial officers to directly interact with people who have offended and review their compliance with treatment and support plans with input from allied agencies. Through this process, the judicial officer can learn of an individual’s barriers to treatment and supports, develop rapport with and encourage the client, and use the authority of the court to respond swiftly to indiscretions.
Unfortunately, the influence of judicial supervision on a court’s success has largely been overlooked in the research literature. Most of the research that has been conducted has taken place in the context of drug courts. It is unclear whether the findings are relevant to other courts that use judicial supervision, or indeed whether judicial supervision is an important part of rehabilitation regardless of where its used.
Read the full piece here.
Image: The ISTJ Blog.
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Report: Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services
The Productivity Commission has released its annual review of equity, effectiveness and efficiency of government services in Australia.
The report contains sections, including:
- Child care, education and training (Part B);
- Justice (Part C), including police services, courts and corrective services;
- Emergency management (Part D);
- Health (Part E);
- Community services (Part F);
- Housing and homelessness (Part G)
The full report, including individual sections, may be found here.
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‘Incredible imbalance’: NSW Covid fines during Delta higher in disadvantaged suburbs
Mostafa Rachwani and Nick Evershed report for The Guardian.
Small towns with high Indigenous populations and western Sydney suburbs that are home to the most socioeconomically disadvantaged residents in the city bore the brunt of Covid fines during the ramp-up in enforcement during last year’s Delta outbreak.
A Guardian analysis of data obtained by the Redfern Legal Centre under freedom of information laws shows that small towns including Walgett, Brewarrina and Wilcannia had the most fines per capita over the entire outbreak.
Approximately six people out of 100 in Walgett were fined for Covid breaches, according to the data, with Brewarrina seeing five in 100 residents fined and Wilcannia, with a population of 956 people, seeing over four in 100 people fined.
Read the full piece here.
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ASIO receives funding boost for violent extremism as it warns about extremism related to COVID-19
The Australian government is reported to be boosting funding of ASIO by more than $60 million, earmarked for confronting violent extremism spurred by COVID-19 pandemic conspiracy movements. The funding includes a sizeable portion allocated to rural and regional areas. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has warned that "This government has zero tolerance for anyone threatening the peace and cohesion of our society by trying to use violence to achieve a political, religious, or ideological goal."
The funding boost arrives as ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess warns in his annual address about Australians frustrated at lockdowns and vaccination issues who may turn to violence, fuelled by online echo chambers and the lack of "circuit breakers of everyday life". He cautioned that trends showed even young children are susceptible to such radicalisation. Mr Burgess has also warned Australians about the potential for messaging platforms like WhatsApp and dating apps like Tinder to be used for recruitment.
Image: The Guardian (link).
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Webinar
What’s the point of criminal justice history? (Open University, Professor Paul Lawrence). See here.
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Publications
All open access unless indicated.
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The Carceral Automaton: Digital Prisons and Technologies of Detention
Carolyn McKay (2022). International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 10(4).
Abstract:
Prisons are on the cusp of a technological transformation as twenty-first-century digital connectivity in ‘free’ society permeates prison design and offender management. This article will begin with an overview of the digital technologies in ‘smart’ prisons. Two limbs are emerging: technologies that are embedded into the infrastructure of prisons to benefit authorities through heightened security, and technologies that may benefit prisoners by providing them with positive opportunities to access justice, maintain family relationships and engage in programs aimed at optimising their post-release circumstances and rehabilitation. However, recent case law paints a picture of prison life devoid of human contact during the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing isolation and heightened anxiety. Through the lens of emergent conceptions of digital criminology, this article will analyse Australian case law to examine whether the automated, smart or digital prison offers a utopian vision of safe detention and rehabilitation or a dehumanised and punitive dystopia.
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The Network of Online Stolen Data Markets: How Vendor Flows Connect Digital Marketplaces
Marie Ouellet, David Maimon, C. Jordan Howell, and Yubao Wu. (2022). CSLF Articles 4.
Abstract:
In the face of market uncertainty, illicit actors on the darkweb mitigate risk by displacing their operations across digital marketplaces. In this study, we reconstruct market networks created by vendor displacement to examine how digital marketplaces are connected on the darkweb and identify the properties that drive vendor flows before and after a law enforcement disruption. Findings show that vendors’ movement across digital marketplaces creates a highly connected ecosystem; nearly all markets are directly or indirectly connected. These network characteristics remain stable following a law enforcement operation; prior vendor flows predict vendor movement before and after the interdiction. The findings inform work on collective patterns in offender decision-making and extend discussions of displacement into digital spaces.
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Do prisons cause radicalization? Order, leadership, political charge and violence in two maximum security prisons
Ryan Williams and Alison Liebling (2022). The British Journal of Criminology 1.
Abstract:
Sociological studies of prisons require expanded methodologies and interdisciplinary concepts to address challenges posed by changing prisoner demographics and transformed geopolitics. We aim to revitalize sociological inquiry on prisons and prisoner leadership by focussing on the question of whether prisons cause radicalization. Our findings support those of the most persuasive original studies: distinct prison climates generate different hierarchies, only some of which are violent. Through extensive fieldwork we explore the differences between a prison with high levels of ‘political charge’, or anger, and another with less, drawing on extremist events that unfolded over time. We contrast the dangerous dynamics of prison 1 with the more fluid, prosocial religious explorations facilitated by prison 2, considering the implications for prison radicalization studies.
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Harm Imbrication and Virtualised Violence: Reconceptualising the Harms of Doxxing
Briony Anderson and Mark A Wood (2022). International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 10(4).
Abstract:
This article develops a framework for analysing the harms of doxxing: the practice of publishing personal identifying information about someone on the internet, usually with malicious intent. Doxxing is not just a breach of privacy, nor are its effects limited to first‑order harms to an individual’s bodily integrity. Rather, doxxing increases the spectre of second-order harms to an individual’s security interests. To better understand these harms—and the relationships between them—we draw together the theories of Bhaskar, Deleuze and Levi to develop two concepts: the virtualisation of violence and harm imbrication. The virtualisation of violence captures how, when concretised into structures, the potential for harm can be virtualised through language, writing and digitisation. We show that doxxed information virtualises violence through constituting harm-generating structures and we analyse how the virtual harm-generating potential of these structures is actualised through first- and second-order harms against a doxxing victim. The concept of harm imbrication, by contrast, helps us to analyse the often-imbricated and supervenient relationship between harms. In doing so, it helps us explain the emergent – and supervenient – relationship between doxxing’s first- and second-order harms.
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Identity crime and misuse in Australia: Results of the 2021 online survey
Merran McAlister & Christie Franks (2021). Statistical Bulletin no. 37. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract:
This bulletin presents the findings of the latest survey of identity crime and misuse undertaken by the Australian Institute of Criminology as part of the Australian Government’s National Identity Security Strategy. In 2021, 9,956 people across Australia were surveyed about their experience of victimisation over their lifetime and during 2020. Nineteen percent of respondents had experienced misuse of their personal information in their lifetime and seven percent experienced it in the past year—a decline from 2019. Seventy-eight percent of respondents who reported victimisation in the past year experienced a financial loss as a result
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Misinformation: an empirical study with scientists and communicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
Lisa Parker, Jennifer A Byrne, Micah Goldwater and Nick Enfield (2021). BMJ Open Science 1.
Abstract:
Objectives To study the experiences and views within the health science community regarding the spread and prevention of science misinformation within and beyond the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods An exploratory study with an empirical ethics approach using qualitative interviews with Australians who produce, communicate and study health science research.
Results Key elements that participants considered might facilitate misinformation included: the production of low-quality, fraudulent or biased science research; inadequate public access to high-quality research; insufficient public reading of high-quality research. Strategies to reduce or prevent misinformation could come from within the academic community, academic and lay media publishing systems, government funders and educators of the general public. Recommended solutions from within the scientific community included: rewarding research translation, encouraging standardised study design, increasing use of automated quality assessment tools, mandating study protocol registration, transparent peer review, facilitating wider use of open access and use of newer technologies to target public audiences. There was disagreement over whether preprints were part of the problem or part of the solution.
Conclusions There is concern from within the health science community about systemic failings that might facilitate the production and spread of false or misleading science information. We advocate for further research into ways to minimise the production and spread of misinformation about COVID-19 and other science crises in the future.
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Attrition of human trafficking and slavery cases through the Australian criminal justice system
Samantha Lyneham. (2021). Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 640. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract:
Police and prosecutors face a range of challenges while investigating, prosecuting and, ultimately, attempting to secure a conviction for human trafficking and slavery offences in Australia. In this study, investigation and prosecution data were analysed to chart the progression of matters and identify reasons for attrition. Analysis revealed an overall prosecution attrition rate of 73 percent. Attrition was most evident during the initial phases of prosecution, when the decision to lay charges was being considered. However, there was a 60 percent chance of conviction as a result of the defendant either pleading or being found guilty. Defendants were more likely to be convicted for ancillary charges (eg migration offences) than the most serious charges of human trafficking and slavery. The prosecution attrition rate for the most serious charges was 80 percent, compared to 54 percent for lesser charges.
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Crime under Lockdown: The Impact of COVID-19 on Citizen Security in the City of Buenos Aires
Santiago M. Perez-Vincent Ernesto Schargrodsky Mauricio García Mejía. (2021). IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-1245.
Abstract:
This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on criminal activity in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We find a large, significant, robust, and immediate decline in crime following quarantine restrictions. We observe the effect on property crime reported to official agencies, police arrests, and crime reported in victimization surveys, but not in homicides. The decrease in criminal activity was greater in business and transportation areas, but still large in commercial and residential areas (including informal settlements). After the sharp and immediate fall, crime recovered but, as of November 2020, it did not reach its initial levels. The arrest data additionally allow us to measure the distance from the detainees' address to the crime location. Crime became more local as mobility was restricted.
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Improving police risk assessment of intimate partner violence
Felix Leung and Lily Trimboli. (2022). Crime and Justice Bulletin No. CJB244, BOCSAR.
Abstract:
Previous research has shown that the NSW Police Force’s Domestic Violence Safety Assessment Tool, the DVSAT, has poor predictive accuracy in discriminating those who experience intimate partner re-victimisation from those who do not (Ringland, 2018). The aim of this study was to develop a tool with better predictive accuracy than the DVSAT. Using police data on 234,454 incidents of intimate partner violence recorded between January 2016 and December 2018, we evaluated four predictive models of intimate partner re-victimisation.
This study demonstrates that a risk assessment instrument with a small number of variables can identify victims who are most at risk of future intimate partner violence. With an appropriately selected risk threshold to match service capacity, the simplified model could help control the volume of referrals at a desired level.
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Policing the coronavirus pandemic: Nigeria police senior officers’ views on preparedness, response, legitimacy and post-COVID policing
Richard A Aborisade and Oluwajuwon G. Ariyo. (2021). International Journal of Police Science & Management 1.
Abstract:
In the wake of pandemic policing occasioned by COVID-19, Nigeria police have been facing challenges of a lack of legitimacy, together with what is termed the militarization of police operations. This has impacted considerably on police–community relations. Meanwhile, early reports on the police response to the pandemic indicated high levels of lockdown violation, despite adoption of a militarized option in the enforcement of restriction orders. In reviewing one of the first police interventions on a public health crisis in Nigeria, a qualitative study was conducted among top-ranking police officers who supervised the enforcement of lockdown and other COVID-19 measures. Sixteen interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Police unpreparedness for public health interventions, and public resistance to the use of repressive, force-led styles of policing were identified as major impediments to positive pandemic policing. Therefore, police officers are advised to ensure the application of procedurally just practices in their interactions with the public.
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The policy lessons learned from the criminal justice system response to COVID-19
Alex R Piquero. (2021). 20(3) Criminology & Public Policy 493
Abstract:
This article examines the question of the identity of legal systems of non-monistic accounts of law. It critically analyses approaches to individuation based on validity, the nature of individual norms and the purposes for which they are applied, arguing that the latter approach, as endorsed particularly by Raz, offers the most convincing approach to the question of individuation. The article argues that Raz’s own criterion, however, is under-inclusive and misses important reasons why a norm should be individuated in a particular way. The article defends an approach to individuation which builds upon and expands Raz’s approach. This approach emphasises the political importance of legal systems as providing the basis for criteria of individuation. These criteria are also relevant for Dworkin’s account of law as integrity, which, the article argues, also relies on an understanding of individuation notwithstanding Dworkin’s claims to the contrary.
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A scoping review of system-level mechanisms to prevent children being in out-of-home care
Lorna Stabler et al. (2021). The British Journal of Social Work 1.
Abstract:
Identifying which approaches can effectively reduce the need for out-of-home care for children is critically important. Despite the proliferation of different interventions and approaches globally, evidence summaries on this topic are limited. This study is a scoping review using a realist framework to explore what research evidence exists about reducing the number of children and young people in care. Searches of databases and websites were used to identify studies evaluating intervention effect on at least one of the following outcomes: reduction in initial entry to care; increase in family reunification post care. Data extracted from papers included type of study, outcome, type and level of intervention, effect, mechanism and moderator, implementation issues and economic (EMMIE) considerations. Data were coded by: primary outcome; level of intervention (community, policy, organisation, family or child); and type of evidence, using the realist EMMIE framework. This is the first example of a scoping review on any topic using this framework. Evaluated interventions were grouped and analysed according to system-level mechanism. We present the spread of evidence across system-level mechanisms and an overview of how each system-level mechanism might reduce the number of children in care. Implications and gaps are identified.
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COVID-19 frauds: An exploratory study of victimization during a global crisis
Jay P Kennedy, Melissa Rorie and Michael L Benson. (2021) 20(3) Criminology & Public Policy 493.
Abstract:
Research Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic threated public health and safety and led to a number of virus-related fraud schemes. We surveyed over 2,200 American adults to investigate their experiences with COVID-19-related frauds. Our goals were to better understand fraud targeting and victimization, as well as the impacts of fraud on victims. Over a quarter of our sample reported purchasing either a COVID-19-related product or a service, yet 42.5% reported feeling targeted for fraud. Being a target of COVID-19 frauds is significantly linked to one's routine activities, however it is one's level of self-control that more strongly predicts victimization. COVID-19 anxieties mediate the impact of self-control on purchasing.
Policy Implications
Legal interventions and increased regulations surrounding advertising are a potential mechanism for protecting consumers, yet “soft” interventions that interrupt routine activities might be more useful and applicable. The use of white-lists and publicly available websites that allow e-commerce sites and sellers to be verified would help enable higher levels of self-guardianship. It is also important to provide continuous and clear messaging about what is being done to protect consumers.
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Online child sexual offenders' language use in real-time chats
Martine Powell, Sharon Casey and Jon Rouse (2021). Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 643. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract:
We analysed chat log communications between 38 adult males and children who were accessed by the men via social media for sexually exploitative purposes. Our goal was to understand how sexual offenders engage with children online and the dialogue they use to elicit compliance with sexual requests. Results revealed 72 discrete linguistic tactics, contained within eight overarching dialogue-based ‘moves’. Tactics were non-sequential (ie dynamic) and focused mainly on requests for sexual activity. Three distinct subgroup patterns of tactic use were evident. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
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How do child sexual abuse live streaming offenders access victims?
Sarah Napier, Coen Teunissen, Hayley Boxall (2021). Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 642, Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract:
This study analysed chat logs obtained for seven offenders who committed 145 child sexual abuse (CSA) live streaming offences against 74 victims. The study found that offenders accessed victims online or by forming relationships with Filipino locals during trips to the Philippines, which would then move online and lead to CSA live streaming. A facilitator was involved in approximately 35 percent of offences. Facilitators were often female family members of victims (eg mothers and sisters). Some facilitators appeared to have experienced child sexual abuse as well.
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Crime in the Age of the Smart Machine: A Zuboffian Approach to Computers and Crime
Kevin F Steinmetz (2022). International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 1.
Abstract:
This analysis ruminates on the quintessential qualities that underpin the relationship between computers and crime by drawing from the foundational work of Shoshana Zuboff, a scholar whose work has to date been largely ignored in the study of crime. From this perspective, computers are best described as “informating” machines that require “intellective skills” in both licit and illicit forms of work. The first part of this analysis describes the role of such skills in the commission of computer-related crimes and considers factors that affect the degree to which such skills are necessary for perpetration. The second part considers how a Zuboffian approach can inform examinations of other subjects that have historically been considered important for criminological inquiries, including learning and subculture, the emotional experience of crime, and perceptions held by offenders and victims.
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"Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?" Cheap Motel Rooms and Transgression
Carolyn McKay (2022). In: Michael Fiddler, Theo Kindynis and Travis Linnemann (eds.), Ghost Criminology: The Afterlife of Crime and Punishment 1.
Book Abstract:
From Abu Ghraib and Holocaust death camps to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and slave plantations, spaces where violent crimes have occurred can often become forever changed, or “haunted,” in the public imagination. In this volume, Michael Fiddler, Travis Linnemann, and Theo Kindynis bring together an interdisciplinary group of distinguished scholars to study this phenomenon, exploring the origins, theory, and methodology of ghost criminology.
Featuring Jeff Ferrell, Michelle Brown, Eamon Carrabine, and other prominent scholars, Ghost Criminology takes us inside spaces where the worst crimes have imprinted themselves on our history, memory, and media spaces. Contributors explore a wide range of these hauntological topics from a criminological perspective, including the excavation of graffiti in the London underground, the phantom of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, NC, during the 2017 riots, and the ghostly evidentiary traces of crime in motel rooms.
Ultimately, Fiddler, Kindynis, and Linnemann offer ghost criminology as another way of seeing, and better understanding, the lingering impact of violence, oppression, and history in today’s world. Ghost Criminology curates cutting-edge research to break exciting new terrain.
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How can we use the legal system as a tool to address health inequity?
Date: 16 February 2022, 8–9am AEDT
Online
Registration: $80 ($180 for three-part series).
It is well recognised that there are many factors beyond healthcare that contribute to people’s health, and health inequity, including the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These are the social determinants of health.
Join Sir Michael Marmot and Professor Sharon Friel, some of the world’s leading thinkers on the social determinants of health inequity, for a conversation around the role legal and justice systems play in people’s health, and how can we use the law more strategically in the pursuit of health equity.
Sir Michael has been Professor of Epidemiology at University College London since 1985. He is the author of The Health Gap: the challenge of an unequal world (Bloomsbury: 2015), and Status Syndrome: how your place on the social gradient directly affects your health (Bloomsbury: 2004).
Professor Sharon Friel is an ARC Laureate Fellow, Professor of Health Equity and Director of the Menzies Centre for Health Governance at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), Australian National University.
Please note, if you are unwaged or cost is prohibitive to your attendance of this event, or you need assistance in registering or attending, please contact healthjustice@healthjustice.org.au
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Conference: ANU Law Conference on Public Law and Inequality
Date: 16 to 18 February 2021, 8.30am to 3.35pm
Online and in-person
Registration: $240 for full program and dinner, $100 for one day (student: $100 and $50, virtual: $100)
Professor Megan Davis will deliver the Annual Geoffrey Sawer Lecture on 16 February 2022 at 5.30pm, which is a free lecture with separate registration here.
As part of The Australian National University's 75th anniversary and to belatedly celebrate the 60th anniversary of ANU Law and the 30th anniversary of the Centre for International and Public Law (CIPL), a major public law conference will be held at the ANU College of Law in Canberra on 16-18 February 2022.
The conference will be delivered in a hybrid format: in-person and online. There are approximately 40 speakers on the program, about half of whom are based in Australia.
Although public law scholarship has considered how the field can contribute to political equality, there has been less focus, particularly in recent decades, on the relationship between public law and material equality. The question of whether equality is achievable in a world of yawning disparities in wealth can no longer be brushed aside.
How do public law concepts, institutions and norms frame or contribute to political and material inequality?
How can public law and public law scholarship contribute to clear thinking about the set of problems associated with pervasive inequity in contemporary society?
Speakers include:
Professor Amna Akbar (Ohio State University), Professor Farrah Ahmed (The University of Melbourne), Professor Rosalind Dixon (UNSW), Professor Tarunabh Khaitan (The University of Oxford), Professor Samuel Moyn (Yale University), Professor Adrienne Stone (The University of Melbourne), Associate Professor Ntina Tzouvala (Australian National University) and others here https://law.anu.edu.au/event/annual-event/anu-law-conference-public-law-and-inequality
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ANROWS National Research Conference on Violence against Women
Date: 22 to 25 February 2022
Registration: $300 ex GST for four days, $90 for day registration
(reduced rates for partner organisations and NGOs)
This year’s conference theme is “On the agenda: Evidence to inform contemporary policy priorities addressing violence against women”.
The four-day online conference will be structured around research and policy priority topics with a forward-looking focus.
In Evidence Presentation sessions, experts will present contemporary evidence covering topics including intimate partner homicide, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing, women’s reports and experiences of sexual violence, and children and young people who experience domestic and family violence.
In Evidence to Action Workshops, groups of participants will together unpack and reflect on how the evidence does, or could, impact and influence their policy and practice work.
Participants can also choose to connect with peers and discuss conference topics in our video Talk-up Rooms, hosted by individuals from partner organisations, services and peak bodies.
Speakers including but not limited to:
Fiona Cornforth (CEO – Healing Foundation)
Sandra Creamer (CEO – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance)
Associate Professor Kyllie Cripps (Scientia Associate Professor and Co-Convenor of the Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW)
Professor Bronwyn Carlson (Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University)
Professor Kelsey Hegarty (Centre for Family Violence Prevention, Royal Women’s Hospital and the University of Melbourne)
Garth Morgan (CEO, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak)
See the full program here.
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Lessons from a study of violence and policing in Brazil
Date: 17 February 2022, 3.00am AEDT (presenter is located in UK)
Location: online
Registrations free, close 15 February 2022 AEDT
Dr Roxana Pessoa Cavalcanti is a senior lecturer in Criminology at the University of Brighton, where she co-leads the Cities, Injustices and Resistance research group. Informed by feminist and decolonial methodologies, her research examines intersecting inequalities, harm, violence, conflict and activism in urban contexts. Since completing her PhD (2017) and taking her second career break for maternity leave (2018), she has been an active member of criminological societies and international networks, including the Urban Violence Research Network, the Feminist Urban Violence Research Collective, which she co-founded, the Criminalising Dissent Network, British Society of Criminology and European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control. Her book, published by Routledge in 2020, examines the governance of violent relations in Brazil. She is currently working on a number of collaborative projects that examine the interfaces of repression and authoritarianism in Latin America and the UK.
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Call for Expressions of Interest: Research Handbook on Youth Criminology
Deadline: 28 February 2022
Greg Martin and Estrella Pearce
We are seeking Expressions of Interest for Elgar’s Research Handbook on Youth Criminology, due to be published in 2023.
Given this is a Research Handbook we invite state-of-the-art, cutting edge research in the field that is particularly focused on critical perspectives in criminology, including contributions that are critical of the discipline of criminology itself. We are interested in receiving contributions from a broad range of scholars but we are especially keen to include early career researchers and scholars from the Global South.
As a general guide, we encourage people to consider how their proposed contribution might relate to one of the following themes:
- History and origins of youth criminology and juvenile justice, including colonialism and its legacies in Southern Criminology
- Theories and concepts in youth criminology
- Methods of researching youth crime and juvenile justice
- Geographies of youth criminology
- Institutional contexts of youth criminology and juvenile justice, e.g. social, racial and Indigenous justice; harms of criminalisation and victimisation; policing and surveillance; prisons; courts; media/moral panics; rights; gender; sexualised violence
- Governance around youth crime and juvenile justice, including issues of state violence, decolonisation, reform, abolition, justice reinvestment, diversion and early intervention.
- Future research and new directions in youth criminology
Potential contributors should email Estrella Pearce (estrella.pearce@sydney.edu.au) with a Title and Abstract (100-150 words). Please also include any institutional affiliation and email contact.
The closing date for Expressions of Interest is: 28th February 2022.*
(*please note: this is a revised date from 20th January 2022.)
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Grant: Crime Prevention Innovation Innovation Fund (Victorian Government)
Deadline: 11 February 2022
The Crime Prevention Innovation Fund grants is part of the Building Safer Communities Program which includes grants and a series of community forums across Victoria.
Grants of between $25,000 and $300,000 are available to councils, not for profit community organisations and other specialist organisations for partnership projects that deliver and evaluate innovative community safety and crime prevention initiatives.
Victorian councils and not-for-profit organisations that are a legal entity are eligible to apply. Research bodies and commercial entities (such as consultancies, universities or social enterprises) can also apply but must partner with a council or community organisation on their application.
Funding is available for a range of innovative projects that address the above objectives. This includes but is not limited to:
- demonstration projects to test and evaluate new approaches to preventing crime that consider how benefits may be sustained beyond the funding period
- the development of practical tools and resources to improve the understanding and/or management of crime and community safety related issues
- initiatives that work with and engage diverse communities or groups (such as cultural or religious groups, women, young people or members of the LGBTQI community) to identify, test and document practical strategies that build resilience and improve safety and perceptions of safety
- initiatives that establish or strengthen partnerships across community, business, sport, government services and other sectors to address the causes of offending and crime and build community cohesion and safety.
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Senior Policy Officer, NSW Police Force
Deadline: 13 February 2022 - 11:59 PM
The NSW Police have an opportunity for a Senior Policy Officer to be part of their Traffic & Highway Patrol team. The Senior Policy Officer is responsible for the formulation of policy advice and recommendations, and manage and coordinates the development and implementation of a range of policy initiatives within the specific expertise of their functional area to contribute to the delivery of organisational and/or Government commitments.
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Aboriginal Youth Justice Caseworker - Broken Hill Youth Justice Community Office
Deadline: 15 February 2022 - 11:59 PM
Broken Hill Youth Justice Community Office is looking for an Aboriginal Youth Justice Caseworker to provide front line services to young people at their Community Office.
This involves providing a range of quality externally and internally sourced services to detainees, youth justice conferencing clients, victims of crime and court mandated young people and their families. The YJ caseworker is part of a multi-disciplined team that aims to reduce re-offending of young people, enhance their functioning and support reintegration into their families and the community. As part of this role you will be:
- providing an Aboriginal perspective
- advocating on behalf of Aboriginal people in your community
- providing services to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal young people and families
- building strong relationships with partner agencies to support and strengthen families and cultural connections
- using cultural knowledge to help inform and shape service delivery
Essential Requirements
- Relevant tertiary qualifications (diploma or higher) in social work, welfare, psychology, criminology, education or related field or equivalent experience.
- Current Driver’s Licence.
- Current NSW Working with Children Clearance
This position is open to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants only.
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Senior Policy and Projects Officer, Victoria Legal Aid
Deadline: 16 February 2022
Salary: $94,102 - $117,624
In the role of Senior Policy and Projects Officer, you will support the Criminal Law leadership team by driving our response to complex legal and policy issues affecting our clients and the criminal justice system.
Reporting to the Manager of Strategic Advocacy and Policy you will undertake research and critical analysis to develop proactive and reactive law reform advocacy in collaboration with the four criminal program areas, regional offices, at times working with colleagues in Family, Youth and Children's Law, Civil Justice, Communications, and key criminal justice system stakeholders.
You will have demonstrated experience in the law and court procedures relevant to criminal law practice. You will have excellent organisational skills with the ability to lead policy submissions on legislation, law reform initiatives and strategic advocacy activities while working within tight deadlines in a high-pressure environment.
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Aboriginal Identified - Solicitor - Legal Officer Grade l-lll - Criminal Law Division - Prisoners Legal Service - Parramatta Justice Precinct
Deadline: 20 February 2022, 11.59pm
The role involves providing legal advice and representation to clients of Legal Aid NSW, including minor assistance and casework service, in accordance with Legal Aid NSW policies and guidelines in order to contribute to the implementation of Legal Aid NSW's mission to deliver high quality legal services to our clients and to assist them to resolve their legal problems.
You will be an enthusiastic and committed team member able to conduct an effective and efficient criminal law practice. Your role includes providing high quality criminal law advice, minor assistance and casework services to disadvantaged clients. You should be able to communicate with people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and to work effectively and efficiently in a high pressure environment.
Ideally you will have some criminal law and advocacy experience. Experience before the State Parole Authority is not essential - training will be provided in relation to the specialist jurisdiction
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Lecturer in Law or Criminology or Policing
First Nations Australian: Charles Sturt University (Bathurst)
Deadline: 11pm, 22 February 2022
$100,476 to $119,121 pa (plus 17% superannuation)
CSU are currently seeking a passionate and dedicated academic to join the Centre for Law and Justice to support the Centre with its First Nations initiatives. They will be joining an interdisciplinary group of dynamic and experienced academics comprising criminologists, lawyers, sociologists, philosophers and policing scholars.
The successful candidate will be appointed to a teaching and research work function and will undertake duties associated with teaching, research and administration. More specifically the position will undertake curriculum mapping, subject and course design work (for relevant Faculty and University committees), professional and First Nations content accreditation work (for the Legal Profession Admissions Board (LPAB) NSW and the Charles Sturt Indigenous Board of Studies), designing and teaching Indigenous content and design of assessment.
Consultation with community representatives and other professional groups, especially First Nations lawyers, criminal justice, and related professionals who contribute to our programs and who can be consulted for co-design of research programs will be expected.
The successful candidate will have access to the University’s generous relocation support scheme to assist with relocating to Bathurst, NSW.
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Call for Presentations: Stockholm Criminology Symposium
Deadline for Abstracts: 28 February 2022.
Symposium Date: 13–15 June 2022
The primary purpose of the Symposium is to create an environment where international criminologists, policy makers, practitioners and others engaged in criminal policy matters can take part of the latest research findings of importance for crime policy.
The participants will be able to discuss strategies, methods and measures to reduce crime and improve levels of safety in society. The Symposium is organized by the Swedish National Council of Crime Prevention (abbreviated Brå in Swedish) on behalf of the Swedish Government.
The main theme will be Understanding the mechanisms that cause crime and promote desistance from crime. There is also a general theme, Contemporary Criminology, which covers a broad range of subjects in the area of criminology
To find out more information, see below and here.
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Call for Submissions and Conference: Victimisation in a digital world: Responding to and connecting with victims (San Sebastian, Basque Country Spain)
Submission Deadline: 31 March 2022
Early Registration: 30 April 2022
Symposium Dates: 5-9 June 2022
This Symposium will bring together professionals, researchers, policymakers, students, activists, and volunteers from a wide variety of disciplines and backgrounds.
In 2022 this international and interdisciplinary event will focus on the identification, prevention, investigation, prosecution, and socio-legal and psychological responses to victimisation in a digital world.
Together with cyber victimisation, classical and contemporary topics in Victimology will also be discussed, thus anyone interested in Victimology, digitalisation or human rights issues is welcome to participate in this unique triannual encounter.
Sub-themes: Contemporary Perspectives of Victimology; Patterns of Digital Victimisation; Effects/Impact of Digital Victimisation; Research, Theory, and Practice in Digital Age; and Criminal Justice and Legal Responses.
For more information on submission proposals, see here.
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Policy and Programs Officer (Identified Role), NSW Police Force, Hurstville
Submission Deadline: 6 March 2022 at 11.59pm
The NSW Police Force have an opportunity for a Policy and Programs Officer to be part of their Aboriginal Coordination Team, Crime Prevention Command. The Policy and Programs Officer assists with policy and program development, analysis and advice on operational policy and program initiatives and commitments within the NSW Police Force.
For more information on submission proposals, contact Kelly Rose (0427 246 260).
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