Sydney Institute of Criminology
CrimNet
31 March 2022
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The CrimNet newsletter is sponsored by the Sydney Institute of Criminology. CrimNet provides regular communication between criminal justice professionals, practitioners, academics and students in Australia and overseas. Share CrimNet with your peers and help grow the network.
We acknowledge the tradition of custodianship and law of the Country on which the University of Sydney campuses stand. We pay our respects to those who have cared and continue to care for Country.
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Institute Events and Activities
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Current Issues in Criminal JusticeSpecial Issue Expressions of Interest
The Editor welcomes suggestions for special issue topics; and/or suggestions or self-nominations of individuals to guest edit a special issue of Current Issues in Criminal Justice in 2023. The deadline to express interest in a special issue is Monday, 11 April 2022.
Please include in your EOI:
- The proposed title of the special issue;
- The name(s) of and contact information for the guest editor(s);
- A brief description of the scope of the special edition and a statement about its interest to the CICJ readership (2 paragraphs);
- A list of the manuscript titles and abstracts that would be included in the issue (title, name of author(s) and affiliations); and
- An indication of whether contributing authors have been approached and/or confirmed.
The date of the special issue is subject to negotiation between the editor and the guest editor(s). Please note that guest editor(s) will be responsible for arranging and assessing two double-blind peer review of each submission.
For information about our submission requirements including word limits, see here.
Special Issue EOIs will be assessed on the basis of likely readiness of all the manuscripts; diversity of contributors (institutions and levels), and contribution to the profile of CICJ.
Please email your EOI or questions to Dr Justin Ellis, Editor-in-chief of Current Issues in Criminal Justice at law.cicj@sydney.edu.au.
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Deadly Connections launches Bugmy Justice Project
Deadly Connections has recently launched the Bugmy Justice Project which is the first of its kind in New South Wales. The project, informed by the learnings of the Bugmy v The Queen High Court case, aims to provide a strengths-based report to the District and Supreme Courts of NSW with information about the unique systematic racial, cultural and historical factors specific to First Nations Peoples appearing before the Courts for bail and/or sentencing.
The purpose of this project is to identify the unique systematic racial, cultural and historical factors specific to aboriginal people who will be sentenced by NSW criminal courts. This community information will provide a set of background factors related to the individual Aboriginal person for judges and magistrates to consider during sentencing proceedings.
- Deadly Connections
Bugmy Justice Reports narrate the lived experience of the person before the Court and consist of a number of meetings with the person appearing before the Court as well as their family members and Community Elders. Incorporating culturally safe yarning practices, the reports advocate for non-custodial, community-based sentencing options such as participation in Deadly Connection's new six-month residential therapeutic program Girra Girra Place. Bugmy Justice Reports provide an opportunity for truth-telling and healing for the Aboriginal defendant and, in turn, aims to amplify and embed the voices of Aboriginal people, families and communities into the decision-making process that affects them.
See more information including eligibility here.
The Bugmy Justice Project is now open for referrals, with the online referral form contained on the website of Deadly Connections at: https://deadlyconnections.org.au/how-to-refer/
Please note that for a referral, there must be at least 8-12 weeks minimum before the next Court date. Referrals for the Bugmy Justice Project must be made by a solicitor. Please be aware that there is also an eligibility and suitability criteria for potential participants. More information about the project can also be found via www.deadlyconnections.org.au
Image: Bugmy Justice Project website (link).
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Budget 2022 for criminal justice
The following readings describe some of the criminal justice measures from the federal government's budget.
IT News, All the tech in the 2022 federal budget, describes the increase in funding for the cyber intelligence agency Australian Signals Directorate, data collection and analysis practices of the Australian Federal Police, and disruption programs led by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
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Podcast: Into the Mix
Join host Ashley C. Ford as she talks with the artists, activists, and all-around amazing people who are working to build a better world. The struggle, the wins, the thrill of making change and forging a fairer future — it’s all in here.
Past guests include: musician John Legend, political aide Andrew Aydin, and artist Favianna Rodriguez.
The latest episode features rapper Big Freedia, who tells Ford how she got her start, how she faced personal tragedy - and how she’s continuing to show up for her community, using her platform to speak out against, and help reduce gun violence in New Orleans.
Produced by Vox. See here.
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World leaders have branded Vladimir Putin a 'war criminal'. What does this mean?
Rayane Tamer reports for SBS News.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has received heightened criticism from international figures over the past week over his orders to proceed with the invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne hit out against Mr Putin on Sunday, saying that he "must be held to account" for what she said was the targeting of innocent civilians and infrastructure, describing them as "war crimes".
A wide range of war crimes exist, but the most commonly known are the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the launching of attacks that would cause excessive civilian casualties, Challis chair of international law at the University of Sydney Ben Saul explained.
"The law of war does not prohibit any killing of civilians, but if you are targeting a military objective, it's unlawful to cause disproportionate or excessive civilian casualties," he told SBS News.
Read the full piece here.
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What does The Matrix have to do with human rights?
Dr Allan McKay writes for the Law Society Journal.
Interest in the recent The Matrix Resurrections, the newest in the Matrix film franchise, shows its continuing ability to provoke discussion about the nature of reality and the possibility of virtual worlds.
However, the way brain-computer interfaces are used to exploit people in the films has received less attention. Although extreme and disconnected from life in 2022, this technological aspect of the series could be thought of as gesturing at human rights issues that are currently emerging and may require a legal response.
In light of progress in neuroscience and the development of technologies allowing for a direct interaction between human brains and computers, such as are being pursued by companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, it is worth reflecting on the neurotechnological exploitation that features in the series. This is clearly set out in the original 1999 movie. In this film humans interact with the virtual world of the Matrix via a piece of neurotechnology- a brain-computer interface – which facilitates their exploitation.
The film shows a world in which artificially intelligent machines have captured most humans and placed them in pods in order to harvest energy from their bodies. The machines pacified their human captives by interfacing their brains (via a plug in the back of their heads) to a virtual reality world in which people believe they are living the kind of lives led before captivity. This is how nearly all humans come to passively lie in their pods for their whole lives, providing energy to their captors, oblivious to the fact all their experiences are algorithm-induced hallucinations.
Read the full piece here.
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ANROWS 2022 Stakeholder Survey
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety is seeking stakeholders to complete its survey, so that it can "know what we do well, and where we could improve". The data collected will be used in aggregate form to inform their future planning and research agendas.
The survey closes at 11pm on Monday 4 April.
ANROWS is not collecting any personally identifying information—the data collected will be used in aggregated form to inform its planning. The survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete.
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BOCSAR report - Takeaway alcohol sales and violent crime: the implications of extended trading hours
Joanna JJ Wang, Thomas Fung and Suzanne Poynton (2022). Crime and Justice Bulletin No. CJB247.
Background
A substantive body of research exists demonstrating that increased trading hours of licensed venues are associated with significant increases in alcohol consumption and related harms (e.g. Hahn et al., 2010; Wilkinson, Livingston, & Room, 2016). However, most studies to date have focused on the impact of variations (most commonly extensions) in trading hours for premises where alcohol is consumed on-site (e.g. pubs, hotels, nightclubs). Only a small number of studies have examined the effect of variations in trading hours for packaged liquor outlets on alcohol-related harms.
In December 2016, based on recommendations from the Callinan review (Callinan, 2016), the NSW Government reversed a ban on takeaway sales after 10 p.m. and further, extended the hours of sale of home delivered alcohol to 11 p.m.. This policy change affected all of NSW and occurred in isolation from any other major alcohol policy initiatives. The current study assesses the impact of the 2016 extension to trading hours (by 1 hour from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.) on domestic and non-domestic assaults recorded by police.
Key findings
The analyses suggest that the extension to trading hours was associated with a very small but statistically significant increase in the trend in late-night DV assaults. We estimate that in the 38-month period after the policy commenced, the rate of DV assaults occurring between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. increased by 0.5% per month. We also found a significant increase (of 0.4% per month) in DV assaults occurring at any time, however this was partially offset by a drop in the level of the DV assault rate after the policy was implemented.
There was no significant change after December 2016 in the trend or the mean rate of non-DV assaults occurring at any time or late-night non-DV assaults. Similarly, no significant effects were observed for DV-GBH assaults occurring between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. or for the full DV-GBH series, which suggests that there was no change in the rate of more serious DV assaults.
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BOCSAR report - Have the 2018 Sentencing reforms reduced the risk of reoffending?
Neil Donnelly, Min-Taec Kim, Sara Rahman and Suzanne Poynton (2022). Crime and Justice Bulletin No. CJB246.
Background
The Crime (Sentencing Procedures) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 (NSW) replaced existing community-based sentences with new, potentially more flexible sentencing options. This resulted in an increase in the number of offenders sentenced to supervised community orders and a decrease in the number sentenced to short-term prison sentences or unsupervised community orders in NSW.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the NSW sentencing reforms on the risk of re-offending. Re-offending outcomes for offenders with a finalised matter in the Local Court in the 13 weeks before and after the 2018 reforms were compared, adjusting for relevant offender and offence characteristics.
A supplementary method using an instrumental variables (IV) approach was also undertaken to examine the impact of the sentencing changes on those most likely to have received a supervised order because of the reforms.
Key findings
Although the reforms significantly increased the proportion of individuals sentenced to a supervised community sentence (relative to short-term prison and unsupervised community sentences), we find no evidence to suggest that this change was associated with reduced re-offending rates. Specifically, there was no statistically significant difference between those sentenced before and after the reforms in terms of:
- the proportion reoffending within 12 months free time (OR = 0.98; p = .339);
- the time to first new offence of any type (HR = 0.98; p = .296)
- the time to first new serious violent, property, or illicit drug offence (HR = 1.00, p = .862);
- the proportion returning to custody within 12 months of finalisation (OR = 1.01; p = .763).
Similar results were also observed when outcomes were examined separately for domestic violence (DV) offenders and offenders sentenced to short prison sentences or community-based custodial alternatives.
These findings were corroborated by instrumental variable estimates which identified no significant differences in re-offending outcomes for offenders who received a supervised community order due to the sentencing reforms.
The sentencing reforms have not reduced short-term re-offending rates. However, there has been no adverse impact on rates of offenders returning to custody.
Read the full report here.
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Most stalking is family violence related: new report
Research by the Sentencing Council of Victoria suggests a widespread community belief that most stalking occurs between strangers. But a report released earlier in March finds that more than two-thirds of stalking offences (68%) sentenced in Victoria involve family violence, as do more than half of all stalking offences recorded by police (52%).
The report studied the 25,000+ stalking offences recorded by police, and the nearly 7,000 stalking offences sentenced by Victoria’s courts in the 10 years to 2020. Other findings include:
Most recorded offenders were male (87%), and most victims were female (80%).
Imprisonment was more common in family violence cases, and male offenders were more likely than female offenders to be imprisoned regardless of whether their case involved family violence.
There were regional differences in both the prevalence of stalking charges and in sentencing outcomes. For example, while Gippsland accounts for only 4% of Victoria’s population, it had 12% of the state’s sentenced stalking charges.
Stalking was rarely the only offence in the case (20% of cases). The most common co-sentenced offence was a breach of a family violence safety notice or intervention order (39% of stalking cases).
More than half of people sentenced for stalking reoffend within four years (56%), often with a violent offence (18%), or with a breach of a family violence safety notice or intervention order (25%).
Council Chair Emeritus Professor Arie Freiberg AM says: ‘The research also tells us that there are often complicated psychological issues that contribute to stalking, whether it is a psychotic illness, a personality disorder or a cognitive disability. It is important that we respond to those aspects of stalking too.’
See the full report here.
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Noël Zihabamwe addresses UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances over missing brothers in Rwanda
UNSW's Australian Human Rights Institute describes alleged forced disappearances in Rwanda.
Human rights advocate Noël Yandamutso Zihabamwe has addressed a session of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to provide an update on the disappearance of his brothers in Rwanda in 2019.
Mr Zihabamwe filed a complaint to the Group in 2021 regarding the abduction of his two brothers, Jean Nsengimana and Antoine Zihabamwe, as well as an urgent update and reprisals complaint made directly to the UN Assistant Secretary for Human Rights following harassment from the Rwandan Government and its representatives.
“Since my complaint was submitted to the Working Group, more than 200 families have contacted me in relation to their own family and friends who have been harassed or have disappeared in Rwanda,” Mr Zihabamwe said.
“The vast majority of these disappearances in Rwanda are never brought to international attention. Rwandan families suffer in silence.”
Leading human rights barrister Jennifer Robinson of Doughty Street Chambers, London welcomed the opportunity to address the Working Group, so that the UN experts can hear directly from Mr Zihabamwe about his brothers’ disappearances and the impact it has had on their family.
A summary of the initial UN complaint can be found here.
Read the full piece here.
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Crypto theft is on the rise. Here’s how the crimes are committed, and how you can protect yourself
Dr Aaron Lane, Senior Lecturer in Law, RMIT University, writes for The Conversation.
News emerged overnight of the potential theft of more than US$326 million (A$457.7 million) of Ethereum tokens from a blockchain bridge (which connects two blockchains so cryptocurrency can be exchanged between them).
It’s no surprise. Crypto crime has been on the rise – especially since the pandemic began. How are these crimes committed? And what can you do to stay ahead of scammers?
Read the full piece here, and the report here.
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Publications
All open access unless indicated.
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Serving those who serve?: A critical assessment of the need for a veterans’ court or veterans’ list in Australia
Clare Davidson, Arlie Loughnan and Sarah Murray (2022). Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 1-17.
Abstract:
This article assesses the need for veterans’ courts or lists in Australia. While evidence suggests that former and returned service personnel are over-represented in criminal justice institutions, insufficient attention has been paid to the desirability and feasibility of a veterans’ court or list in Australia. In accordance with therapeutic jurisprudence principles, a specialist court such as this would divert eligible individuals from standard court processes into a track focused on treatment and rehabilitation. In this article, we assess the available data addressing veterans’ interactions with the criminal justice system and analyse the relevance of the overseas experience for Australia. We identify the considerations relevant to the establishment of a veterans’ court or veterans’ list and argue that a bespoke veterans’ justice pathway should be considered in order to enhance the responsiveness of the criminal justice system to the specific needs of returned service personnel, and to expand the scope of therapeutic approaches to crime in Australian jurisdictions.
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Help-seeking among Australian ransomware victims
Isabella Voce and Anthony Morgan. Statistical Bulletin no. 38. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology
Abstract:
This study examines the help-seeking behaviour of 321 Australian ransomware victims who participated in a national survey of computer users in June 2021. Nearly three-quarters of ransomware victims sought help, advice or support from at least one person or organisation, and nearly 60 percent sought help from at least one formal source (ie they told someone other than a family or friend). Nineteen percent of victims sought help, advice or support from the police or the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). The main reasons for not seeking help were that victims felt they could deal with the ransomware attack themselves, they did not think there was anything the police or ACSC could do, they did not regard the incident as a serious offence or they did not know that reporting to the police or ACSC was an option. The results confirm that official reports of ransomware significantly underestimate the levels experienced in the community. They also highlight the importance of consistent and accurate messaging about sources of advice and support.
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Developing automated methods to detect and match face and voice biometrics in child sexual abuse videos
Bryce Westlake, Russell Brewer, Thomas Swearingen, Arun Ross, Stephen Patterson, Dana Michalski, Martyn Hole, Katie Logos, Richard Frank, David Bright and Erin Afana. (2022). Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 648. Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract:
The proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is outpacing law enforcement’s ability to address the problem. In response, investigators are increasingly integrating automated software tools into their investigations. These tools can detect or locate files containing CSAM, and extract information contained within these files to identify both victims and offenders.
Software tools using biometric systems have shown promise in this area but are limited in their utility due to a reliance on a single biometric cue (namely, the face). This research seeks to improve current investigative practices by developing a software prototype that uses both faces and voices to match victims and offenders across CSAM videos. This paper describes the development of this prototype and the results of a performance test conducted on a database of CSAM. Future directions for this research are also discussed.
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When good is not good enough: evaluating the proportionality and necessity of the Australian government hacking warrants
Francis Maxwell. (2022). Current Issues of Criminal Justice, 1–19.
Abstract:
In August 2021, the Commonwealth government passed the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act 2021 (Cth), authorising warrants that enable government hacking for investigation of past or future crimes. This article analyses the Act to understand the potential intrusions of data disruption warrants on the privacy of individuals. Taking the importance of privacy as extending beyond the individual to the collective political health of the community, it assesses whether the intrusions on privacy by data disruption warrants are limited to what is necessary to address problems that are demonstrated by the government, and whether its use is limited to what is proportionate to achieve these legitimate aims. The analysis reveals there has been some attempt by the government to ensure necessity and proportionality. However, there are significant shortcomings to these safeguards that must be ameliorated. Further, the analysis demonstrates that the government justified these new powers with disproportionate reference to the need to curb online child sexual exploitation. The Act offers a compelling case study of securitisation of online child sexual exploitation to legitimate wide-ranging changes to digital surveillance powers. Recommendations are made for the urgent improvement of the Act.
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Support Provided by LGBTI Police Liaison Services: An Analysis of a Survey of LGBTIQ People in Australia
Angela Dwyer, Christine E. W. Bond, Matthew Ball, Murray Lee and Thomas Crofts. (2022). Police Quarterly, 22(1), 33-58.
Abstract:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) police liaison programs were established around Australia from the late 1980s onwards to ameliorate discriminatory relationships between LGBTIQ people and police. With specialized training to better understand LGBTIQ issues, police liaison officers can provide support to LGBTIQ people as victims, offenders, or witnesses. Interestingly, very few LGBTIQ people seek support from these officers, even though many know they exist. This paper reports the results of a survey of a sample of LGBTIQ community members across two Australian states (Queensland and New South Wales) that explored why LGBTIQ people seek support from LGBTI police liaison officers. An online questionnaire asked LGBTIQ people about their perceptions of, and experiences with, police generally, and LGBTI police liaison officers specifically. Similar to past research, our analysis primarily found high levels of awareness of liaison officers, but very few participants accessed them. Further, and concerningly, the participants were generally reluctant to seek them out for support. Key implications of our findings for policy and practice development in police and LGBTIQ community services are discussed.
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‘You Can’t Actually Escape It’: Policing the Use of Technology in Domestic Violence in Rural Australia
Bridget Harris and Delanie Woodlock. (2022) International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 11(1), 135-148.
Abstract:
The abuse of technology by perpetrators of domestic violence is ‘spaceless’; however, in this article, we argue that experiences of and responses to digital coercive control are shaped by both the place (geographic location) and space (practical and ideological features of a location) that a victim/survivor and criminal justice agency occupy. We examined this issue by conducting interviews and focus groups with 13 female victim/survivors in regional, rural and remote Australia. All participants had contact with police as part of their help-seeking for domestic violence, and some suggested that officers sometimes paralleled perpetrator behaviours, resulting in a narrowing of women’s ‘space for action’. We conclude that, in the interests of protecting and empowering women, socio-spatial frameworks must be considered by practitioners and researchers, and there should be a concerted effort to expand resourcing and training for justice agencies beyond the cityscape.
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Nordic penal exceptionalism: A comparative, empirical analysis
Ben Crewe, Alice Ievins, Simon Larmour, Julie Laursen, Kristian Mjåland, Anna Schliehe (2022). The British Journal of Criminology, 1-20.
Abstract:
Based on a survey administered in 13 prisons in England & Wales and Norway, as part of a research programme with explicitly comparative aims, this article seeks to address both the relative and absolute dimensions of the Nordic penal exceptionalism thesis. It outlines the consistently more positive results in Norway compared to England & Wales, explaining them primarily with reference to the former’s much higher quality and use of open prisons. At the same time, it emphasizes that, even in an unusually humane prison system, prisoners report considerable pain and frustration. The article also makes the case that comparative analysis should strive to be systematic, but that such comparisons are always imperfect, making methodological transparency all the more essential.
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The antiepistemology of organized abuse: Ignorance, exploitation, inaction
Michael Salter and Delanie Woodlock (2022). The British Journal of Criminology, 1-17.
Abstract:
Organized abuse, in which multiple adults sexually abuse multiple children, has an important role to play in the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) but has been relegated to the margins of criminological concern. This paper presents the findings of an international survey of 74 adults who described childhood victimization in CSAM and organized abuse, emphasizing the relationship between organized abuse and entrenched ignorance of it. The paper identifies the multiple zones, practices and structures of ignorance that render organized abuse unknowable and advocates for strategic forms of knowledge production in which ignorance features as a provocation towards information-seeking rather than as a defence mechanism against intolerable realities.
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‘Offending doesn't happen in a vacuum’: The backgrounds and experiences of children under the age of 14 years who offend
Jerome Reil, Ian Lambie and Ruth Allen. (2022). Journal of Criminology, 1-19.
Abstract:
Relative to those who first offend in adolescence, younger children who offend are at increased risk of engaging in serious, persistent, and violent offending. In addition, these children are at risk of a range of adverse psychosocial outcomes across the lifespan. Early intervention with children at risk of offending is therefore critical to support children to thrive and reduce offending and victimisation rates. This study sought to explore the backgrounds and experiences of children who offend prior to the age of 14 years to shed light on the development of child offending and assist early intervention efforts. Interviews with family members (with lived experience of interacting with the child welfare and child offending system) and frontline child welfare and judicial professionals (who directly engage with children who offend) (n = 33) were conducted. Their experiences show that children who offend have clear, significant, and unaddressed child welfare concerns, including growing up in poverty and experiencing abuse, which cumulatively impacts on children's normative development and can eventually culminate in offending. Participants called for urgent action to address the sociostructural concerns that underlie child welfare concerns and provide prompt and effective assistance to families in need to support children to thrive and prevent future victimisation.
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Giving voice to the silenced victims: A qualitative study of intimate partner femicide
Li Eriksson, Paul Mazerolle and Samara McPhedran (2022). Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 645. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract:
Scholars highlight the importance of asking victim–survivors of intimate partner violence directly about their lived experiences. In cases where the victim is killed, however, those voices are silenced. Qualitative interviews with friends and family members (informants) of intimate partner femicide victims highlighted that, while many victims experienced physical violence at the hands of their partners, they often did not label such violence as ‘abuse’. The interviews further revealed that all victims experienced coercive control, and most were in the process of regaining some level of autonomy at the time of their deaths. As might be expected, the grief and loss for the survivors was close to unbearable.
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Disability support and reincarceration after a first adult prison custody episode for people with intellectual disability in New South Wales, Australia
Julian Trofimovs, Preeyaporn Srasuebkul, Julian N Trollor, Leanne Dowse and Julian N Trollor. (2022). Journal of Criminology, 1-21.
Abstract:
Prisoners with an intellectual disability (ID) are an over-represented group in custody, with studies indicating this group is more likely to reoffend and be reincarcerated than the general prison population. While prisoners with ID share many of the same risk factors for recidivism as the general prison population, the lack of adequate disability support has been argued to be an additional key driver of recidivism for this group. This study aims to investigate reincarceration and factors associated with reincarceration after a first adult custody episode, including the impact of provision of general and specialist disability supports. The study used linked disability support services and custody data to identify a cohort of 1,129 prisoners with ID who were released from a first adult custodial episode in New South Wales (NSW) between 2005 and 2015. Over the follow-up period, the linked custody data showed that 72% (813) of those identified with an ID and released from a first adult custodial episode returned to prison, of which 76% (617) received no post-release disability support. This study found that 27% (308) of the study cohort had received a disability support service post-release from adult custody. Receipt of disability support was associated with a lower risk of reincarceration, while younger age and shorter duration of the custodial episode were associated with higher risk of reincarceration. The potential for disability support to lower risk of reincarceration highlights the importance of funding programmes that connect prisoners with ID to appropriate post-release disability supports.
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European Crime Prevention Conference 2022
Date: 28 April 2022 to 29 April 2022
Location: Brussels
Registration free but mandatory
The European Crime Prevention Conference is the biennial conference and offers a forum to share knowledge and experiences regarding crime prevention across the European Union. It welcomes policymakers, practitioners and academics, but maintains a consistent focus on the front line.
The main topic of 2022 is partnership approaches in crime prevention:
Co-production of security, partnership approaches, multi-agency crime prevention
The ideal of working together to make society a safer place is shared by many. But collaborations also present challenges. How to identify the right partners? Who takes the lead? Which information is shared with whom? And how do we make it all work in view of every partner's mandate and competences?
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Distinguished Alumni Series: In conversation with the Hon Andrew Bell, Chief Justice of NSW Supreme Court
Date: 4 May 2022 at 6pm
Location: New Law Building, Camperdown
Registration free but mandatory
Join us for this special ‘in conversation’ event with University of Sydney Law School alumnus and the newly appointed 18th Chief Justice of NSW, the Hon Andrew Bell, and alumna Nicole Abadee.
The Chief Justice will reflect on his life and times at the Law School, as a judge’s Associate, at the University of Oxford, NSW Bar and on the NSW Court of Appeal. His Honour will also discuss how the legal profession has changed, the enduring value of a law degree and where it might lead you and what makes a good law teacher – and judge.
This Distinguished Alumni Series is an occasional program of talks featuring eminent graduates of the Law School.
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DVNSW Conference 2022
Date: Thu 12 May 2022 and Fri 13 May 2022 (8.30am to 5pm)
Location: NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre, 37 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Registration: A$809.59 (early bird), A$232.09 (early bird, student). Separate rates for one day.
Early bird sales end 31 March 2022.
Join us for this special ‘in conversation’ event with University of Sydney Law School alumnus and the newly appointed 18th Chief Justice of NSW, the Hon Andrew Bell, and alumna Nicole Abadee.
The Chief Justice will reflect on his life and times at the Law School, as a judge’s Associate, at the University of Oxford, NSW Bar and on the NSW Court of Appeal. His Honour will also discuss how the legal profession has changed, the enduring value of a law degree and where it might lead you and what makes a good law teacher – and judge.
This Distinguished Alumni Series is an occasional program of talks featuring eminent graduates of the Law School.
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AIFS 2022 Conference: Putting Families at the Centre
Date: Pre conference workshops - 14 June 2022, Conference dates - 15 - 17 June 2022, 9am to 5pm
Location: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), 1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf VIC
Early bird cost: $1,085 (full conference), $775 (full-time student). One day: $580. Early bird registration close - 3 April 2022.
The European Crime Prevention Conference is the biennial conference and offers a forum to share knowledge and experiences regarding crime prevention across the European Union. It welcomes policymakers, practitioners and academics, but maintains a consistent focus on the front line.
The main topic of 2022 is partnership approaches in crime prevention:
Co-production of security, partnership approaches, multi-agency crime prevention
The ideal of working together to make society a safer place is shared by many. But collaborations also present challenges. How to identify the right partners? Who takes the lead? Which information is shared with whom? And how do we make it all work in view of every partner's mandate and competences?
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Aboriginal Targeted – Criminal Law Solicitor Grade l-lll, Legal Aid NSW - Western NSW
Locations: Albury, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Orange, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga (Temporary & Ongoing)
Deadline: 3 April 2022 - 11:59 PM
Legal Aid NSW is seeking solicitors who can maintain a busy criminal law practice and work cohesively and collaboratively as part of a team. The successful applicant will be committed to delivering excellent service for clients and have a demonstrated knowledge of criminal law.
This recruitment will be used to fill any current vacancies and may be used to create a Talent Pool for similar future ongoing or temporary vacancies that may arise over the next 18 months for Western NSW including Albury, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Orange, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga.
Enquiries: Bill Dickens on (02) 6685 7704 or bill.dickens[at]legalaid.nsw.gov.au
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Research Assistant (Part Time), University of New South Wales
Deadline: Sunday 3 April 2022 at 11.55pm
The Centre for Crime, Law and Justice (CCLJ) is an interdisciplinary research centre based in the UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice.
The Research Assistant will assist in a research project on ‘Violence, Risk and Safety: The Changing Face of Australian Criminal Laws’, funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant. The project team is led by CCLJ co-director, Luke McNamara, and includes his CCLJ colleagues, David Brown and Russell Hogg, and external collaborators: Julia Quilter (University of Wollongong), Arlie Loughnan (University of Sydney) and Lindsay Farmer (University of Glasgow).
To be successful in this role you will have:
- a degree in law or criminology
- a keen interest in criminal law reform and critical perspectives on criminalisation as a public policy tool for addressing violence and safety
- strong research, communication, planning and writing skills
- experience in research administration
- the ability to work both independently and as part of a team
Contact: Professor Luke McNamara, co-director, Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, UNSW Law and Justice at luke.mcnamara[at]unsw.edu.au or (61 2) 9065 2104.
The role is likely to be Sydney-based, but applicants from elsewhere are welcome.
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Investigator, Independent Commission Against Corruption
Sydney, NSW
Deadline: 7 April 2022 at 11.59pm
The following selection criteria form a specific part of the selection process.
[1] Significant experience investigating alleged serious offences, including fraud, and/or public sector misconduct.
[2] A good knowledge of the criminal law, the rules of evidence and criminal procedures, an understanding of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988.
[3] Well-developed planning and organisational abilities, problem solving and analytical skills and experience using investigative analytics software.
[4] A very high level of written communication skills and a demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with people of diverse background, occupation, and seniority, both internal and external to the Commission.
If you have any further queries after reading the information package, please contact Mr Michael Riashi by email at mriashi[at]icac.nsw.gov.au.
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Youth Justice Caseworker (x2), Department of Communities and Justice (Bourke and South Grafton, NSW)
Deadline: 10 April 2022 at 11.59pm AEST
Bourke Youth Justice Community Office is looking for a 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.
Contact: Greg Edwards - Area Manager Far West E: greg.edwards[at]dcj.nsw.gov.au |
For more information and to apply for the Bourke position - see here.
Acmena Youth Justice Centre is looking for a custodial Youth Justice Caseworker to provide front line services to the young people who are currently detained at the centre.
All custodial facilities provide an extensive range of educational, recreational, vocational, specialised counselling and personal development programs. Youth Justice NSW provides individual case management to detainees to plan for their positive reintegration into their communities.
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.
Contact: Jodie Scott - Area Manager E: Jodie.Scott[at]dcj.nsw.gov.au
For more information and to apply for the Acmena position - see here.
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Call for Abstracts: 22nd Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology
Deadline: 15 April 2022
All abstracts must be submitted on-line through this website. You will be asked to indicate the type of submission you wish to make. The submission choices available for the meetings include:
- Individual Paper
- Poster
- Pre-arranged panel
All three forms of submissions have to be submitted to a particular thematic category which you have to select from a drop-down menu during the submission process. As in previous conferences, these are mostly aligned with the ESC thematic working groups, complemented by a few residual categories.
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Postdoctoral Fellow, ANU College of Law
Canberra, ACT
Deadline: 20 April 2022
The ANU College of Law seeks to appoint Postdoctoral Fellows. They welcome applications from candidates pursuing research in the following areas:
- Legal Technology
- Defence Law/Military Law (including a focus on autonomous weapons and nuclear capacity regulation)
- Property Law (including equity)
- Law of Obligations
- Law and Technology
- Indigenous Legal Studies
- Intellectual Property Law
- Public Law
- International Law
- Law and Economics
For all enquiries please contact Professor Sally Wheeler, Dean, ANU College of Law, T: +61 2 6125 4070 or E: Sally.Wheeler@anu.edu.au
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Lecturer – Criminology
Melbourne, VIC
Deadline: 26 April 2022, 11:55 pm AEST
The Lecturer in Criminology will contribute to teaching, research and graduate supervision in the School of Social Sciences. This position requires an active and innovative academic to contribute to quality teaching through unit coordination and supervision at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. The successful appointee will prepare and present tutorials, lectures and seminars, classes, undertake marking, contribute to curriculum development, and supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students. The units in which they will be involved will be negotiated on appointment and will change over time.
The School is seeking candidates with a strong track record in Criminology, including a demonstrated publication record in high-quality refereed journals or academic publishers. The successful candidate will hold a PhD in the discipline area, and show capacity to contribute strongly to research development in Criminology at Monash.
This role is a full-time position; however, flexible working arrangements may be negotiated.
Enquiries: Associate Professor Anna Eriksson, Discipline Convenor Criminology, +61 3 9905 8654, Anna.Eriksson[at]monash.edu
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John O'Brien Memorial Coursework Scholarships
Deadline: 31 May 2022
The John O'Brien Memorial Coursework Scholarships in Criminal Law and Criminology was established in 2008 by a bequest for a memorial fund in perpetuity named the John O'Brien Memorial Fund. It provides support for students studying criminal law and criminology at the University of Sydney Law School.
The scholarship is valued at $10,000 per year if you are enrolled full-time (24 credit points per semester)
You must:
- have an unconditional offer of admission for the Master of Criminology at the University of Sydney Law School
- have achieved a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 70 or equivalent in your previous tertiary studies.
Note: Students who have already commenced their Master of Criminology, or students transferring from other postgraduate programs are not eligible to apply.
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Indigenous Academic (All levels), University of Melbourne
Deadline: 24 Oct 2022 11:55 PM
Only Indigenous Australians are eligible to apply as this position is exempt under the Special Measure Provision, Section 12 (1) of the Equal Opportunity Act 2011 (Vic).
This call for Expressions of Interest seeks talented First Nations scholars to join the Faculty of Arts, at any level and in any of the Faculty’s disciplinary fields.
They invite the submission of a CV and a cover letter outlining (1) your research agenda, (2) your teaching experience, (3) relevant partnerships and community engagement, and (4) your interest in the Faculty of Arts. On review of the EOI, they may choose to invite a more detailed application encompassing key selection criteria at a level commensurate to experience. Reviews of EOI will take place three times a year, at the end of February, June and October.
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Call for Submissions: Safer Communities youth justice special issue
Submission Deadline: 29 August 2022
This special issue focuses on “theory and practice of co-production and co-creation in youth justice” settings. This is timely, given the noticeable shift towards a participation culture as part of the Youth Justice Board’s Child First agenda in England and Wales (YJB, 2021) and recommendations for pursuing increased participatory rights-based practices to facilitate children’s meaningful involvement in the design, delivery, and evaluation of youth justice services (Peer Power/YJB 2021).
The editors anticipate the articles in this special issue will present evidence and research both nationally and internationally, on how to reverse unequal power dynamics by utilising children’s knowledge and expertise, while also gaining trust and empathy through the sharing of lived experiences. More specifically, this involves discussion on how principles of co-production can be utilised in the field of youth justice with those under supervision.
Essentially, the purpose of this special issue is to offer a critical perspective on the facilitators and barriers to the theory and practice of co-production and co-creation in youth justice.
Potential areas of interest include (but are not limited to):
- How Child First, restorative, trauma informed, and desistance-based models can be co-produced/co-created.
- Typologies, theories and models of participation and co-production.
- Arts-based programmes and interventions
- Experiential peer support and mentorship
- Co-producing resources to address access problems and to enhance engagement
- Perspectives from practitioners and those with lived experience
- Educational development projects and collaborative approaches to curriculum design and delivery
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