Sydney Institute of Criminology
CrimNet
23 July 2020
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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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Prevalence of domestic violence during COVID-19
The Australian Institute of Criminology has released its findings from an online survey of 15,000 Australian women about their experience of domestic violence during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the three months prior to the survey, conducted in May 2020, 4.6 percent of women who responded to the survey experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former cohabiting partner. Almost six percent (5.8%) of women experienced coercive control and 11.6 percent reported experiencing at least one form of emotionally abusive, harassing or controlling behaviour.
For many women, the pandemic coincided with the onset or escalation of violence and abuse.Two-thirds of women who experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former cohabiting partner since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic said the violence had started or escalated in the three months prior to the survey.
Many women, particularly those experiencing more serious or complex forms of violence and abuse, reported safety concerns were a barrier to help-seeking.
Hayley Boxall, Anthony Morgan & Rick Brown, Statistical Bulletin no. 28. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
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| LECC reports on strip searches conducted by NSW police
The NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission this week furnished two reports to Parliament in relation to its monitoring of NSW Police Force investigations into complaints about strip searches conducted by police.
These reports form part of the Commission’s broad-based inquiry into the conduct of strip searches by police officers and questions surrounding the training and education they receive. The Commission will complete its final report into police strip searches in late 2020.
Strike Force Blackford
In Strike Force Blackford the NSW Police Force investigated 5 separate complaints involving strip searches of young people. The Commission monitored the investigations into four of the incidents: (1) The strip search of a female at the 2018 Midnight Mafia concert; (2) The strip search of a male and female at the 2019 Midnight Mafia concert; (3) The strip search of a female at the Secret Garden festival in 2019; and (4) The strip search of a female at the Hidden Music Festival in 2019.
No drugs were found on any of the individuals strip searched in the above matters, although a number of them were nevertheless banned from the festival. Adverse findings were made against involved police officers in three of the four above matters (1, 3 and 4). Those findings included insufficient grounds for the search, insufficient grounds for a banning notice, inadequate record keeping by police and breach of the NSW Police Force Code of Conduct and Ethics.
The Commission was satisfied with the investigations and outcomes but requested and recommended that the NSW Police Force consider issuing an apology to one of the individuals searched.
The Commission expects to receive a systems-focussed report by the lead investigator in Strike Force Blackford in August 2020.
Arrest, Detention and Strip Searching of Two Female Protesters on 10/11/2017
This incident gave rise to both an internal police complaint and a second, broader complaint about the treatment of the two females, who had been at a protest at Eveleigh against the treatment of refugees when they were arrested and conveyed to a police station where they were strip searched and released without charge.
In May 2018 an initial investigation resulted in Not Sustained findings against the searching officers. The Commission was not satisfied that the investigation had been properly conducted and requested a further investigation.
A further investigation resulted in adverse findings on other issues and, after further representations by the Commission, adverse findings on the conduct of the strip searches as well. Ultimately, the Commission was satisfied that the findings and action taken against the relevant officers were appropriate.
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| Neurointerventions in the criminal justice system
Neurointerventions and law: Regulating human mental capacity by Nicole A Vincent, Thomas Nadelhoffer and Allan McCay was published this month as part of the Oxford Series in Neuroscience, Law and Philosophy.
Dr Allan McCay of Sydney Institute of Criminology explains some of the questions explored in the book about the role of neurointerventions in the criminal justice system.
"What, if any, should be the role of pharmaceutical interventions, such as anti-libidinal drugs for sex offenders, in the criminal justice system? How should criminal justice systems respond to those who commit offences by way of brain-computer interface? What concerns might be raised by a brain-implant that, using a machine learning approach, could detect the neural patterns associated with impulsive aggression then issue a warning the person that they may be on the cusp of a violent outburst, or even to automatically intervene on their brain to calm them down?” Dr Allan McCay said.
Neurointerventions and law contributes to the field of neurolaw by addressing concerns generated by the development, use, and regulation of these and other neurointerventions. The scholarly work reflects neurolaw's growing social import and its rapid expansion as an academic field of inquiry.
The book investigates the criminal justice system's use of neurointerventions to make accused defendants fit for trial, to help reform convicted offenders or to make condemned inmates sane enough for execution. Neurointerventions and law also interrogates the use, regulation, and social impact of cognitive enhancement medications and devices.
Issues raised by neurointervention-based gay conversion "therapy", efficacy, and safety of specific neurointervention methods, legitimacy of their use and regulation, and their implications for authenticity, identity, and responsibility are among the other topics investigated.
“The book relates to the interests of criminal law practitioners, scholars and criminologists who wish to consider some of the challenges emerging from neuroscience and neurotechnology that the criminal law is starting to face, and may increasingly face, in the coming years,” Dr Allan McCay said.
Dr Allan McCay lectures in Criminal Law at the University of Sydney Law School and teaches at the University of Sydney’s Foundation Program at Taylors College. He is a member of the Sydney Institute of Criminology and an affiliate member of the Centre for Agency, Values and Ethics at Macquarie University.
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Revised NSW – Victoria border restrictions from 22 July 2020
Under the Public Health (COVID-19 Border Control) Amendment Order 2020, changes have been made to the eligibility criteria for permits and a border zone resident has been redefined. This means that:
- If you have an existing permit you will no longer be allowed to enter NSW if you're not already in the state, once the amendment order commences on 22 July (unless your permit was issued on compassionate grounds)
- If you are in NSW under a permit issued before 21 July and then you leave NSW, the permit will expire; have an existing permit but have not already entered NSW, you must continue to comply with any conditions such as self-isolation
- If you are in NSW under a permit issued before 21 July, you may remain in NSW in accordance with the permit.
Police officers at the border will have the power to refuse entry if you are not a resident of NSW and you present an unacceptable risk of transmitting COVID-19.
Police and public health officers will also be able to direct you to leave NSW if you are not a NSW resident and you are not authorised to enter NSW under the public health order.
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COVID-19 restrictions tighten from 24 July 2020
The NSW Government will tighten COVID-19 restrictions around “higher risk” activities from 12:01am Friday 24 July 2020 as NSW enters a state of ‘COVID normal’:
- Compliance measures introduced to pubs will be extended to restaurants, bars cafés and clubs. This includes: limiting group bookings to a maximum of 10 people. Mandatory COVID-Safe plans and registration as a COVID-Safe business; and a digital record must be created within 24 hours.
- Weddings and corporate events will be limited to 150 people subject to the four square metre rule and registration as a COVID-Safe business. Strict COVID-Safe plans must be in place and high-risk activities including choirs and dancing must not occur.
- Funerals and places of worship will be limited to 100 people, subject to the one person per four square metre rule and a COVID-Safe business registration.
The rules on gatherings will remain the same: 20 guests inside the home and 20 for gatherings in a public place.
However, as the home is a high transmission area, the NSW Chief Health Officer strongly recommends a COVID-Safe precautionary approach of limiting visitors to the home to 10 people as a general principle.
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COVID-19 Expanded juries for shorter trials in NSW The NSW Supreme and District Courts can now order up to three additional jurors in criminal trials estimated to run four weeks or longer, under an amended regulation to the Jury Act 1977 to allow trials to continue if a juror falls ill. NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman said the amendment to the Jury Regulation 2015 is necessary to address potential increases in juror absences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If jurors get sick or display common symptoms of COVID-19, this amendment will increase the likelihood there will be sufficient jurors at the conclusion of the trial to considers its verdict. The amendment reduces the estimated trial duration where a court could empanel additional jurors from longer than three months to more than four weeks. “Additional jurors will not be ordered for every trial with an estimate of four weeks or more. The amendment gives the Supreme and District Courts the ability to consider the necessity for additional jurors on a case-by-case basis,” Mr Speakman said.
If more than 12 jurors remain at the end of the hearing, a ballot is drawn to determine which 12 will participate in the deliberations. “Juror seating arrangements in courtrooms have been modified to accommodate the additional jurors. Potential jurors are advised before the hearing that they should not attend court if they are unwell. They’re also told that Sheriff Officers conduct health checks at court premises,” Mr Speakman said. Jury trials were suspended from 16 March until 15 June due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| COVID-19 legal assistance funding recommendations Health Justice Australia has written to all attorneys-general at the federal, state and territory level to recommend principles for the distribution of the $63.3M to support legal assistance in response to COVID-19.
A number of states and territories have already indicated their support for these principles in the interests of access to legal help for those who are most likely to need it at this time. The recommendations may be viewed on the Health Justice Australia website.
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HCA: Nguyen v The Queen [2020] HCA 23
On 30 June 2020, the High Court of Australia unanimously allowed an appeal from the Full Court of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. The appeal concerned whether, in a criminal trial, the prosecution's obligation to put its case fully and fairly before the jury ordinarily requires it to tender the record of an interview between an accused and police which contains both inculpatory and exculpatory statements ("mixed statements").
The Court held that this obligation does require the prosecution to tender a record of interview containing mixed statements, unless there is good reason not to do so.
The appellant's retrial was stayed whilst two questions were referred to the Full Court, being: (1) whether the recorded interview containing the mixed statements was admissible and (2) whether the prosecution was obliged to tender it. The Court answered the first question yes and the second question no.
Allowing the appeal, the Court explained that the question of the duty of the prosecutor is not to be confused with that of the admissibility of evidence of mixed statements. While it affirmed that it is for the prosecution to decide which witnesses are to be called and what evidence is to be presented in its case, the question in this appeal was resolved by another fundamental principle affecting the conduct of a criminal trial, namely that the prosecution must put its case both fully and fairly before the jury. The Court held that, if this duty is to be met, it is to be expected that a prosecutor will tender a mixed statement, unless there is good reason not to do so.
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New CEO of the Law Society of NSW
Sonja Stewart has been announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Law Society of NSW. Ms Stewart will replace outgoing CEO Michael Tidball.
Ms Stewart was a Deputy Secretary within the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet and before that, a Deputy Commissioner of the NSW Public Service Commission. She is currently the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Arrilla Consulting, a joint venture with KPMG. Ms Stewart has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has been a Chairperson and Board Director of Government, academic and not-for-profit boards for more than 20 years.
Ms Stewart, herself a proud Yuin woman, is also a Director of the Goodes O'Loughlin Foundation which aims to improve educational outcomes of Indigenous youth.
New Chair for NSW Law and Justice Foundation
Sharon Cook has been announced as the new chair of the NSW Law and Justice Foundation. Ms Cook replaces outgoing Chair, former Supreme Court Justice Paul Stein AM QC .
In 1997, Ms Cook joined Henry Davis York becoming its first female Managing Partner, a position she held for 6 years until 2014. She then returned to King & Wood Mallesons as Managing Partner, Clients. In 2012, Ms Cook was named as one of the Australian Financial Review’s inaugural 100 Women of Influence in the board and management category and the following year was awarded the Lasting Legacy award by Lawyers Weekly for having “acted as a trailblazer for women”. She is also a member of Chief Executive Women.
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Black Lives Matter Australia in the media
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| Push to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14
21 July 2020, Ella Archibald-Binge and Nigel Gladstone, The Sydney Morning Herald
On 21 July 2020, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that legal experts, doctors and justice groups hope momentum from the Black Lives Matter movement will bolster a push for lawmakers to keep children as young as 10 out of prison by raising the age of criminal responsibility at a meeting of the Council of Attorneys-General this month.
There were almost 600 children aged 10 to 13 in detention in Australia last financial year. More than 60 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children. Cheryl Axleby, the co-chair of Aboriginal-led justice coalition Change the Record, said the legal system was setting up children to fail. “Children who come in contact with the criminal legal system are more likely to die an early death, to reoffend and to stay in the criminal legal system - including as adults,” she said. “It’s a quicksand that traps these kids and their families for the rest of their lives.”
A national campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, in line with other jurisdictions around the world, has been backed by a coalition of legal, medical and social justice organisations including the Law Council of Australia, the Australian Medical Association and Indigenous-led groups.
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NSW police chief vows to block Black Lives Matter protest planned for Sydney
20 July 2020, Elias Visontay, The Guardian Australia
On 20 July 2020, The Guardian Australia reported that NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has vowed he will go to court to block a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Sydney next week, citing the event’s potential to spread coronavirus. Fuller said rally organisers had filed a formal application for the protest but police would go to the supreme court to try and stop it from proceeding, after the event garnered more than 1,000 indications of attendance online and 3,000 expressions of interest by Monday evening.
The Commissioner said regardless of the court’s decision, police would “take action” if health orders were breached at the event planned for Sydney’s Town Hall at noon on Tuesday 28 July. Fuller’s warning comes after police challenged the legality of several protests planned during COVID-19 restrictions. Most notably, at the beginning of June, a Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney was initially ruled unlawful before that decision was overturned on appeal, minutes before the rally was due to commence
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| Victoria to establish truth and justice process as part of Aboriginal treaty process 11 July 2020, Leonie Thorne, ABC News
On 11 July 2020, ABC News reported that Victoria will establish Australia's first formal truth-telling process for Aboriginal Victorians in a "historic" move some community members have waited decades for. The state's First People's Assembly, a democratically-elected body set up to create the framework which will guide Victoria's future treaty negotiations, voted last month to call on the State Government to establish a truth and justice commission.
Truth commissions aim to discover and document past injustices, usually by a government, and formally recognise their impacts. On Saturday, the Victorian Government announced it would work with the Assembly to develop the terms of reference and how a truth and justice process would work in Victoria. Victoria's truth and justice process might cover Australia's frontier wars and massacres of Indigenous people during the colonial period, but also more recent issues including deaths in custody and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the justice system.
Formal truth-telling processes, often called truth commissions, have been held in more than 30 countries, including South Africa, Canada and New Zealand. They usually involve a royal commission-like process, and invite witnesses to give evidence about their personal experiences.
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ANROWS: Imprisonment and domestic, family and sexual violence
The July 2020 issue of Notepad brings together ANROWS research on the close connections between domestic, family and sexual violence, and women’s experiences of imprisonment. The edition includes: new data shows that domestic violence has escalated during the Coronavirus pandemic; ABS statistics on 2019 crimes related to violence against women; examining the impacts of sexual violence on women’s health; exploring the experiences and service needs of victims/survivors and perpetrators; upcoming and recorded webinars; WorkUP Queensland: new practice studios open for expressions of interest; using the ANROWS Library; and sector opportunities, resources, research and news. ANROWS is Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. Access the July ANROWS Notepad.
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Prosecutorial Discretion at the International Criminal Court Anni Pues, Hart Publishing 2020
This book provides a comprehensive guide to, and rigorous analysis of, prosecutorial discretion at the International Criminal Court. This is the first ever study that takes the reader through all the key stages of the Prosecutor’s decision-making process. Starting from preliminary examinations and the decision to investigate, the book also explores case selection processes, plea agreements, culminating in the question of how to end engagement in specific country situations.
The book serves as a guide to the Rome Statute through the lens of the Prosecutor’s activities. With its unique combination of legal theory and specific policy analysis, it addresses broader questions that will be relevant to other international and hybrid criminal courts and tribunals. The book will be of interest to students, practitioners of law, academics, and the wider public concerned with international law, criminal justice and international relations.
Anni Pues is a lecturer in International Law at the University of Glasgow and a criminal and human rights lawyer.
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| A Lesser Species of Homicide: Death, Drivers and the Law
Kerry King, UWA Publishing 2020
The book A Lesser Species of Homicide explores how and why deaths on the road have been treated as a species apart. Globally, the ‘road toll’ is estimated at 1.35 million per year. To date, more than 50 million people have died or been killed, with Australia’s death toll currently in the order of 225,000 people. Almost all of those deaths are attributable to some form of human error. Dr Kerry King explores the shifting nexus where error, fault, act or omission meet the question of criminal liability. King examines how parliaments, prosecutors, police and the courts have responded to deaths on the road from the mid-twentieth century to the present, including the extent to which the community and judiciary have been prepared to deem driving conduct culpable. King traces the construction of offences and case law while observing key emerging themes, including approaches to multiple fatalities, outcomes in cases involving vulnerable road users, the difficulties with prosecuting intoxicated drivers and trends in charging standards and sentencing.
Dr Kerry King is an Adjunct Research Fellow with Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Queensland.
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2020 Criminology Research Grants
The Australian Institute of Criminology has determined that projects funded by the Criminology Research Grants program are procurements. This means the AIC will publish its criminology research requirements on AusTender via an approach to market. Interested parties can register to receive alerts when the AIC advertises on AusTender. The projects will be advertised as Criminology Research Grants.
The AIC encourages applications from organisations or collaborative teams with a demonstrated capacity to deliver high quality criminological research outcomes. Applications will be assessed against the criteria prescribed in the approach to market advertised on AusTender.
Applications closed at 12pm (ACT Local Time) on 8 September 2020.
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Contribute to new journal, Urban Crime
Published by the Laboratory of Urban Criminology of Panteion University with Chief Editor Professor Christina Zarafonitou, this new online journal will present a composite of analyses and syntheses of theory and research on the intersections between crime and the urban environment. It will publish peer-reviewed, original research articles in English, French and Greek. The content of the journal will also include reviews of important new books, analyses and commentaries on current issues in urban crime as well as new releases and presentation of research projects. The journal will occasionally publish thematic/special issues on specific topics related to urban crime with the participation of guest editors. Submissions are open for the second issue and close 30 September 2020.
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Call for papers: Covid and Conflict
The International Journal of Conflict and Violence is calling for submissions documenting the impact of COVID-19 across key topics related to conflict and violence. This encompasses the tracing of local problems linked to the outbreak and their range of intended and unintended consequences, as well as the critical assessment of global questions emerging in a post COVID-19 world. Topics of particular interest include: the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations (refugees, displaced persons, people incarcerated, first-responders, elderly people); and the impact of social-distance measures on recorded levels of crime, including for example homicide and domestic violence, policing practices (staffing levels, deployments), and criminal sanctions (pre-trial detention, community-based sanctions). Empirically grounded submissions from social sciences, human rights, law, and health/public health research and related fields are encouraged. Papers are due by 31 May 2021.
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Call for paper: Policing in a Pandemic
Policing: An International Journal invites submissions for a special issue, 'Policing in a Pandemic', that report on empirical assessments of the effects of Covid-19 on a wide range of issues facing law enforcement. Manuscripts will cover themes such as (list not exhaustive): changes in recruitment and training efforts; adjustments to the provision of public services, including what services are offered and how they are provided; law enforcement readiness for public health crises; short- and long-term effects on health and wellness of sworn and civilian personnel; police problem-solving during a public health crisis; and how the situation is perceived by personnel at all levels. Authors interested in submitting a manuscript should submit an abstract to the guest editor, Janne E. Gaub, by 1 November 2020. Manuscripts should be received no later than 6 June 2021.
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Associate Editor, Correction: Policy, Practice and Research
Correction: Policy, Practice and Research is currently seeking applications for the role of Associate Editor. The chosen applicant will serve as associate editor for the journal for a three-year term from January 2021 through December 2023. The Journal is a peer-reviewed journal with a broad correctional focus encompassing a wide range of relevant topics and innovative approaches from new theoretical perspectives and research findings to their implications for improving policy and practice. Questions about the role of associate editor and/or transition to editor should be directed to current Editor, Dr Cathy Marcum at marcumcm@appstate.edu or current Associate Editor, Dr Tina Freiburger at freiburg@uwm.edu. Applications close on 1 September 2020.
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Criminology Tutors, University of Sydney
The University is Sydney’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Social and Political Sciences is seeking criminology tutors for the course, Introduction to Crime and Criminology.
This is a first-year course suitable for someone who has an understanding of criminological theory and social theory with related research/teaching background. Applicants must have Masters level training or higher in criminology or a related field to be eligible. Please email your expression of interest and CV to Course Coordinator, Dr Estrella Pearce at estrella.pearce@sydney.edu.au by 29 July 2020. Please note that applicants may be contacted before the closing date.
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Dr Estrella Pearce first joined the Sydney Institute of Criminology in July 2019. Estrella is a Lecturer in Criminology at the Department of Sociology and Social Policy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Since her appointment, Estrella has worked on the development of a major in criminology at the University of Sydney. Estrella’s teaching focus is in the areas of victimology, crime and criminal justice, prisons and punishment, culture and crime, crime and deviance, and juvenile justice.
Estrella previously taught criminology at Western Sydney University, where she completed her PhD. Estrella’s PhD thesis, ‘Under-utilisation of youth diversion: exploring multiple perspectives’ focuses on the institutional factors and individual actors directly involved in the application of the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW) to explain the wide failure to divert youth in NSW. The study draws on in-depth interviews with experienced NSW police officers, magistrates and youth justice personnel, to analyse the decision-making process on diversion, while presenting rival perspectives on the under-utilisation of youth diversion under the Act. Paying particular attention to theories and practices of institutionalised cultures, and ‘risk’ management, the reasons behind youth diversion failures are critically analysed.
Estrella’s research interests include the exploration of restorative justice practices, particularly in the context of youth justice. She also has an interest in exploring the various ways in which the broader social/political and micro institutional practices within the criminal justice system affect young women and young Indigenous people. Aside from this, she has recently developed an interest in the area of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.
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Crime Scenes in a Ghost Town: The Atmospherics of Lockdown
5.00pm – 6.15pm, Tuesday 4 August 2020
In this public webinar hosted by the University of Melbourne, Professor Alison Young will reflect on how lockdowns have transformed space and how it is regulated. In conversation with Dr Bianca Fileborn, they will together consider what a city street looks and feels like without crowds, the shifting notions of ‘crime’ during the pandemic, and the consequences of how emergency powers have been implemented. These issues which lockdown has brought into focus have serious implications for our future uses of public space and for the ways in which we experience cities.
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