Sydney Institute of Criminology
CrimNet
30 March 2023
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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. Could you share CrimNet with your peers and help grow the network?
The University of Sydney’s central campus sits on the lands of the Cadigal people of the Eora nation and has campuses as well as teaching and research facilities situated on the ancestral lands of the Wangal, Deerubbin, Tharawal, Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi, Bundjulong, Wiljali and Gereng Gureng peoples. We pay our respects to elders, past, present, and emerging who have cared and continue to care for Country.
CULTURAL ADVICE: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that CrimNet may contain distressing material and images or names of people who have died.
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If you would like to contribute a relevant piece, or post news and opportunities of interest to our audiences, please contact law.criminology@sydney.edu.au.
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Institute Events and Activities
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Community Sanctions and 21st Century Penal Control: Julie Stubbs, Honorary Professor, UNSW
This month, Julie Stubbs spoke to the Institute about community sanctions and penal control in the 21st century. She discussed social conditions stemming from colonialism, differences in the use and effects of forms of penal control at the state, regional and local levels, and the disparities in the use and effects of community sanctions.
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2023/24 Criminal Law CPD Series
The 2023/24 Criminal Law CPD Series, presented by the Sydney Institute of Criminology, is an innovative educational program made up of 8 recorded webinars.
Our series covers a wide range of criminal law topics, including criminal procedure, evidence law, and criminal advocacy. Led by experienced legal professionals, our webinars are designed to help you stay up to date with the latest developments in criminal law and earn your mandatory CPD points.
A new webinar will be released each month from April to November and will include a quiz to test your comprehension of the material being discussed.
Register now for the full series or individual webinars and enjoy the flexibility of watching at your own pace from any location at any time.
Information for lawyers and barristers
If this educational activity is relevant to your professional development and practice of the law, then you should claim 1.5 MCLE/CPD points per seminar attended.
Practitioners are advised to check with the CPD governing body in their jurisdiction for the most accurate and up-to-date information. Find out about interstate accreditation. Cost: Full series (8 x webinars) = $300
Individual webinar(s) = $50
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Criminal Law CPD Series 2023/24
Substantive Law
Dr Andrew Dyer - Available 27 April 2023
The Attorney-General of Western Australia has asked that State’s Law Reform Commission to review Western Australia’s sexual offence laws. In December 2022, the Commission published a Discussion Paper that deals with the law relating to sexual consent and the operation of honest and reasonable mistake of fact in non-consensual sexual offence proceedings. This seminar will consider the various reform options.
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| Criminal Law CPD Series 2022/23
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Dr Andrew Dyer – Available now
It is common for people to deceive other people into engaging in sexual activity with them. But there is sharp division about whether all such deceitful people should be convicted of a sexual offence and, if all or some of them should, which offence(s) should be convicted of.
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Brett Hatfield – Available now
In a system subject to growing case numbers, increasingly regulated pre-trial processes, plea negotiations, and broad discretion, how are those priorities managed? Crown Prosecutor Brett Hatfield will consider those competing priorities and how they are balanced in practice.
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Associate Professor Helen Paterson – Available now
Eyewitness testimony can provide critical leads in investigations and can be extremely persuasive in court. However, inconsistencies or inaccuracies in eyewitness accounts can undermine the perceived credibility of the witness and the value of the evidence.
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Talitha Hennessy – Available now
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the administration of justice and essential services of courts continued through the increased use of communication technologies. The shift to digital or virtual justice in both civil and criminal jurisdictions accelerated with varying degrees of success.
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Professor David Hamer – Available now
Following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Uniform Evidence Law jurisdictions are implementing reforms to the tendency and coincidence evidence provisions. These reforms aim to relax the exclusionary rules so that the prosecution can more readily rely upon other allegations against the defendant and the defendant’s prior guilty pleas.
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John Stratton SC – Available now
Appearing in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal can be an intimidating prospect. Seeking leave, applications brought out of time, questions of law, questions of fact, mixed questions: senior criminal law barrister John Stratton SC will consider these issues and offer best-practice tips developed over the course of his career.
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Judge Paul Lakatos SC - Available now
Balancing the competing priorities of offenders with mental health diagnoses, the community, and the criminal justice system more broadly, is complicated. At the intersection of those interests sits the Mental Health Review Tribunal. The Tribunal endeavours to acknowledge and respect the dignity, autonomy, diversity and individuality of those whose matters it hears and determines. But how are these outcomes achieved?
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Current Issues in Criminal Justice
Special Issue Expressions of Interest
Current Issues in Criminal Justice (‘CICJ’) is the journal of the Sydney Institute of Criminology at the University of Sydney.
The Editor welcomes suggestions for special issue topics; and/or suggestions or self-nominations of individuals to guest edit a special edition in 2024 and beyond.
EOI deadline is Monday 3 April 2023.
Your EOI must include:
- 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 (if available) 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 EOI 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 law.cicj@sydney.edu.au for queries.
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Queer criminology: resources on criminal justice issues facing LGBTIQ+ peoples
As Sydney hosts World Pride and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, Current Issues in Criminal Justice has put together a collection of articles on queer criminology as a resource for practitioners, policymakers and academics. The collection is free to access for February and March 2023.
LGBTIQ+ individuals and communities continue to face a range of challenges from criminal justice institutions. Queer criminology is a growing area of research that seeks to enhance and evaluate efforts to address the inequalities and discrimination faced by LGBTIQ+ people in the criminal justice context. This collection brings together articles on this topic over the last decade as a resource that helps to explain the current socio-legal context in Australian jurisdictions for LGBTIQ+ peoples.
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Current Issues in Criminal Justice
Current Issues in Criminal Justice (CICJ) provides detailed analysis of national and international issues by a range of outstanding contributors. It includes contemporary comments, with discussion at the cutting edge of the crime and justice debate, as well as reviews of recently released books.
CICJ accepts submissions on a rolling basis.
You can access current and previous issues of Current Issues in Criminal Justice here.
If you have a book suitable for review by CICJ, please email the books editor, Celine Van Golde
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PODCAST: Justin Ellis on Drag Queen Story Time and LGBTQ Rights in Australia, America and the United Kingdom
Sydney IC member and CICJ Editor-in-Chief Dr Ellis speaks on The Periphery from the Palaski Institution.
Dr. Justin Ellis is a senior lecturer in criminology at the Newcastle School of Law and Justice. His research into digiqueer criminology critically analyses the relationship between digital media technology, criminal justice, and queer representation and resistance. His broader research focus is on the relationship between digital technologies on institutional accountability and responsible government.
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Reflecting on 25 Years of the Young Offenders Act 1997 in NSW
Date: 5 April
Time: 5:30-7pm
Location: Law Lounge, Level 1, New Law Building/ Hybrid event
In April 1998, the Young Offenders Act 1997 commenced in New South Wales. It provided a legislative basis for the diversion of young people from formal court proceedings and introduced, amongst other things, youth justice conferences. A panel discussion involving key actors in the development and initial implementation of the YOA will reflect on this history and discuss the challenges of implementing the legislation and the benefits of diverting young people from more formal criminal justice interventions.
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Law Council endorses new National Legal Aid report
Law Council of Australia, 27 March 2023
The Law Council endorses the findings within the PwC report The benefits of providing access to justice commissioned by National Legal Aid, and welcomes this body of work which will assist to build an evidence base for the challenges that we all know exist.
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Review Into Australia’s Human Rights Framework
Attorney General, 22 March 2023
The key focus of the Framework was ensuring that education and information about human rights is readily available to everyone in the Australian community. This included the establishment of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the requirement that each Bill be accompanied by a Statement of Compatibility with Australia’s international human rights obligations.
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State of Incarceration: Insights into ImprisonmentJustice Reform Initiative, March 2023
Research reports have been released on the State of Incarceration in ACT and VIC and The Need For Alternatives to Incarceration in Western Australia.
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Attitudes matter: The 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS), Findings for AustraliaANROWS, 29 March 2023
The NCAS is the world’s longest-running population-level survey of community attitudes towards violence against women. The NCAS tells us how people understand violence against women, their attitudes towards it, and if there has been a change over time. It also gauges attitudes to gender equality and people’s preparedness to intervene when witnessing abuse or disrespect towards women.
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‘The reporting process was more traumatising than the assault itself’: LGBTQ+ survivors on accessing support after sexual violence
Bianca Fileborn, et al, The Conversation, 28 March 2023
Gender and sexuality diverse (LGBTQ+) people experience disproportionately high levels of sexual violence, but we still know very little about their experiences of sexual violence and seeking support in Australia.
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Push for community-led programs to reduce NT incarceration rates gets Chamber of Commerce backing
Thomas Morga, ABC, 27 March 2023
The peak body representing businesses in the Northern Territory is backing a push for more community-led programs as alternatives to incarceration, amid an increase in people being sentenced to time behind bars.
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Two arrested as mob sets upon protesters outside Mark Latham event in SydneyMartin Farrer and Christopher Knaus, The Guardian, 22 March 2023
A gay and LGBTI rights group says a group attacked peaceful protesters outside a Catholic church in south-west Sydney, where One Nation’s Mark Latham was giving a speech.
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SAS veteran Oliver Schulz charged with war crime of murder over killing of Afghan man in field
Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Mark Willacy, ABC, 20 March 2023
A decorated former SAS soldier shown in a Four Corners story shooting an Afghan man in a wheat field has become the first Australian serviceman or veteran to be charged with a war crime under Australian law.
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Human rights advocates sound alarm as Queensland passes "dangerous" youth justice changes
Dechlan Brennan, NIT, March 20, 2023
The Queensland government’s controversial youth crime laws which passed the state’s parliament last week have been criticised by legal and human rights groups as “disappointing” and “dangerous".
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The camera never lies? Our research found CCTV isn’t always dependable when it comes to murder investigationsHelen Jones and Fiona Brookman, The Conversation,18 March 2023
As a victim or suspect of a crime, or witness to an offence, you may find your actions, behaviour and character scrutinised by the police or a barrister using CCTV footage. You may assume all the relevant footage has been gathered and viewed. You may sit on a jury and be expected to evaluate CCTV footage to help determine whether you find a defendant guilty or innocent.
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California to transform infamous San Quentin prison with Scandinavian ideas, rehab focus
Anita Chabria, LA Times, 16 March 2023
By 2025, California’s first and most infamous penitentiary, where criminals including Charles Manson and Scott Peterson have done time, will become something entirely different: the largest center of rehabilitation, education and training in the California prison system, and maybe the nation. No longer will it be a maximum security facility. Instead, it will be a place for turning out good neighbors, incorporating Scandinavian methods.
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Sex workers are left out in the cold by Ottawa’s unjust conviction amendments
Steven Maynard, The Conversation, 16 March 2023
The federal government recently announced its intention to amend the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act to expand the list of offences Canadians can apply to have struck from their criminal records. The list now includes abortion-related offences and indecent acts in a bawdy house.
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New data shows 1 in 3 women have experienced physical violence and sexual violence remains stubbornly persistent
Kate Fitz-Gibbon, The Conversation, 15 March 2023
Eight million Australians have experienced violence since the age of 15, according to new findings of the fourth Personal Safety Survey released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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Publications
All open access unless indicated.
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How to implement online warnings to prevent the use of child sexual abuse material
Charlotte Hunn et al, Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 669. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract: Online CSAM offending is a challenge for law enforcement, policymakers and child welfare organisations alike. The use of online warning messages to prevent or deter an individual when they actively search for CSAM is gaining traction as a response to some types of CSAM offending. Yet, to date, the technical question of how warning messages can be implemented, and who can implement them, has been largely unexplored. To address this, we use a case study to analyse the actions individuals and organisations within the technology, government, nongovernment and private sectors could take to implement warning messages. We find that, from a technical perspective, there is considerable opportunity to implement warning messages, although further research into efficacy and cost is needed.
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Modelling drivers of grievance-fuelled violence
Emily Corner, Helen Taylor & Adelaide Bragias,Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 664. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract: Acts of extreme or mass violence perpetrated by lone offenders have become increasingly common in liberal democracies over the past 20 years. Some describe these acts as politically motivated, while others attribute them to mental disorder or criminal intent. However, there is an increasingly common view that the distinction between political ideology, criminal intent and personal motivation is blurred, and that the violence carried out by these individuals is better understood using the broader concept of grievance-fuelled violence. This work employs a multifaceted analytical approach to develop a holistic model of the processes of grievance development.
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Grievance-fuelled violence: Modelling the process of grievance development
Emily Corner & Helen Taylor, Research Report no. 27. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract: Acts of extreme or mass violence perpetrated by lone offenders have become increasingly common in liberal democracies over the past 20 years. Some describe these acts as politically motivated, while others attribute them to mental disorder or criminal intent. This has led to the development of distinct research and practice areas focusing on either violent extremism, mass murder, fixation, stalking, or familial and intimate partner homicide. However, there is increasing understanding that the distinction between political ideology, criminal intent and personal motivation is blurred, and that the violence carried out by these individuals is better understood using the broader concept of grievance-fuelled violence. This work is the first to empirically consolidate the existing research in these distinct areas, employing a multifaceted analytical approach to develop a holistic model of the processes of grievance development among those who commit grievance-fuelled violence.
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Crime by outlaw motorcycle gang members during club conflicts
Timothy Cubitt, Christopher Dowling & Anthony Morgan,Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 667. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract: This study examines the trends in and spatial distribution of recorded offending by Australian outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) affiliates at the onset of a territorial conflict between two clubs in the state of New South Wales. Results show an increase in recorded offending by OMCG affiliates involved in the conflict and based in the disputed territory. Comparable increases in recorded offending by these clubs were not detected in the areas surrounding this territory or in the rest of New South Wales, and there was little mobility into the conflict region by those outside of it. There was a smaller, short-lived increase in recorded crime by affiliates of other gangs in the conflict region but not elsewhere. In short, changes in offending patterns were largely limited to the clubs involved in the conflict and localised to the territory in dispute. This research can help guide focused law enforcement responses during periods of gang conflict.
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Advancing child sexual abuse investigations using biometrics and social network analysis
Russell Brewer, Bryce Westlake, Thomas Swearingen, Stephen Patterson, David Bright, Arun Ross, Katie Logos & Dana Michalski, Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 668. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Abstract: This paper demonstrates how biometric features can be extracted from people in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and examined using social network analysis to reveal important patterns across seized media files. Using an automated software system previously developed by the research team (the Biometric Analyser and Network Extractor), we extract, match and plot multiple biometric attributes (face and voice) from a database of CSAM videos compiled by law enforcement. We apply a series of network measures to illustrate how the biometric match data can be used to rapidly pinpoint key media files associated with an investigation, without the need for an investigator to manually review and catalogue all files. Future directions for this research are also discussed.
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Homicide in Australia 2020–21
Samantha Bicknell, Statistical Report no. 42. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
The National Homicide Monitoring Program is Australia’s only national data collection on homicide incidents, victims and offenders. This report describes the 210 homicide incidents recorded by Australian state and territory police between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. During this 12-month period there were 221 victims of homicide and 263 identified offenders.
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Victim-survivors’ views on and expectations for the criminalisation of coercive control in Australia: Findings from a national survey
Fitz-Gibbon, Kate; Reeves, Ellen; Meyer, Silke; Walklate, Sandra, Monash University Report (2023)
Abstract: This report presents the findings from a national survey of 1261 victim-survivors of coercive control. The survey examined victim-survivors views on the criminalisation of coercive control. This study provides new evidence to inform the safe implementation of coercive control for jurisdictions that proceed to introduce an offence of coercive control. As in all areas of policy development, it is essential that state governments across Australia respond to the evolving evidence-base and ensure that policy and practice reform is informed by the views and experiences of victim-survivors. Queensland and New South Wales state governments have committed to implementing a stand-alone offence of coercive control. This study provides vital insights into the broader reforms needed to best ensure safe implementation of any new laws
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Parental Involvement in Programs to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse: A Systematic Review of Four Decades of Research
Julia I. Rudolph, et al, Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
Abstract: This systematic review is the first to synthesize knowledge of parental involvement in child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria, 24 intervention evaluations met the inclusion criteria of aiming to change parental knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, behavioral intentions, self-efficacy, response-efficacy, or capabilities for prevention of CSA. Included papers were identified via a combination of electronic database searches (PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, World Health Organization’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, google.com.au, open.grey.eu, Global ETD, Open Access Theses & Dissertations, EThOS, and Trove) and direct communication with researchers. Improvement post intervention was found most commonly for parental behavioral intentions and response-efficacy, closely followed by parental behaviors, then capabilities, self-efficacy, knowledge, and lastly, parental attitudes. Improvements in behaviors, intentions, and response-efficacy occurred in 88 to 100% of the studies in which they were addressed, improvements in self-efficacy and capabilities occurred in 67 to 75%, and improvements in knowledge and attitudes occurred in only 50 to 56%. Many of the included evaluation studies suffered from methodological and reporting flaws, such as high participant attrition, lack of control group, lack of statistical tests, missed testing time points, and a lack of (or short) follow-up. Future parent-focused CSA prevention evaluations must address these concerns by conducting rigorous empirical research with sound methodologies and comprehensive reporting. Furthermore, study designs should consider measuring the real-world impact of increases in assessed parent variables, including their ability to prevent sexual victimization of children.
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Ben Crewe on the Bench? Bringing the Dimensional Pains of Punishment into the Courtroom
David Hayes, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
Abstract: Penal subjectivists argue that the severity of punishment ought to be measured in terms of penal subjects’ actual experiences, rather than that intended by sentencing authorities. One challenge that subjectivists must confront, however, is that it is difficult to meaningfully compare the subjective experiences of different individuals, in a way that is sufficiently equitable and consistent to satisfy the requirements of just sentencing. This paper considers the prospects and pitfalls of Ben Crewe’s dimensional approach to the pains of imprisonment as a means of overcoming this challenge during sentencing. Crewe’s ground-breaking work takes the “deprivations and frustrations” of everyday prison life associated with Gresham Sykes, and subjects them to four spatial metaphors that help to trace differences between penal experiences: depth; weight; tightness; and breadth. The applicability of this approach to sentencing decision-making is considered, and implications are drawn for sentencing research agendas.
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Child First Developing a New Youth Justice System
Stephen Case and Neal Hazel (eds), Springer
Summary: This book explores the development and implementation of Child First as an innovative guiding principle for improving youth justice systems. Applying contemporary research understandings of what leads to positive child outcomes and safer communities, Child First challenges traditional risk-led and stigmatising approaches to working with children in trouble. It has now been adopted as the four-point guiding principle for all policy and practice across the youth justice system in England and Wales, it is becoming a key reform principle for youth justice in Northern Ireland, and it is increasingly influential across several western jurisdictions. With contributions from academics, policymakers and practitioners, this book critically charts the progress and challenges in establishing a progressive evidence-led youth justice system. Its dynamic and accessible integration of theory, research, policy and practice, alongside discussion of critical themes, makes it a key read for students on youth crime/justice modules and for a wider market.
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Punishment as Text
Netanel Dagan and Adiel Zimran, Punishment and Society
Abstract: Punishment is often performed through judicial texts. Narrative criminology scholarship, however, has paid little attention to how criminalised people engage with these texts when constructing their self-narratives. To fill this gap, based on qualitative findings from formerly incarcerated people in Israel, this paper aimed to theorise their engagement with their sentencing remarks (SR). We found that they experienced their SR as text that held communicative, transformative and physical dimensions. The findings showed that SR impacted criminalised persons by individualising the penal dialogue, transforming their identity, and serving as objects for performing rituals during their imprisonment and upon release. The findings contribute to an understanding of the connection between judicial work and incarcerated people's desistance and identity-making processes through the textual bridge of SR.
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Unpacking preventive policing: Towards a holistic framework
Hjørdis Birgitte Ellefsen, et al, International Journal of Police Science & Management
Abstract: Assuming that society is better off if the harm caused by crime – including the costs entailed by the investigation, prosecution and punishment – can be avoided, the proactive approach of preventive policing (PP) is generally promoted and understood as a good and effective solution. In this article, we unpack the concept of PP by analysing how it has been understood and practised across time and space, and find that the ‘preventive turn’ and current aspirations for a police service with a ‘preventative mindset’ seem to require a return to a police role that might be incompatible with the liberal and democratic ideals of today. We argue for the need for a holistic approach and outline six key elements for an overarching theoretical framework that is sensitive to the fundamental challenges of the ‘preventive turn’. This includes arguing for the need for an awareness of how the problems that are to be prevented are defined; how preventative interventions are directed; what role the police and other actors should play; how underlying rationalities and logics may affect the understanding, implementation and outcome of PP; how effects and consequences can be measured; and the need for legal and ethical limitations and guidelines.
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Survivors’ Paths Toward Forgiveness in Restorative Justice Following Sexual Violence
Natalie Hadar and Tali Gal, Criminal Justice and Behavior
Abstract: Sexual violence (SV) yields complex justice and therapeutic needs among its survivors. Restorative justice (RJ), conducted in addition to or instead of the criminal justice process following SV, provides a platform to address these needs and repair the harm. This study describes the dynamics of RJ processes following SV, leading to the emergence of dialogic forgiveness. Dialogic forgiveness refers to a reduction in negative thoughts, feelings, and motivations toward the responsible person (RP), and the emergence of positive ones within a process of mutual communication between the survivor, RP, and supporters. Focusing on survivors’ experiences, this study, conducted in Israel, is based on 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews with SV survivors who participated in RJ encounters, their five supporters, and five RJ facilitators. Gestures of accountability, humanization, and gratitude were identified as crucial elements of implicit and explicit dialogic forgiveness, demonstrating the healing power of RJ following SV.
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Children and police questioning: A rights-based approach
Louise Forde and Ursula Kilkelly, Criminology & Criminal Justice
Abstract: Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children in conflict with the law are entitled to dignity and respect for their rights within a youth justice system adapted to their age and circumstances. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the necessity of ensuring that children’s rights are protected during the criminal process, emphasising the importance of legal advice, information and support to enable their participation in the process. Police questioning can be a particularly difficult experience for children, given their vulnerability and immaturity and yet it can have very serious consequences for children. This article examines the rights of the child during police questioning, from the perspective of children themselves. Presenting the findings of a study of children’s experiences of their rights when being questioned by the police (An Garda Síochána) in Ireland, the article highlights the need to adapt police questioning processes to the needs and circumstances of the child, while emphasising the powerful case for greater involvement of children in research about criminal justice and policing so that their experiences of their rights can be better understood.
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An examination of the code of the street code and the dark figure of crime among an institutionalized sample
Mark Heirigs and Jacob Erickson, Criminal Justice Studies
Abstract: There have been a number of studies that have examined the relationship between Anderson’s code of the street and criminogenic behavior. However, little research has been done on the potential relationship between street code adherence and the dark figure of crime. Using a sample of 299 institutionalized individuals the authors examine the relationship between street code adherence and official and unofficial records of assaults and motor vehicle theft. Results official records indicated that street code adherence was not significantly related to either offense type. However, when self-report data for assaults and motor vehicle theft was analyzed, there was strong evidence that street code adherence was a significant predictor. The results suggest that street code adherence is a better predictor of self-report offenses than those measured by official records. Thus, street code adherence may be key to shedding light on the dark figure of crime.
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Economic evaluations of mental health interventions in criminal justice
Martin Knapp and Gloria Wong, Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health
Abstract: There is a paucity of high-quality economic evidence, especially from cost-benefit analyses. However, there is some evidence of cost-effectiveness in support of interventions at the point of incarceration, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, multisystemic therapy for juvenile delinquents, therapeutic communities, electronic monitoring and telepsychiatry in forensic psychiatry settings. There is also evidence that post-incarceration interventions such as assertive community treatment can be cost-effective.
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Beyond ‘stagnation and change’?: Path dependency, translation and the ‘layering’ over time of Irish penal policy
Claire Hamilton, The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
Abstract: In the past decade or so a significant body of work on ‘Hibernian exceptionalism’ to broader punitive trends has emerged. The dominant argument and characterisation of Irish penality within this broad schema is that it is exceptional for having been largely stagnant. This article takes issue with the stagnation or ‘stickiness’ that is often supposed to characterise the Irish penal system arguing that stagnation as a form of ‘path dependency’ fails to adequately account for key moments of penal change and downplays the temporal dynamics that are often apparent in policy development. Using two key ‘policy windows’ as case studies – the 1996 ‘moral panic’ over crime and the post-2011 turn to a more progressive penal politics – it argues that greater consideration should be given to the ‘translation’ and ‘layering’ of policy decisions and the growing complexity of policy space that may result.
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Wrongful convictions and claims of false or misleading forensic evidence
John Morgan, Journal of Forensic Sciences
Abstract: The results are reported of a study to examine case factors associated with 732 wrongful convictions classified by the National Registry of Exonerations as being associated with “False or Misleading Forensic Evidence.” A forensic error typology has been developed to provide a structure for the categorization and coding of factors relating to misstatements in forensic science reports; errors of individualization or classification; testimony errors; issues relating to trials and officers of the court; and evidence handling and reporting issues. This study, which included the analysis of 1391 forensic examinations, demonstrates that most errors related to forensic evidence are not identification or classification errors by forensic scientists. When such errors are made, they are frequently associated with incompetent or fraudulent examiners, disciplines with an inadequate scientific foundation, or organizational deficiencies in training, management, governance, or resources. More often, forensic reports or testimony miscommunicate results, do not conform to established standards, or fail to provide appropriate limiting information. Just as importantly, actors within the broader criminal justice system—but not under the purview of any forensic science organization—may contribute to errors that may be related to the forensic evidence. System issues include reliance on presumptive tests without confirmation by a forensic laboratory, use of independent experts outside the administrative control of public laboratories, inadequate defense, and suppression or misrepresentation of forensic evidence by investigators or prosecutors. In approximately half of wrongful convictions analyzed, improved technology, testimony standards, or practice standards may have prevented a wrongful conviction at the time of trial.
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Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice ReformCLEAR
Date: 30 March 2023
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM EDT
Venue: Online
CLEAR’s Criminal Justice Task Force Series produced in conjunction with the Hinckley Allen Racial Justice Fellows presents Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. Join Professor Deborah Ramirez, Chair of the Criminal Justice Task Force and Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR) for a virtual discussion. Guest speakers Susan Maze-Rothstein, Executive Director of the Center for Restorative Justice, and Dennis Everett, Director of Restorative Justice Practices at Suffolk University, will discuss how the restorative justice paradigm as it compares to the traditional western legal system.
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Webinar: New survey questions and new evidence: What does the 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey tell us?
ANROWS
Date: 5 April 2023
Time: 1- 2:30pm
Venue: Online
The 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS) report will be published at the end of March 2023. The findings from this large-scale survey tell us how well Australians understand violence against women, how much they support gender equality, how strongly they condone or reject violence against women, and whether this has changed over time.
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Book Launch - Australian Courts: Controversies, Challenges and Change
Date: 05 April 2023
Time: 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Zoom
Dr Marg Camilleri, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Federation University, and Dr Alistair Harkness, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of New England, have recently edited a book exploring controversies, challenges and change within the Australian courts system.
Australian Courts: Controversies, Challenges and Change (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) is an edited collection which brings together scholars and practitioners in every chapter to provide a comprehensive and unique exploration of courts in Australia. The primary focus is to identify controversies, challenges and change, in the form of potential reforms within the courts across Australian jurisdictions.
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3rd Vulnerable Persons Conference: Youth Justice
The University of Southern Queensland
Date: 11 - 12 May 2023
Venue: UniSQ Toowoomba
The 3rd Vulnerable Persons Conference: Youth Justice is being hosted by the University of Southern Queensland’s School of Law and Justice and School of Psychology and Wellbeing. Conference attendees can attend in person at the University’s Toowoomba Campus or online from Thursday 11th to Friday 12th May 2023.
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Law and Emotion: A Misunderstood RelationMacquarie University
Date: Tuesday 16 May 2023
Time: 5.15pm – 7.30pm
Venue: Banco Court, Supreme Court of New South Wales, Law Courts Building
Law is typically associated with reason and rationality. The principle of law’s rational nature underpins legal philosophy, training and practice, and this is enshrined in the foundational legal value: impartiality. Emotion, in this context, is regarded as the troubling dimension of humanity that disturbs law’s orderly working. At the same time, emotion is impossible to ignore.
In this public lecture, leading international thinkers, Professor Susan Bandes (DePaul University, Chicago) and Professor Richard Weisman (York University, Canada), will explore the role that emotion plays, doesn’t play, and is expected to play in law and legal processes.
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2023 National Access to Justice and Pro Bono ConferenceLaw Council of Australia, the Australian Pro Bono Centre, and the Queensland Law Society
21 – 23 June 2023 | Brisbane
For the first time since March 2019, members of the legal assistance sector from around the country will come together to explore the various challenges and opportunities associated with enhancing access to legal services and pro bono work.
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Applied Research in Crime and Justice ConferenceBOSCAR
Date: 14-15 August 2023
Venue: International Convention Centre, Sydney
The conference aims to showcase practical, policy-relevant research with a direct bearing on effective criminal justice administration and reducing crime. The two-day event will feature presentations and panel discussions with distinguished academics and speakers from across the world including keynote addresses by Professor Aaron Chaflin, University of Pennsylvania, and Professor Jason Payne, University of Wollongong.
Abstract submissions are now invited from researchers who have completed, or are conducting empirical, policy-relevant projects on crime and/or criminal justice issues. Areas of interest include (but are not limited to): crime, policing, offender rehabilitation, victimisation, Aboriginal over-representation, corrections, juvenile justice, domestic violence, early intervention, and criminal justice administration. Interdisciplinary applications are welcomed.
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Prato 2023 – Stronger Trajectories, Safer Communities: Improving welfare, mental health and legal responses to crimeSwinburne University of Technology and Monash University.
Dates: 25 September to 28 September
Venue: Monash University Prato Centre, Italy
Crime and its impacts are far reaching. Punitive and other carceral responses, including the criminalisation of young people have broad social, legal, economic and health consequences. Media and public discourse are often reactionary, emphasising law and order responses, but most crimes are rooted in broader social circumstances.
Expanding prisons and relying on punitive responses is unsustainable and unnecessary since effective intervention and preventative strategies can lead to desistance. Various professionals are involved in efforts to productively and positively respond to crime whether this is from a welfare, legal, criminal justice or mental health perspective.
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Social Worker - Legal Assistance for Vulnerable Women
ALS Newcastle, NSW
Applications Close: 10 April 2023
The Aboriginal Legal Service is offering an exciting opportunity to help establish a wraparound service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women affected by or a risk of family and domestic violence. Enjoy coming to work each day with a purpose-driven organisation that makes a real difference.
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Abstract Submissions: Applied Research in Crime and Justice Conference
BOSCAR
Abstract submission extended to 5pm Friday 14 April 2023
Abstract submissions are now invited from researchers who have completed, or are conducting empirical, policy-relevant projects on crime and/or criminal justice issues. Areas of interest include (but are not limited to): crime, policing, offender rehabilitation, victimisation, Aboriginal over-representation, corrections, juvenile justice, domestic violence, early intervention, and criminal justice administration. Interdisciplinary applications are welcomed.
Abstracts should be no more than 200 words in length and should be structured in a way that reveals the aim, method, results, and conclusion of the paper. Please include your name, institutional affiliation, contact email and/or phone number: bocsar_seminars@justice.nsw.gov.au.
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Call for input on The use of technology in facilitating and preventing contemporary forms of slavery
UNCHR
Submissions close: 14 April 2023
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, wishes to focus his next thematic report to the General Assembly on “the use of technology in facilitating and preventing contemporary forms of slavery”. For the purpose of the report, he aims to also assess the experiences of survivors/victims who have been recruited and exploited in conducts within his mandate, particularly forced labour, the worst form of child labour, and forced and early marriage, with the use of modern technology in addition to analysing information from multiple other stakeholders and sources.
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Australian Feminist Law Journal - Call for Editorial Board Members
Applications Close: 17 April 2023
Editorial Board Members are responsible for the day-to-day work of running the AFLJ and should expect to contribute about 10-15 hours per month (with some variability during the year). Editorial Board Members are expected to work collaboratively as part of the broader collective, in alignment with the AFLJ’s intersectional and trans-inclusive feminist values and praxis. Editorial Board Members are required to attend editorial meetings and contribute to the strategic direction and growth of the AFLJ’s mission and work.
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Nominations for the 2023 ACVPA now open.
Australian Institute of Criminology
Submissions close: 20 April 2023, 5 pm AEST
The annual Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards (ACVPA) recognise and reward programs that reduce crime and violence in Australia. The awards encourage public initiatives, and assist governments in identifying and developing practical projects which will reduce violence and other types of crime in the community.
Any government agency, not-for-profit organisation or individual person making a significant contribution to a project in Australia can be nominated for an award. Projects may address specific groups such as rural and remote communities, women, children, youth, family, migrant, ethnic or Indigenous communities, or specific problems such as alcohol-related violence.
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Call for abstracts: Prato 2023 – Stronger Trajectories, Safer Communities: Improving welfare, mental health and legal responses to crime
Submissions close: 28 April 2023
Conference dates: Mon 25 September to Thu 28 September 2023
Venue: Monash University Prato Centre, Italy
This international conference seeks to bring together policy contributors, lawyers, clinicians, legal decision makers, advocates, and researchers to work together and learn from each other to explore and describe, from a cross-disciplinary perspective, legal, welfare, clinical and strategic responses to addressing, intervening and preventing criminal behaviour.
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Call for Papers: Routledge International Handbook of Critical Policing Studies
Submissions close: 30 April 2023
Editors: Professor Nicole L Asquith, Dr Jess Rodgers, James Clover, Professor Gary Cordner, Inspector Rishweena Ahmed, Associate Professor Angela Dwyer
The policing of behaviour, norms and safety is undertaken in a range of informal and formal ways. Enlivening public safety and wellbeing cannot be achieved by police (alone). This handbook will consider policing from across the continuum of reforms to police, refunding public safety, and alternatives to police and policing. The aim of the handbook is to imagine how the goals of public safety and wellbeing can be achieved in ways that do not unnecessarily sustain the need for (the expansion of) police, nor abrogate our obligations to respond to the ‘hue and cry’ of our neighbour. The editors of this handbook welcome contributions that consider policing as concept, technique, practice, and/or institution.
We are interested in submissions exploring any of the following topics. This is not an exhaustive list, and alternative topics will be considered:
Reform to police—trust in police, diversity and police/policing, police leadership, policing outside of the metropole, police oversight and accountability, police training, police recruitment.
Refund public safety and wellbeing—law enforcement and public health, desistance-led policing, restorative justice, vulnerability, subaltern communities and safety.
Alternatives to police and policing—police abolition, community safety strategies, mutual aid, decolonising safety, human rights and justice.
You may wish to include a police or community practitioner in the writing of your chapter.
Abstracts and working titles will be required by 30 April 2023, and authors will be notified of the editors’ decision by 31 May 2023. Complete chapters of 4000 to 5000 words (including reference lists) will be due by 31 October 2023, for publication in mid-2024. All authors will receive a hard copy of, and electronic access to, the handbook.
If you would like to author a chapter for this submission, please send an abstract of 300 words to jess.rodgers@utas.edu.au with the subject line Critical Policing Studies Chapter Proposal and your name.
If you would like more information about the scope of the proposed collection before submitting a proposal, please email us at jess.rodgers@utas.edu.au with the subject line Critical Policing Studies Inquiry and your name.
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Call for inputs – Sanctions Research Platform
UNHR
Deadline: 31 December 2023
The Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights is collecting article, reports, videos and any research material and information, for the establishment of an online research platform on sanctions and human rights (Sanctions Research Platform).
The Special Rapporteur would like to invite all interested individuals and organizations working on issues related to the impact of unilateral sanctions, including experts, academics and research institutes, civil society organizations and all stakeholders, international and regional organizations, human rights bodies, national human rights institutions, journalists, archivists individuals and any relevant actors, to provide any research material useful for the preparation of the Sanctions Research Platform.
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BLOGS, INTERVIEWS & PODCASTS
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How Hawaiʻi Is Ending Youth Incarceration After More Than a Century of Colonization
Annabelle Le Jeune, Non-Profit Quarterly 19 January 2023
A young Native Hawaiian farmer shows up to work every day to cultivate indigenous crops using traditional and contemporary methods to feed his island home community. The best part of going to work, he says, is the view. Each day, he farms within the embrace of the Olomana mountain peak’s undulating, lush ridge. Sitting between the farm where he works and the view that he loves is the Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility.
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De-radicalising from the 'manosphere'
Reported by Oliver Gordon, ABC, 17 Mar 2023
The 'manosphere' refers to a collection of Internet communities defined by their staunchly anti-feminist and misogynistic beliefs. But as more members of these groups see the limitations of such thinking, support groups for people leaving the movement are popping up.
Featuring: Josh Thorburn, Monash University
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DPRU Q&As: Dr Monisha Lakshminarayanan, social work researcher in India
Death Penalty Research Unit, University of Oxford
17 March 2023
In this instalment of the DPRU's Q&A series with death penalty experts from around the world, social work researcher Dr Monisha Lakshminarayanan tells Carolyn Hoyle about her experiences of interviewing people on death row in India with Project 39A.
“I realised how worried they were for their families, and how they yearned for basic needs and, above all, to be treated like human beings. They were extremely vulnerable to the harsh prison conditions, experiencing extreme stress and seeing the authorities as apathetic to their mental and physical health. It was a far cry from the belligerent responses I was told to expect from them. On the contrary, they were receptive to any possible news I could give them about the outside world that especially about their families and the progress of their appeals. When they were told that I had little significant information pertaining to them or their case, they did not complain; they said it was good just to talk to someone.”
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"Everyone knows that children do their best when they are supported, nurtured and loved. But right now across Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested by police, charged with an offence, hauled before a court and locked away in a prison.
We know these laws are harming children at a critical time in their lives. When children are forced through a criminal legal process, at such a formative time in their development, they can suffer lifelong harm to their health, wellbeing and future"
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