CrimNet

04 March 2024

'SINS of the MOTHER' 

Institute member, Professor Arlie Loughnan was quoted in an article about a US woman who was charged after giving her child a gun he used in a school shooting. 

Read here. 

Peering into the mind: Thought police or crime prevention?

Institute Co-Deputy Director, Dr Allan McCay discussed about recidivism and neurotechnology and its connection to sentencing in courts. 

See here. 

Dr Justin Ellis is a criminologist studying the impact of digital media technology on crime and criminalisation and how it affects police accountability in cases of police excessive force.

He is a member of Sydney Institute of Criminology and the Deputy Editor-in-chief of Current Issues in Criminal Justice. 

Dr Ellis is particularly interested in how the widespread availability of digital video and its direct upload to social media has allowed more public exposure of police excessive force.

NSW safety summit 

Institute member, Dr Justin Ellis based at the University of Newcastle School of Law and Justice was invited to present on a panel with state member for Sydney Alex Greenwich MP and Professor Nicole Asquith at a safety summit co-hosted by City of Sydney and ACON, facilitated by Benjamin Law.  

Other panels heard representatives from the eSafety Commissioner, Equality Australia, NSW Trans Justice Project, Local Government NSW, and  Anti-discrimination NSW. The half-day summit was attended by 150 people. Recommendations from the summit have been complied by the Lord Mayor of Sydney and will inform ongoing conversations with relevant stakeholders, including the NSW Police Commissioner.

Launch of Sydney Qtopia museum

The themes from the summit were also front and centre at the launch of the Qtopia museum in Sydney, and which was attended by Anthony Albanese PM, the federal member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek MP, the NSW premier Chris Minns MP, state member for Sydney Alex Greenwich MP and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. In his address, Qtopia CEO Greg Fisher mentioned Justice Sackar’s suggestion of the establishment of a queer heritage project to educate on the history recorded in his report from the special commission of inquiry into LGBTIQ+ hate crimes 1970-2010, and the broader historical context in which it took place. Mr Fisher mentioned Dr Ellis’ suggestion of ‘pre-bunking’ campaigns as a pre-emptive communication strategy to address an increase in misinformation and disinformation targeting LGBTIQ+ people. 

Time Out 24 February 2024 It’s here, it’s Queer: Sydney’s landmark new LGBTQIA+ history museum is now open. 

Read here. 

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.

Editor: Professor Colin King, member of the Sydney Institute of Criminology

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 at celine.vangolde@sydney.edu.au 

For more updates, follow CICJ on X here.

Conference: Applied Research in Crime and Justice; Griffith Criminology Institute 

Conference Date: 1-2 July 2024

Venue: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

Griffith Criminology Institute, in partnership with the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), is pleased to invite you to the Applied Research in Crime and Justice Conference. The conference will be held on 1 – 2 July 2024 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The conference showcases practical, policy-relevant research with a direct bearing on effective criminal justice administration and crime prevention. The event serves as a platform for bringing together policymakers, academics and influential stakeholders from public, private, and university sectors.

For more information, see here. 

Post Doc Research Fellow - ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

University of Melbourne 

Applications close: 05 March 2024 

The University of Melbourne is seeking for a Post Doc Research Fellow to work as part of a team in partnership with with ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) researchers, Partner Investigators and Organisations.

For more information, see here. 

Internship Program 

NSW Law Reform Commission 

Applications close: 14 March 2024 

An internship at the Secretariat provides an opportunity to work closely with Law Reform Commissioners, Sentencing Council members and Secretariat staff and contribute directly to developing proposals for law reform. Depending on the project this could mean undertaking research, contributing to drafting consultation documents, assisting with consultation processes, or helping draft reports. The Commission and Council acknowledge the contribution of interns in their published papers.

For more information, see here. 

PhD candidate on procedural fairness in virtual criminal proceedings

Tilburg Law School

Applications close: 31 March 2024

Tilburg Law School is seeking an enthusiastic colleague for the position PhD candidate in the Department of Criminal Law.

Despite their foundations in written (procedure) law, criminal trials are living instruments and can take different shapes and forms over time. Since the COVID-19 pandemic the use of communication technology and digital means in criminal courtrooms has increased considerably. This development raises fundamental questions as to how technology impacts and changes traditional concepts of (fair) criminal procedure. As a PhD researcher you will carry out independent academic research in this fascinating and largely unexplored area of criminal procedure (law) and your primary responsibility will be to write a PhD thesis.

For more information, see here. 

The University of Sheffield is making a significant investment in Criminology by appointing up to two Chairs and one Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Law, following its strong performance in REF2021. 

Chairs

Application close: 09 April 2024

The Chair posts are open to applicants from all areas of criminology and/or criminal justice, with expertise in the international/global dimensions of the discipline. University of Sheffield are looking for scholars with potential to lead the CCR in the future, working with and involving colleagues in different disciplines from within and beyond the University. 

For more information, see here. 

Senior Lecturer

Application close: 09 April 2024

The Senior Lecturer post is also open to applicants from all areas of criminology and/or criminal justice, but University of Sheffield are especially keen to attract excellent applicants in the areas of Crime and Technology and/or Green Criminology. 

For more information, see here. 

Call for creative content 

Feminist Legal Studies 

Feminist Legal Studies is seeking creative content for our Reflections section of the journal.

FLS is looking for:
• Writing that considers and contextualises law, policy, feminist theory, praxis or
feminist legal practice.
• Work that engages with recent events, historic developments, marks a significant
anniversary, for example of legislation or a landmark case, or an area of law where the
academic literature is scarce.
• Analytical and curated accounts of roundtables, conversations and interviews with
academics, lawyers and/or activists.
• Reflections that draw on personal engagement with feminist activism and events. These
are particularly welcome especially where they might not otherwise find an academic
audience.
• Material taking innovative and creative forms that challenge conventional styles of
academic writing. This may include poetry, art, photography and film and performing
arts reviews.

Word length: 2000 – 4000 words (or open to discussion if in another medium).

FLS is open to group-based submissions if you are interested in a ‘reflection series.’
Reflection Editors are keen to discuss ideas and welcome enquiries about the nature/form of proposals in advance of submission.

Contact the Reflections Editors with proposals/ideas: Loveday Hodson, Farnush Ghadery , and Senthorun Raj.

Submit to FLS here. 

Call for abstracts: Punishment in Global Peripheries 

University of Oxford, National University of Litoral 

Deadline: 01 April 2024 

In 2021, the first international conference ‘Punishment in Global Peripheries’ was held online in an attempt to challenge the Northern-centric approach that has dominated the literature on punishment and society.

The fourth International conference ‘Punishment in Global Peripheries’ will take place in Santa Fe (Argentina). Contribuitons on punishment in peripheral contexts and papers that particularly engage and explore with the following topics are welcomed: 

- Past and present effects of imperialism and colonialism in contemposry penality 

- Travels of penal policies and knowledge across core and peripheral contexts, and within peripheral contexts and regions 

- Complexities and peculiar features of penal trends, institutions and practices in peripheral settings

- Innovative methodological and theoretical perspectives to think of peripheral realisties and penalities 

Submission of Abstracts: 

Please send an abstract of up to 300 words by 01 April 2024 to delitoysociedad@unl.edu.ar  with your name, affiliation and email address. In the document, indicate whether you intend to participate in the conference in person or online. There is limited funding available for speakers' accommodation, so please indiciate whether you want to be considered for that. Proposals should be in a word format, and their title should be the author's surname. Decisions shall be communicated no later than 15 April 2024. Authors whose abstracts are accepted should sent their papers (6,000 - 8,000 words) by 10 July 2024. 

This event will be held in a hybrid format, physically taking place in the National University of Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina, but online participation will also be made possible. 

This conference is hosted by the Global Criminal Justice Hub of the Oxford Centre for Criminology (United Kingdom) and the Programme Crime & Society and the Master in Criminology, National University of Litoral (Argentina). 

Call for proposals on Queer Law

Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies

‘Queer’ and ‘law’ often come into conflict. Queer, as a dynamic theoretical position, 
produces frameworks to analyse, critique, represent, and politicise non-normativity, 
typically in relation to minoritised bodies, intimacies, genders, and sexualities. 

This series invites monographs, short Pivots (25-50k words), and edited collections which engage with these productive conflicts. 

This series particularly welcomes contributions from early career scholars researching topics relating to:
• Queer methods of litigation, advocacy, and adjudication.
• Legal and policy interventions aimed at queer lives, bodies, cultures, and communities. 
• The relationship between pursuits of queer activism, law reform, and policy change. 
• Queer articulations of legal rights, benefits, entitlements, responsibilities, and jurisdictions. 
• Queer engagements with legal research, scholarship, teaching, and writing. 

For more information or general queries, please contact: Editorial Board member: Senthorun Raj, Series Editor: Dave Cowan Or the Palgrave Editor Josie.

For more information, see here. 

Call for Abstracts: Strengthening Connections: The Power of Relationships and Strong Service Partnerships

16th April – 18th April 2024

In collaboration with the Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria, the Australasian Youth Justice Administrators (AYJA) are partnering with the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science at Swinburne University of Technology to deliver the 5th Australasian Youth Justice Conference. 

The conference is a three-day event of presentations, keynote addresses, Q & A, and panel discussions. The overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and Māori young people will be a critical focus of the conference, and responsive and holistic approaches to address overrepresentation issues will be threaded throughout the conference program.

For more information, see here. 

Forensics: The Cattai Double Murder

Crime Insiders

CCTV has helped capture criminals all across the world, but, catching a killer on camera isn't as clear cut as you might think. In fact, what may seem like the smoking gun in a case, forensic photography is actually a complex and often misunderstood field. 

Associate Professor Glenn Porter (University of New England) is an expert in forensic photography, and has spent decades taking pictures of crime scenes, presenting evidence and explaining how the science of video and photographer works in a forensic investigation . 

Protest law in New South Wales; Parliamentary Research Service

Tom Gotsis & Rowena Johns

This paper updates a 2015 paper by the NSW Parliamentary Research Service. It examines the right to protest in NSW and the central role of the Summary Offences Act 1988, which encourages co-operation between protesters and police. That Act can also result in courts issuing ‘authorisation’ and ‘prohibition’ orders, and the effects of those orders are discussed.

The paper then considers the offences and police powers that apply to protests in NSW, including offences introduced in the Roads and Crimes Legislation Amendment Act 2022. One of the offences introduced by the 2022 Act was found to be partly invalid in Kvelde v State of New South Wales, because it infringed the implied freedom of political communication under the Australian Constitution.

The paper also discusses protest law in other states and territories, including recent legislation affecting protests.

Peer-reviewed paper, Australian Institute of Criminology

This study investigated the risk factors for dating app and website users receiving requests from other users to facilitate child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA). It did so by analysing data from a large survey (n=9,987) of dating app and website users residing in Australia.

Dating app and website users who were younger, lived with children, were Indigenous or had a health condition (ie disability) were more likely than other users to be asked to facilitate CSEA. Further, respondents who were more frequent or active dating app/website users, who paid for the dating service or who linked their social media account to their dating profile were also more likely to receive requests for CSEA. These findings can assist online dating companies to implement new features and education messages that protect users and their children from harm.

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