Sydney Institute of Criminology
CrimNet
19 August 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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NSW Bar Association calls for more ambitious targets to reduce Indigenous incarceration
The New South Wales Bar Association President, Tim Game SC, has released two statements this month calling for more ambitious targets to reduce Indigenous over-representation in Australia’s criminal justice system. Mr Game has backed the call by the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT for NSW and ACT Governments to lead the way and voluntarily adopt a 10-year justice target to end Indigenous over-imprisonment.
The statements follow the Federal Government’s announcement of Closing the Gap justice targets to reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent by 2031; and reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people (10-17 years) in detention by 30 per cent by 2031.
The New South Wales Bar Association points to figures released by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) on 4 August 2020 showing a remarkable decline in the NSW prison population over 8 weeks from mid-March 2020. From 15 March to 10 May 2020 the prison population decreased by 10.7 per cent or 1,508 people; and the youth detention population fell by 27 per cent or 73 detainees from February to June 2020.
“These figures clearly show how unambitious the Commonwealth justice target really is. Reducing the prison population can evidently be done successfully, efficiently and much more quickly, without impermissibly compromising community safety,” Mr Game said. "There is no reason to expect that similar results could not be achieved to address the significant and unacceptable over-representation of First Nations People in Australian prisons."
The fall in the prison population coincided with COVID-19 mitigation strategies in the community and within the justice system, including the postponement of court cases, changes in bail decisions and the release of people on remand.
"First Nations led organisations have consistently advocated that governments can end the over-incarceration of First Nations People within a decade. BOCSAR's figures substantiate this claim. These new figures confirm that where there is a political will, there is a way to practically achieve a substantial and swift reduction in the number of First Nations People in custody. Addressing this crisis must be a matter of national urgency," Mr Game said.
The New South Wales Bar Association has also called on the Commonwealth and NSW Governments to respond to and implement the Australian Law Reform Commission's Pathways to Justice Report recommendations, including:
- the establishment of an independent justice reinvestment body, overseen by a Board with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, and the initiation of justice reinvestment trials to promote engagement in the criminal justice system;
- the establishment of properly resourced, specialist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sentencing courts to be designed and implemented in consultation with Aboriginal organisations, including the Walama Court in the NSW District Court;
- the diversion of resources from the criminal justice system to community based initiatives that aim to address the causes of Indigenous incarceration; and
- the expansion of culturally appropriate community-based sentencing options, resourced and supported by the State Government.
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Aboriginal people twice as likely to get a jail sentence, data shows
Ella Archibald-Binge, Nigel Gladstone and Rhett Wyman, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 August 2020.
Extract: Aboriginal people account for about one-third of matters on this particular day, despite making up around 5 per cent of the local population. Most are ALS clients. In part two of an investigation into interactions between First Nations people and the criminal justice system, the Herald examines the courts, with exclusive figures revealing Indigenous people who go to court in the Northern Rivers and Sydney regions are twice as likely to go to jail than non-Indigenous offenders.
Local court data obtained by the Herald under freedom of information laws shows Aboriginal people who live in the Richmond-Tweed region and Sydney city areas were twice as likely as non-Aboriginal people to go to jail for any offence in the four years up to 2019.
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NSW Police State Crime Command podcast
The NSW Police Force has launched an official 'true crime' podcast series: NSW Police State Crime Command Investigations.
The podcast series will cover active cases, including cold case homicide investigations and sex crime investigations, and call for the public to provide information on the unsolved crimes through Crime Stoppers.
The first podcast in the series explores the long-term missing persons case of Passy Reyes, a year 12 student who left her family’s home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches early one morning in 2001.
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Submissions open to review of sentencing - assaults on emergency workers The NSW Attorney General has asked the NSW Sentencing Council to review the sentencing for offences involving assaults on police officers, correctional staff, youth justice officers, emergency services workers and health workers.
In conducting this review, the NSW Sentencing Council is to consider: recent trends in assaults on these workers and in sentencing decisions; characteristics of offenders, including characteristics of reoffending offenders; sentencing options to deter this behaviour; sentencing options to reduce reoffending; a comparison of NSW sentencing decisions for assaults on these workers with equivalent sentencing decisions in other Australian jurisdictions; a comparison of NSW sentencing decisions for assaults on these workers with equivalent sentencing decisions for assaults generally; sentencing principles applied by NSW courts; and any other matter the Council considers relevant.
Preliminary submissions to the review close on 30 September 2020.
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Some crimes have seen drastic decreases during coronavirus — but not homicides in the US
Associate Professor Terry Goldsworthy, Bond University in The Conversation, 31 July 2020.
Extract: The various restrictions put in place to combat the spread of coronavirus in recent months have disrupted life for everyone – including criminals. More than six months into the pandemic, it is clear the pandemic has had a major effect on crime rates. Certain crimes, such as robberies and sexual offences, have declined dramatically, while others, such as online fraud, have been on the rise. Of course, it is difficult to firmly establish a direct causal relationship between coronavirus restrictions and crime rates, but the statistics reveal some common themes.
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Meet Dr Jason Chin
Jason Chin is a lecturer at the University of Sydney Law School and a member of the Sydney Institute of Criminology. He has a PhD in social psychology from the University of British Columbia and a JD from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
Previously, Jason was a lecturer at the University of Queensland School of Law and a litigator at Dentons, an international law firm.
Jason studies evidence law, with a focus on experts. He is interested in how fields create and convey knowledge, and then how that knowledge is communicated to legal actors (e.g., lawyers, judges, parties).
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ANROWS presents 'Understanding the role of Law and Culture in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in responding to and preventing family violence'.
Tomorrow 1.30pm – 2.30pm (AEST) Thursday 20 August 2020
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, as with every community in Australia, are working to address domestic and family violence. Many have advocated for community-led approaches to family violence that are culturally safe, involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice models and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law and Culture. This webinar will unpack ANROWS research, ‘Understanding the role of Law and Culture in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in responding to and preventing family violence’.
This webinar is designed for: practitioners, policymakers and researchers working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, in particular domestic and family violence services; practitioners and policymakers in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services; and practitioners and policymakers working in related areas and services such as courts and police, housing, health, land management, and community support.
Presenters: Dr Harry Blagg, The University of Western Australia; Dr Victoria Hovane, The University of Western Australia; Donella Raye, Aboriginal Researcher; Dr Tamara Tulich, The University of Western Australia; and facilitated by Dr Heather Nancarrow, ANROWS.
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Call for proposals for new series: International perspectives on gender-based violence
This new series, edited by Dr Bianca Fileborn (University of Melbourne) and Dr Rachel Loney-Howes (University of Wollongong), aims to publish work providing innovative and critical perspectives on gender-based violence from around the world. The editors welcome proposals based on empirical research, as well as conceptual and theoretical work.
Gender-based violence is conceptualised broadly in this series, and proposals may address iterations of this violence ranging from rape and sexual assault, genital cutting, intimate partner, relationship and family violence, sexual harassment and other ‘everyday’ intrusions, gendered homicide, hate crime, and so forth. Proposals are invited for monographs, handbooks or edited collections on a broad range of topics relating to gender-based violence broadly defined.
The editors are particularly interested in perspectives and research initiatives from the Global South. Proposals may concern the following broad thematic areas: Sexual and intimate partner violence; Technology-facilitated GBV; Street harassment and intimate intrusion; Geographies of GBV; State-perpetrated GBV; GBV in conflict and
transitional states; Queer & LGBTQ+ communities; Justice and activist responses; Intersectional perspectives on GBV, including but not limited to, race, class, disability, sexuality and gender; GBV in the Global South; and preventing GBV.
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ANZPAA NIFS Best Paper Awards
Applications for the ANZPAA NIFS Best Paper Awards are currently open and will close on 31 August 2020. Applications are being accepted via email to secretariat.nifs@anzpaa.org.au. The entry criteria and Best Paper Award categories have recently been reviewed and updated. For further information on the awards, the criteria for acceptance and to download the application form, visit the website.
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Call for papers: Criminal Justice in an Age of Populism
Archives of Criminology (Archiwum Kyminologii) is the leading Polish criminological journal, published by the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. This special issue examines the rise of populism in the 21st century, the variations it takes and its implications for criminal justice and penal policy in modern society. It will address matters such as defences against populism; the circumstances under which populism may take positive and productive forms; the attempts of would-be autocrats to usurp and extend special powers in place to control COVID-19; and the implications of the rise of populism for the way in which issues of rights and the rule of law are now understood.
All papers should be prepared and submitted online in English. Abstracts are due by 30 August 2020 and papers are due by 31 March 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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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 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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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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Solicitor Advocate
NSW Crown Solicitor's Office
Legal Officer Grade VI
About the role: As a Solicitor Advocate in the Community Law Practice Group, you will be responsible for providing high level representation and advice to the Crown Solicitor’s clients in a range of complex legal matters in which the Group specialises. This includes, but is not limited to, public interest immunity and subpoena law, in both criminal and civil matters, as well as guardianship law, discrimination and charitable trusts.
Essential requirements: Admission or eligibility for admission as a legal practitioner in NSW; highly developed advocacy and legal skills with extensive experience which enables the provision of advocacy and advice in highly complex legal matters in which the Crown Solicitor specialises; willingness to undertake a Criminal Record Check and Working with Children Check; and willingness to travel for regional or interstate court and other commitments. Applications close 28 August 2020.
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Deputy Solicitor (Operations)
NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Public Service Senior Executive, Band 1
The NSW ODPP is looking for a dynamic, respected and experienced legal manager with a strategic focus to join the Solicitors Executive, reporting directly to the Solicitor for Public Prosecutions. The Executive develop, implement and champion innovative policies, procedures and work practices to ensure that the most efficient prosecution service is delivered, and our staff are provided the opportunity to enjoy rewarding and challenging careers.
The Deputy Solicitor (Operations) will lead the effective operations and deployment of resources in a designated region of the ODPP across Local, District and Supreme Court prosecutions and hold accountability for the effective and efficient management of all teams within the region. This position requires a degree or diploma in law and admission as a legal practitioner to the Supreme Court of NSW. Candidates must be eligible for a Practising Certificate and must have one issued or approved by the Law Society of NSW prior to commencement in the role.
Competitive candidates will have extensive knowledge of the criminal justice system, criminal practice and procedure in NSW and awareness of emerging issues relating to the prosecution process across NSW. Application close 30 August 2020.
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Manager Judicial Support
Courts Tribunals and Service Delivery Division, NSW Department of Communities and Justice
Clerk Grade 9/10
About the role: Provide and deliver high quality professional services to the Chief Judge and other judicial officers of the NSW District Court and Court Services Executive Group through the management and development of the Judicial Support Team.
About you: We are looking for a dynamic, experienced and respected manager with a strong ability to influence, negotiate and provide effective solutions. You will have exceptional interpersonal, communication and organisational skills with the ability to ensure effective operations and deployment of resources. Extensive knowledge of the criminal justice system, practices and procedures will be highly regarded. You will be flexible, adaptive and proactive while being able to maintain a calm demeanour. Applications close 8 September 2020.
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