Sydney Institute of Criminology
CrimNet
07 October 2022
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The CrimNet newsletter is sponsored by the Sydney Institute of Criminology. CrimNet provides regular communication between criminal justice professionals, practitioners, academics and students in Australia and overseas. Share CrimNet with your peers and help grow the network.
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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Institute Events and Activities
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Theoretical Advances and Problems in the Sociology of Punishment
Professor David Garland (New York University)
This seminar, delivered by Sydney Law School visiting Fellow, Professor David Garland (New York University) explores the theoretical advances and problems in the sociology of punishment.
The last twenty years have seen a remarkable increase in “punishment and society” scholarship. Together with this quantitative expansion, there have also been important qualitative developments in research, analysis and explanation – many of which can be counted as scientific advances.
In this talk, Professor Garland will describe a number of dimensions along which theory, method and data in this field have been improved and also identify a number of continuing challenges and problems. Examples from the American literature on the emergence of mass incarceration and the nature of the ‘war on drugs’ are used to indicate the range of theoretical resources that scholars in this field have developed and to point to empirical and theoretical questions that remain to be resolved.
About the speaker
David Garland is Arthur T Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. His distinguished body of work includes Punishment and Welfare: A History of Penal Strategies; Punishment and Modern Society: A Study in Social Theory ; The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society ; Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition ; and The Welfare State: A Very Short Introduction.
His many honours include membership of the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and receipt of the American Society of Criminology’s Edwin H. Sutherland Prize for outstanding contributions to theory and research.
He is currently at work on a book entitled Roots of Injustice: The Structural Sources of America’s Penal State. He is a Visiting Fellow at University of Sydney School of Law in October/November 2022.
Date: Tuesday 1 November
Time: 6-7.30 pm, followed by a cocktail reception
In Person event CPD points = 1.5
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2022/23 Criminal Law CPD Series
September 2022 - March 2023
The 2022-23 Criminal Law CPD series, presented by the Sydney Institute of Criminology is an innovative educational program made up of 7 recorded webinars delivered by eminent speakers from the University of Sydney and the legal profession.
A new webinar will be released each month from September 2022 - March 2023. Quizzes will be included 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 (7 x webinars) = $300
Individual webinar(s) = $50
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29 September 2022 | Dr Andrew Dyer
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 offenceand, if all or some of them should,which offence(s) should be convicted of.
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20 October 2022 | Brett Hatfield
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 theyare balanced in practice.
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24 November 2022 | Associate Professor Helen Paterson
Eyewitness testimony can provide critical leadsin investigations and can be extremely persuasive in court. However,inconsistencies or inaccuracies in eyewitness accounts can undermine the perceivedcredibility of the witness and the value of the evidence.
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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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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 readilyrely upon other allegations against thedefendant and the defendant’s prior guilty pleas.
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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, mixedquestions: senior criminal law barrister John Stratton SC will consider these issuesand offer best-practice tips developed over the course of his career.
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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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Youth Crime and Youth Justice Forum
The Forum will bring together key stakeholders working to prevent youth crime and to administer the various aspects of youth justice. Presenters will discuss latest trends, research and policies in these areas and will showcase some of the relevant work across the University of Sydney.
Date: Thursday 24 November 2022
Time: 9.30am-3pm (tbc)
Location: The University of Sydney, Camperdown.
Cost: Free
Speakers have been confirmed from:
- The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
- The NSW Children’s Court
- Youth Justice NSW
- Youth Action
And from the following University of Sydney Research Centres or Faculties:
- The Matilda Centre
- The Research Centre for Children and Families
- The CREATE Centre
- The Gambling Research and Treatment Clini
- The Centre for Disability Research and Policy
- The Digital Innovation Team
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NEW RELEASE
Current Issues in Criminal Justice, Volume 34, Issue 3 (2022)
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.
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The victimisation of people with disability in NSW: Results from the National Disability Data Asset pilot
September, 19 2022
Crime and Justice Bulletin No. CJB252
Key findings
Over the 5-year period from 2014 to 2018, 17.0 per cent of people with disability were recorded as a victim of one or more criminal incidents, 6.5 per cent experienced a violent incident and 4.4 per cent experienced a DV-related incident. The proportion of people who experienced a criminal incident ranged from 10.8 per cent of those with unspecified disability only to 23.7 per cent of those with both cognitive and psychosocial disabilities. Similarly, between 2.4 per cent and 12.7 per cent of the disability cohort were victims of a violent incident, and between 1.8 and 7.3 per cent were victims of a DV-related incident (for those with unspecified disability through to those with both cognitive and psychosocial disabilities). Being younger, female, and/or Aboriginal, were associated with a greater risk of people with disability being victims of violent and DV-related crimes.
Persons of interest (POIs) were less likely to be proceeded against when incidents involved people with disability, especially in relation to violent incidents (OR=0.83 for disability cohort and OR=0.90 for other disability identifier). Differences in police action rates were particularly pronounced for those with both cognitive and physical disabilities (with or without psychosocial disabilities).
People with disabilities were more likely to experience violent and DV-related revictimisation within 12 months compared with those with no disability identified (OR=1.3-1.4 for violent revictimisation and OR=1.1-1.2 for DV revictimisation). Generally, those with cognitive and/or psychosocial disabilities were at greater risk of revictimisation than those with other or no known disabilities.
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Trends in rates of victimisation and offending for people with disability in NSW
Results
Trends in victimisation and offending rates for the disability cohort over the 10-year period were generally consistent with the total NSW population. Relative to the total population, rates of victimisation and offending, were higher in the disability cohort for all offence types. Individuals in the disability cohort were more than twice as likely to be victims of violent and domestic violence related crime and were around three times as likely to have committed violent and property offences, compared with the total population. For most offence types, across most age groups, the disability cohort had higher rates of victimisation and offending.
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Trends in the Aboriginal female adult custodial population in NSW, March 2013 to February 2021
Results
The Aboriginal adult female custodial population increased by 28%, from 224 to 287 between March 2013 and February 2021. The increase in Aboriginal females in prison mostly occurred in the four years from March 2013 to February 2017, after which the population stabilised. The overall increase was due to both a rise in the remand population (up 41% or 35 individuals) and the sentenced custody population (up 20% or 28 individuals).
Several factors contributed to the increase in Aboriginal women in custody. The number of Aboriginal women proceeded against to court by police increased, particularly for assault, intimidation/stalking, theft, fraud, breaches of violence and non-violence orders, illicit drugs and traffic offences. This resulted in an increased number of Aboriginal women sentenced to imprisonment. In addition, this growth in charges increased the remand population through more Aboriginal women being refused bail. We also note a modest increase in the number of bail breaches and bail revocations, and the average length of time spent in remand. Regression analyses showed that the increase in more serious offending among this group has outweighed reductions in the likelihood of imprisonment after the 2018 sentencing reforms.
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NSW Legal Assistance Strategy and Action Plan
Published 30 September
Action on the priorities
The NSW Legal Assistance Action Plan reflects the collective approach the legal assistance sector has taken to realise the strategic priorities outlined above. Some highlights of the Action Plan include:
- a project to develop a more clear understanding of legal need and gaps in NS
- a whole-of-sector forum on culturally safe and responsive legal service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander client
- supporting the establishment of the Aboriginal Women's Advisory Network to guide Aboriginal-led and place-based solutions to address domestic and family violenc
- sharing experiences and initiatives to drive whole-of-sector advancements and innovation in the delivery of legal assistance services.
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The High Court of Australia has a majority of women justices for the first time. Here’s why that matters
Kcasey McLoughlin, The Conversation, 4 October 2022
In appointing Justice Jayne Jagot to the High Court, the Albanese government has made history: for the first time, the court will have a majority of women on its bench.
We have come a long way. At the turn of the 20th century, women were not permitted to practise law in any Australian jurisdiction. And even when those formal barriers to admission were eventually removed, informal barriers meant the law remained a man’s world.
For more than 80 years after its establishment in 1903, the High Court of Australia remained the exclusive preserve of men. It was not until 1987 that Mary Gaudron, became the first woman to serve on the court.
Women have been appointed to the High Court with some regularity over the past decade. Yet only seven women have been appointed of a total of 56 justices. The first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the High Court, Susan Kiefel, was sworn-in in 2017.
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Nordic criminal justice: How does it differ from Australia and does it work?
Nick Baker and Annabelle Quince, ABC, 6 October 2022
When John Pratt visited one of Sweden's 'open prisons' outside the capital Stockholm, he was shocked at what he saw.
"There was a carpark for the inmates and they commuted to Stockholm during the day for work," he tells ABC RN's Rear Vision.
"If they were going to be back late at night, they would phone the prison and a meal would be left out for them when they got back."
Pratt, an emeritus professor from the Institute of Criminology at the Victoria University of Wellington, says it was all "difficult to digest … but that's how it works".
Open prisons can be found across the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, and are just one element of criminal justice systems that are very different to Australia.
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UK Parliament: Justice Committee finds Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences “irredeemably flawed” and calls for comprehensive re-sentencing programme
28 September 2022
The Justice Committee has called on the Government to re-sentence all prisoners subject to IPP sentences. In a report published today, the Committee finds that the current regime for managing IPP prisoners is inadequate in supporting their specific needs and calls for swift improvement in the quality of support they are given.
IPP sentences were introduced to prevent serious offenders being released when still a danger to the public. Despite being scrapped in 2012, nearly 3,000 people remain in prison having been given an IPP sentence. In some cases, individuals have been imprisoned a decade beyond the tariff for their original sentence which could be as low as two years or less.
Under the IPP sentencing system, release is based on successful rehabilitation and prisoners no longer being deemed a risk to the general public. However, the Committee has found that inadequate provision of support services inside and outside of prison has led to a ‘recall merry-go-round’, with almost half of prisoners currently serving an IPP sentence having been released previously.
The Committee finds that IPP sentences cause acute harm to those subject to them, with the prospect of serving a sentence without an end date causing higher levels of self-harm as well as a lack of trust in the system that is meant to rehabilitate them.
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Model law proposed to control 'Wild West' of facial recognition technology in Australia
Ariel Bogle, ABC, 27 Sep 2022
Civil society groups are urging the federal government to take up a model law that would govern the use of facial recognition technology in Australia, where legislative loopholes risk creating a "Wild West".
Key points:
- A new model law has been proposed that would regulate facial recognition technology in Australia
- Civil society groups say reform is urgently needed to prevent abus
- Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has been urged to take up the bill
Drafted by the Human Technology Institute, the proposed rules would impose new obligations on both companies developing or distributing facial recognition systems and any entity deploying them, including police and employers.
The call comes amid growing alarm about the use of the technology by law enforcement, schools and, as consumer advocates CHOICE found in June, even popular stores such as Bunnings and Kmart.
There is also widespread agreement that Australia's existing privacy regime — currently under review by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus — is not keeping pace with the threats posed by emerging technology.
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Publications
All open access unless indicated.
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Sexual harassment, aggression and violence victimisation among mobile dating app and website users in Australia
Research Report no. 25. Australian Institute of Criminology (4 October 2022)
Wolbers, H. Boxall, H. Long, C. Gunnoo, A.
Abstract: Use of mobile dating apps and websites has increased exponentially in the past 10 years. While these platforms create opportunities to develop and pursue social, romantic and/ or sexual relationships both online and in the real world, media reporting and broader commentary has raised concerns about users being subjected to high levels of sexual harassment, aggression and violence.
The current study surveyed 9,987 dating app or website users in Australia to explore the prevalence and nature of dating app facilitated sexual violence (DAFSV) victimisation within the sample. Findings revealed that three-quarters of users were subjected to online DAFSV, and a third were subjected to in-person DAFSV, perpetrated by someone they met on a dating app or website. Users often experienced repeat victimisation. DAFSV victimisation was particularly common among LGB+ communities. This study provides valuable information to aid development of policies and practices to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of DAFSV.
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Can family and friends improve probation and parole outcomes? A quantitative evaluation of Triple-S: Social Supports in Supervision
Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 654. Australian Institute of Criminology (13 September 2022)
Schaefer, L. Townsley, M. Hutchins, B.
Abstract: This study details the results of a quantitative evaluation of a new model of probation and parole called Triple-S: Social Supports in Supervision. The pilot project positioned community corrections staff as ‘super controllers’ who incorporate the parents, partners or peers of probationers and parolees into each client’s order to serve in the roles of offender handlers, target guardians and place managers. The findings demonstrated Triple-S had inconsistent effects on reoffending, as reductions were not always significant or sustained; however, some promising results showed a reduction of recidivism frequency and severity. Program fidelity (the slippage between expected versus observed Triple-S sessions) was influential, with greater model adherence resulting in lower rates of reoffending.
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What are the monetary returns of investing in programs that reduce demand for illicit drugs?
Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no 657. Australian Institute of Criminology (8 September 2022)
Voce, A. & Sullivan, T.
Abstract: This study reviews benefit–cost analyses of programs designed to reduce demand for illicit drugs. Data were synthesised from 67 benefit–cost analyses of prevention, law enforcement and treatment programs. Eighty percent of the 70 separate benefit–cost ratios exceeded 1.0, indicating that savings outweighed costs among most programs reviewed. Benefit–cost ratios ranged from −18.20 to 63.32, varying substantially for different program types and populations. On average, demand reduction programs produced a return on investment of $5.40 for every dollar spent. These findings suggest demand reduction programs are generally economical.
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The sexual exploitation of Australian children on dating apps and websites
Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no 658. Australian Institute of Criminology (6 October 2022)
Teunissen, C. Boxall, H. Napier, S. Brown, R.
Abstract: This study presents the findings from a large survey of people living in Australia (n=9,987) who had used mobile dating apps and/or dating websites in the previous five years. Across the entire sample, 12.4 percent of respondents reported receiving requests to facilitate the sexual exploitation of their own children or children they had access to. Requests included asking for sexual information about children or for sexual images or videos of children, asking to meet children in person or asking for children to perform sex acts over webcam.
The paper highlights the need for additional safety features to be embedded in mobile dating apps and dating websites to protect vulnerable users and to prevent the sexual exploitation of children.
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Beyond the Scope of Consent
Philosophy & Public Affairs (10 September 2022)
Tadros, V.
When, why, and in what ways, do a person's errors have a bearing on whether they validly consent to another person's conduct? One answer relies on the scope of consent. Consider the following schematic set of facts. Y owes X a set of consent-sensitive duties not to perform some set of token acts {v1-vn}. A consent-sensitive duty (not) to perform an act is a duty (not) to perform an act that depends on a person's consent. Normally, such a duty is pro tanto and is owed to the consenter. X's consent releases Y from the duty (not) to perform acts within the set. Now suppose that X consents to Y Ting (I will capitalize T, here, to indicate that consent is given to an act type, where that consent releases Y from the duty to perform tokens of that type). X's consent has a certain scope—it releases Y from the duty not to perform acts within that scope, but not those outside the scope. More on how that should be understood in a moment. Now suppose that Y performs an act, v1, that is outside the scope of consent. As X has not consented to Y performing v1, Y acts wrongly.
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'What Happened to Me Does Not Define Who I Am’: Narratives of Resilience in Survivor Victim Impact Statements
Victims & Offenders (28 September 2022)
Miltonette, C. & Sailofsky, D.
Abstract: While research shows that “ideal victims” still receive more media coverage and more favorable depictions and results in the criminal justice system, it is not clear whether this is how victims of crime want to present themselves. We code and analyze the transcripts of 21 violence against women survivor victim impact statements (VIS) from YouTube videos, to assess how survivors present their victimization. While survivors of violence discuss their pain and trauma, they also call for better services and protection for other survivors, and attempt to bring awareness about the ubiquity of violence while motivating other survivors to come forward. Survivors rarely present themselves as stereotypically defined “ideal victims,” though in some cases, they do focus on their own blamelessness and the motherly, familial relationships that have been negatively impacted by their victimization. Though ideal victim presentation may be a rational response for those seeking justice from patriarchal legal institutions, survivors resist ideal victim presentations based on stereotypical notions of femininity, demonstrating that from their perspectives, hierarchies between “deserving” and “undeserving” victims may be dissipating.
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“Mind the Police Dissatisfaction Gap”: The Effect of Callbacks to Victims of Unsolved Crimes in London
Justice Quarterly (3 October 2022)
McKee, J. Ariel, B & Harinam, V.
Abstract: Satisfaction from police performance in cases that are screened out from police investigation is low, particularly for victims who report online. In a randomized controlled trial, we report the impact of reassurance telephone callbacks on satisfaction scores for victims of vehicle crime in London, United Kingdom. Evidence suggests that reassurance callbacks cause victims to express more favorable attitudes toward the police, with more pronounced satisfaction scores among minority victims, particularly those who report their crime online. We argue that callbacks to victims are advantageous in an era of a police legitimacy crisis with diminished resources for law enforcement.
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Accuracy of comparison decisions by forensic firearms examiners
Journal of Forensic Sciences (1 October 2022)
Monson, K. Smith, E. & Peters, E
Abstract: This black box study assessed the performance of forensic firearms examiners in the United States. It involved three different types of firearms and 173 volunteers who performed a total of 8640 comparisons of both bullets and cartridge cases. The overall false-positive error rate was estimated as 0.656% and 0.933% for bullets and cartridge cases, respectively, while the rate of false negatives was estimated as 2.87% and 1.87% for bullets and cartridge cases, respectively. The majority of errors were made by a limited number of examiners. Because chi-square tests of independence strongly suggest that error probabilities are not the same for each examiner, these are maximum-likelihood estimates based on the beta-binomial probability model and do not depend on an assumption of equal examiner-specific error rates. Corresponding 95% confidence intervals are (0.305%, 1.42%) and (0.548%, 1.57%) for false positives for bullets and cartridge cases, respectively, and (1.89%, 4.26%) and (1.16%, 2.99%) for false negatives for bullets and cartridge cases, respectively. The results of this study are consistent with prior studies, despite its comprehensive design and challenging specimens.
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A new theoretical perspective on concealed information detection
Psychophysiology (27 September 2022)
Klein Selle, N. and Ben-Shakhar, G.
Abstract: The concealed information test (CIT) was designed to detect concealed knowledge. It does so by measuring differential physiological and behavioral responses to concealed, compared to control, items – i.e., the CIT effect. Although the CIT has gained extensive empirical support in laboratory studies, scientific validity requires also a theoretical understanding of the method's underlying mechanisms. In this article, we present a new theoretical perspective. Specifically, we elaborate and clarify several features of Orienting Response (OR) theory, which has been the dominant theory in this domain. Importantly, we suggest for the first time that the voluntary (rather than the involuntary) OR modulates the CIT effect. Second, we argue that motivational-emotional accounts of the CIT effect are consistent with OR theory and cannot be considered as alternative approaches. Finally, we discuss some more recent developments which highlight the idea that different physiological measures reflect different underlying mechanisms – an idea dubbed as response fractionation.
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‘Honour’-based abuse: A descriptive study of survivor, perpetrator, and abuse characteristics
Journal of Investigative Pscyhology and Offender Profiling (27 September 2022)
Ridley, K. Almond, L, Bafouni, N & Qassim , A
Abstract: Current literature on ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) has largely focussed on exploring the lived experience of individuals, with limited analysis of the prevalence and associations of abuse characteristics. The aim of this study was to identify base rates of survivor, perpetrator and abuse characteristics. To identify these characteristics and their prevalence, 160 cases from Savera UK, a charity specialising in HBA and harmful practices, were coded for 66 variables and descriptive statistics produced. Fifteen of the coded abuse characteristics were present in more than 50% of cases, with ‘Emotional/psychological abuse and coercive control’, ‘Specific family cultural traditions’, ‘Gender-based socialisation’ and ‘Physical violence’ being the only characteristics seen in more than 75% of cases. These represent the core characteristics of HBA but there are indications of qualitative and quantitate differences in this sample. Understanding the prevalence of characteristics is key to effectively identifying abuse, supporting survivors and improving effective prevention strategies.
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Australian Institute of Criminology 2022 Conference
Early Bird Tickets extended until today 7 October
The Australian Institute of Criminology is proud to present the AIC 2022 Conference, being held on Ngunnawal Country at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra from 31 October – 2 November. The early bird ticket offer has been extended due to popular demand until next Friday 7 October, saving $250 for a full in person ticket or $150 for a full virtual ticket.
AIC 2022 will bring together policy-makers, practitioners and academics working in the crime and justice sector to discuss contemporary issues affecting Australia. The plenary sessions are being live streamed for you to join online at a reduced ticket price if you can’t make it in person. The conference program is being updated regularly as new sessions are confirmed and is available to check out on the conference website.
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World Day Against the Death Penalty event
Date: 10 October
Time: 4pm-6pm
Venue: ANU College of Law
Observed annually on October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty unifies and mobilises civil society, political leaders, lawyers, and public opinion in pursuit of universal abolition of the death penalty. 2022 also marks the centenary of one of the world’s earliest statutory abolitions in the Australian state of Queensland.
Abolition may now be widely embraced as a norm of international human rights law, but its establishment as a comprehensive and irrevocable fact remains elusive.
This event—presented in partnership with the EU Delegation of Australia, Eleos Justice (Monash University), The Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research (Griffith University) and the Australian National University—brings together academics and experts to discuss the politics of death penalty abolition from a number of perspectives—historical, legal and political, domestic and international.
The UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial summary or arbitrary executions will also discuss the relationship between the use of the death penalty and torture – the theme of this year’s World Day Against the Death Penalty.
Join us as we mark World Day 2022, and the launch of the special issue ‘Death Penalty Politics: The Fragility of Abolition in Asia and the Pacific’ featuring eight papers published by the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy.
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First Nations Speaker Series
NSW Law Society
Date: 20 October
Time: 5- 6pm
Venue: Online
The talks will feature authors, researchers, creators, innovators, knowledge holders and storytellers. These webinars provide an opportunity to learn about the cultural perspectives and experiences of First Nations people across a range of disciplines.
Our multi-talented speakers include Adjunct Professor Wayne Quilliam, one of Australia's pre-eminent Indigenous photographic artists, curators and cultural advisers working internationally; Ms Emily McDaniel an esteemed curator, writer and educator from the Kalari Clan of the Wiradjuri nation, the Director, First Nations at the Powerhouse Museum; Dr Aunty Miriam Rose AM, 2021 Senior Australian of the Year, a renowned Aboriginal Artist and Educator who is dedicated to creating bright and fulfilling futures for Aboriginal children and youth, and Mr Peter Cooley, founding member of First-Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation and CEO of Indigigrow.
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AIJA Indigenous Youth Justice Conference Law Society of New South Wales
Date: Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October 2022
Format: Hybrid - in person and online
Venue: Dockside, Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay Wharf, 2 Wheat Road, SYDNEY NSW 2000
The AIJA, in collaboration with the Law Society of New South Wales, is proud to present this conference to examine many of the thorny, complex issues associated with Indigenous youth justice and to promote meaningful discussion about ways to improve the situation.
We will be guided by the conference’s expert presenters, including elders, community leaders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the judiciary and legal profession, medical specialists and academics.
Indigenous justice is a strategic priority area for the AIJA and something I feel strongly about contributing to improvements. I’m confident that the AIJA Indigenous Youth Justice Conference – the first we have been able to hold in-person since 2019 – will inform meaningful conversations about potential ways to help reduce over-representation and improve Indigenous youth justice outcomes.
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Health Justice Conversation: From patients to policy
Date: 9 November
Time: 8am-9am
Join us for a series of conversations with world leaders on the social determinants of health, the intersection of social and health care and the pipeline from clinical care to systems change.
Partnerships between health and legal assistance services have assisted countless people overcome complex and intersecting problems in their lives by providing access to legal help in health settings.
But how do these collaborations leverage real systemic change from helping individuals with their health-harming legal problems?
Join us for a conversation with Bethany Hamilton, co-Director of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership (NCMLP) at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, about the opportunities for advocacy in this work, what it takes to engage in policy and systems change, and the impact it can achieve.
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Call for Submissions to the University of New South Wales Law Journal Issue 46(2) ‘Life Sciences: Ethics, Innovation and the Future of Law’
Submission deadline: 18 November 2022,
At no other time in history has the intersection of life sciences and the law been so patently observable, yet complex. Life sciences concern the study of ‘living organisms, their life processes, and their relationships to each other and their environment’. They encompass a substantial scope of biological inquiry, including, ecology, reproductive technologies neuroscience, immunology and genetics, among many others.
The life sciences, as both an industry and area of research, is anticipated to experience
significant growth in the coming years, fuelled by digital transformation, collaboration and
heavy investment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors place the law’s approach to the growing life sciences industry at the forefront of its trajectory. Science’s impac on law, however, is not unilateral; the ‘constant, mutually constitutive interplay of biological and legal conceptions of life’ also define our social norms. The onus then falls upon the law to navigate the morally, ethically and culturally turbulent waters of society’s response to developments in the life sciences. The close integration of life sciences and the law will continue to be of significance in the coming years, as the interaction between the two fields will be responsible for crafting ‘desirable futures’ through the creation of new technologies. The importance of publishing high-quality Australian scholarship in this area cannot be overstated. [References omitted]
Criminal Law
- The legal and ethical concerns pertaining to the advent of novel forensic methodologies such as investigative genetic genealogy;
- Reliance on genetic markers to predict patterns of criminality and the legal implication of shifting criminal liability onto an offender’s biological identity;
- The possible creation of a new category of international crime for the irresponsible manipulation of gene editing technology; and
- The use of neuropsychological indicators as mitigating factors in sentencing
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UNSW Law & Justice presents the 2022 Hal Wootten Lecture with the Honourable Chief Justice Kiefel AC
Date: Thu., 24 November 2022
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm AEDT
Location: UNSW Law and Justice Law Theatre G04, Ground floor, Law & Justice Building
Kensington, NSW 2052
A nudge in the right direction: In 2008, Hal Wootten spoke of his belief that “every now and then there is the opportunity to give a little nudge that sends the law along the direction it ought to go”.
In the 2022 Hal Wootten Lecture, Chief Justice Kiefel discusses landmark cases that have shaped Australian common law, tracing the development of legal principles arising from those cases and highlighting how these cases are the culmination of past judicial “nudges” in the right direction.
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2022 ANZSOC Conference ‘Transforming Criminology for the 2020’s and Beyond’
Date: Monday 28 – Wednesday 30 November 2022
Venue: Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin NT
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Lecturer in Criminology
Deakin University
Closing date: 16 October 2022
The Lecturer in Criminology will form part of the teaching team within the school of Humanities and Social Sciences, and will be required to teach, undertake research and publish in the area of criminology. They will make an independent contribution to the School’s teaching, research and program development, Build national reputation and assist the implementation of community engagement activities.
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First Nations PhD Scholarships available at UWA Law School, Perth: The Australian Preventive Justice Project.
Closing date: 31 October
Two PhD Scholarships are available for First Nations students on the ARC DECRA project, 'The Australian Preventive Justice Project'.
This project, led by Associate Professor Tamara Tulich (DECRA Fellow, UWA Law School), aims to generate the first account of Australian preventive justice. Through original legal, historical and critical research, the project will create new knowledge by mapping, for the first time, the legal architecture of preventive justice in the Australia since colonisation, and analysing these laws and their impacts through settler colonial and coloniality theories.
The project is seeking to appoint two First Nations PhD students to complete their doctoral research on topics related to the project. The PhD students will be supervised by Associate Professor Tamara Tulich, Noongar scholar Dr Robyn Williams (Curtin Medical School) and a suitable supervisor at UWA, and be mentored by the project's First Nations Project Steering Committee. The PhD Candidates will have the opportunity to participate in project meetings, publication and dissemination activities as part of their research training, and to be part of the vibrant and supportive research culture at UWA Law School.
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Review of fraud and fraud-related offences in New South Wales.
Submissions Close: 4 November 2022
Terms of Reference
The Sentencing Council is asked to conduct a review of sentencing for fraud and fraud related offences in New South Wales, especially but not limited to offences in Part 4AA of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), and make any recommendations for reform that it considers appropriate.
In undertaking this review, the Sentencing Council should:
- provide sentencing statistics for convictions over a five year period;
- provide information on the characteristics of offenders, sentence type and length; and
- provide background information, including:
- the key sentencing principles and reasoning employed by sentencing judges;
- the mitigating subjective features of offenders; and
- any other significant factors considered in sentencing decisions that explain how courts come to their final decision on sentence (which may be done using case-studies or collation of predominate themes across cases).
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The Parliament of Australia is Accepting Submissions:
Missing and murdered First Nations women and children
The submission closing date is 11 November 2022.
Terms of Reference
Missing and murdered First Nations women and children, with particular reference to:
- the number of First Nations women and children who are missing and murdered;
- the current and historical practices, including resources, to investigating the deaths and missing person reports of First Nations women and children in each jurisdiction compared to non-First Nations women and children;
- the institutional legislation, policies and practices implemented in response to all forms of violence experienced by First Nations women and children;
- the systemic causes of all forms of violence, including sexual violence, against First Nations women and children, including underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional and historical causes contributing to the ongoing violence and particular vulnerabilities of First Nations women and children;
- the policies, practices and support services that have been effective in reducing violence and increasing safety of First Nations women and children, including self-determined strategies and initiatives;
- the identification of concrete and effective actions that can be taken to remove systemic causes of violence and to increase the safety of First Nations women and children;
- the ways in which missing and murdered First Nations women and children and their families can be honoured and commemorated; and
- any other related matters.
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Authoritarianism & Genocide: Narratives of Exclusion 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
Call for Papers Deadline: 1 December 2022
Conference Dates: 10-14 July 2023,
Venue: School of Law, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
The Call for Paper is now open for the 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, 10-14 July 2023, hosted by the School of Law, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Authoritarianism and Genocide: Narratives of Exclusion’, focusing on the erosion of rule of law and the increasing risk of mass atrocities. Submissions on any aspect of the relationships between authoritarianism and genocide, and democracy and genocide are welcome. As always, we also welcome submissions on any topic within the broad field of genocide studies and related areas. We encourage contributions from practitioners who work on the legal, social, cultural, and scientific aspects of genocide, mass atrocity, and crimes against humanity. More information including submission details available on the website
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The Parliament of Australia is Accepting Submissions:
The extent and nature of poverty in Australia
Submissions are due by 3 February 2023
Terms of Reference
The extent and nature of poverty in Australia with particular reference to:
- the rates and drivers of poverty in Australia
- the relationship between economic conditions (including fiscal policy, rising inflation and cost of living pressures) and poverty
- the impact of poverty on individuals in relation to:
(i) employment outcomes,
(ii) housing security,
(iii) health outcomes, and
(iv) education outcomes - the impacts of poverty amongst different demographics and communities
- the relationship between income support payments and poverty
- mechanisms to address and reduce poverty; and
- any related matters.
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Master of Criminology Students!John O'Brien Memorial Coursework ScholarshipsA postgraduate coursework scholarship
The John O'Brien Memorial Coursework Scholarships in Criminal Law and Criminology provides support for students studying criminal law and criminology at the University of Sydney Law School.
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Indigenous Academic (All levels) University of Melbourne
Closing Date: 24 Oct 2022, 11:55 PM
Only Indigenous Australians are eligible to apply as this position is exempt under the Special Measure Provision, Section 12 (1) of the Equal Opportunity Act 2011 (Vic).
This call for Expressions of Interest seeks talented First Nations scholars to join the Faculty of Arts, at any level and in any of the Faculty’s disciplinary fields.
They invite the submission of a CV and a cover letter outlining (1) your research agenda, (2) your teaching experience, (3) relevant partnerships and community engagement, and (4) your interest in the Faculty of Arts. On review of the EOI, they may choose to invite a more detailed application encompassing key selection criteria at a level commensurate to experience. Reviews of EOI will take place three times a year, at the end of February, June and October.
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Professor/Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer in Law (multiple positions)
Southern Cross University
Closing Date: 9:00am, Wednesday 26 October 2022
Southern Cross University’s Faculty of Business, Law and Arts is seeking to build a law discipline that is unique in Australia in its proximity to and engagement with the legal profession.
We believe that it is our purpose to educate and equip outstanding legal practitioners for practice. Therefore, we are looking for a select group to join us at all levels whose connections to practice run deep, and whose authority in their chosen area of expertise is unquestionable.
We are happy to structure the roles we have available to promote ongoing and substantive connection to practice. This may mean flexibility with respect to periods of leave for ongoing embedded professional activity or fractional and joint appointments.
If you have a passion for the Law, for the translation of insights from practice into dynamic legal education and thought leadership, and the preparation of our next generation of practice leaders – this appointment may well be for you.
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Call for submissions: Kim Santow Law and Social Justice Essay Prize
Submissions due by 5.00 pm (AEDT) on Monday 31 October, 2022.
Sydney Law School is pleased to announce the inaugural Kim Santow Law and Social Justice Essay Prize.
The Essay Prize is open to students enrolled in an LLB or JD program at an Australian University. In 2022, essays must be submitted by 31 October 2022, responding this proposition:
The NDIS is described as a shift from a welfare system to a market-based system, but there may be limitations in relying on competition and choice in the provision of disability support. Discuss
Please direct any inquiries to Mr Josh Pallas at: law.reform@sydney.edu.au
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BLOGS, INTERVIEWS & PODCASTS
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TEDxSydney Salon — Tomorrow’s Technology: Shaping our Future
Sydney Institute of Criminology Co-Director Allan McCay Presents at TedxSydney
Focusing on the future impacts of critical and emerging technologies, this Salon will bring together world-leading experts and professionals to reveal the technology that is fast outpacing the ways we have to understand, manage and safely engage with it. From biosecurity threats to brain-tech interfaces and AI — what technologies will radically reshape how we live in the future?
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What do Victims Really Want?
Transform Justice
So far, we've mainly discussed issues relating to people accused of crime. In this episode, we turn the tables and talk about what victims of crime really want. Hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Lucy Jaffé, Director of the charity Why me? and Darryn Frost, who witnessed the terror attack on London Bridge in 2019 and helped restrain the attacker until police arrived. In the context of the government's Victim's Bill - the first of its kind - we discuss the ways in which the justice system fails victims, and what could be done to truly empower people affected by crime, give them a voice in the aftermath, and help resolve the harm they've experienced.
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Ep. 72 - Narrative Therapy and Intensive Outreach- Working with Mothers Whose Children Have Been Removed
Join Mim and Lis as we listen to a story about narrative therapy, disenfranchised grief, and intensive work with mothers whose children have been removed. Hear about the importance of documenting people’s stories, working for justice, and navigating the politics of storytelling. Mim and Lis share their thoughts and reflections about this unique and fascinating practice space.
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