Showing papers in "Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology in 2010"
TL;DR: The authors developed a theoretical underpinning for mentoring practice with ex-offenders that would identify appropriate targets of mentoring, including the development of social capital or connectedness, and used data from research on a women's mentoring program in Victoria, Australia, to understand how one key dimension of desistance - social capital - is recognised by women as a domain of need and those women's perceptions of the way mentoring may deliver gains in social connectedness and capital.
Abstract: Mentoring ex-prisoners is an increasingly popular tool in the burgeoning field of offender reintegration and resettlement. Yet surprisingly little is known about what makes mentoring effective and indeed even whether it can be effective within the domain of criminal justice. This article proceeds in two parts. First, drawing upon desistance theory it attempts to develop a theoretical underpinning for mentoring practice with ex-offenders that would identify appropriate targets for mentoring practice, including the development of social capital or connectedness. Part two of the article utilises data from research on a women's mentoring program in Victoria, Australia, to understand how one key dimension of desistance - social capital - is recognised by women as a domain of need and those women's perceptions of the way mentoring may deliver gains in social connectedness and capital. The article concludes with a discussion of the distinctly gendered nature of women's postprison experiences and the way in which these factors shape both the process of desistance and the nature of mentoring interventions.
104 citations
TL;DR: The issues raised by the use of information and communication technologies in sexual violence and the distribution of unauthorised sexual images are considered and the implications are considered in light of existing and potential legislative frameworks.
Abstract: Contemporary teens and young adults, often collectively referred to as the .NET generation or the 'digital generation', represent the largest proportion of end-users in the information and communication technologies market (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2007; Australian Communications and Media Authority [ACMA], 2007, 2008). While there is much written concerning the rise in pornographic and other sexual material via the internet and mobile phones there is comparatively little published work regarding the use of information and communication technologies for the distribution of unauthorised sexual images, more particularly, where a sexual assault has occurred. This article considers the issues raised by the use of information and communication technologies in sexual violence and the distribution of unauthorised sexual images. The implications of this emerging issue are considered in light of existing and potential legislative frameworks.
81 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the ways in which colonial policing and punishment of Indigenous peoples evolved as an inherent part of the colonial state-building process on the connected 19th century frontiers of south-central Australia and western Canada.
Abstract: This article examines the ways in which colonial policing and punishment of Indigenous peoples evolved as an inherent part of the colonial state-building process on the connected 19th century frontiers of south-central Australia and western Canada. Although there has been some excellent historical scholarship on the relationship between Indigenous people, police and the law in colonial settings, there has been little comparative analysis of the broader, cross-national patterns by which Indigenous peoples were made subject to British law, most especially through colonial policing practices. This article compares the roles, as well as the historical reputations, of Australia's mounted police and Canada's North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) in order to argue that these British colonies, being within the ambit of the law as British subjects did not accord Indigenous peoples the rights of protection that status was intended to impart.
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a questionnaire using a scenario method and manipulating the situational deterrence variables of the certainty and severity of sanctions was administered to 536 undergraduate university students, and Tobit regression results indicated that both situational perceptions of costs and benefits, and academic self-efficacy were significant predictors of intentions to engage in plagiarism.
Abstract: Research on the causes of student misconduct in higher education has largely overlooked the values of integrating individual and situational perspectives to structure empirical examinations. Such research has important implications for the prevention and management of academic misconduct by higher education institutions. In this study, perceptual deterrence (Piquero and Pogarsky, 2002; Stafford and Warr, 1993) and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) theories were adopted to model the impact of situational factors and individual differences on students' intentions to engage in plagiarism. A questionnaire using a scenario method and manipulating the situational deterrence variables of the certainty and severity of sanctions was administered to 536 undergraduate university students. Analysis of covariance results indicated that the objective manipulations of the certainty and severity of sanctions had no effect on intentions to engage in plagiarism. However, Tobit regression results indicated that both situational perceptions of costs and benefits, and academic self-efficacy were significant predictors of intentions to engage in plagiarism. Furthermore, academic self-efficacy was found to moderate the effects of deterrence perceptions on intentions to engage in plagiarism. The results highlight the significance of the interaction between situational and individual characteristics on decisions to engage in deviant behaviour. Implications for the management of misconduct in higher education institutions are discussed.
55 citations
TL;DR: This paper used the Jesness Inventory as a measure of personality and found that personality type is a significant predictor of offender recidivism with neurotic personality type significantly predicting probability of rearrest.
Abstract: With the exception of correctional research, the role of personality has been understudied in criminology in general and in the study of white-collar crime in particular. The usefulness of personality has typically been restricted to use as a diagnostic tool in differentiating among offenders for correctional classification purposes. The current research focuses on a sample of white-collar offenders who were convicted in federal courts to explain what role personality plays in explaining their rates of recidivism. Using the Jesness Inventory as a measure of personality, findings reveal that personality type is a significant predictor of offender recidivism with neurotic personality type significantly predicting probability of rearrest.
51 citations
TL;DR: A methodological review of the epidemiological research that has attempted to measure the magnitude of rape against AIAN women at both national and local levels is provided, and National Crime Victimization Survey data is examined to determine how the contextual characteristics of rape and sexual assault victimisations againstAIAN women differ from those of African American and White women.
Abstract: National surveys indicate that American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) women have higher rates of rape and sexual assault victimisation compared to women from other race/ethnic groups. These statistics were brought to the forefront of media attention when an Amnesty International (2007) report illuminated the obstacles many AIAN women have when seeking justice for rape victimisations. Despite this attention, empirical research that examines rape and sexual assault against AIAN women is still in its infancy. The purpose of this article is twofold. We first provide a methodological review of the epidemiological research that has attempted to measure the magnitude of rape against AIAN women at both national and local levels. We then examine National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data to determine how the contextual characteristics of rape and sexual assault victimisations against AIAN women differ from those of African American and White women. Results indicate that AIAN victims are more likely to face armed offenders, and more likely require medical care for injuries sustained as a result of the attack. Sexual assaults against AIAN women are also more likely to be interracial and the offender is more likely to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, compared to attacks against other victims. Although victimisations against AIAN women are more likely to come to the attention of police, they are much less likely to result in an arrest compared to attacks against either White or African American victims. Directions for future research are provided.
50 citations
TL;DR: The authors assesses the journalistic deployment of PMU information and develops a broader sociopolitical argument explaining the growth of PMUs more generally, using the example of the New South Wales Police Media Unit in Australia (hereafter NSW PMU).
Abstract: Over the past two decades police media units have played an everincreasing role in managing the dissemination of information between the police and media organisations. Using the example of the New South Wales Police Media Unit in Australia (hereafter NSW PMU) this article assesses the journalistic deployment of PMU information and develops a broader sociopolitical argument explaining the growth of PMUs more generally. We analyse qualitative research data, in the form of interviews with journalists and NSW PMU staff (n = 29), and quantitative data from an analysis of two Sydney-based daily newspapers. We suggest that the growth of PMUs can be explained with reference to new programs of governing crime that developed throughout the last quarter of the 20th century as well as significant changes to the global media landscape.
46 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: This paper reviewed lines in the sand: The Cronulla Riots, Multiculturalism and National Belonging, edited by Gregory Noble, Sydney: Institute of Criminology Press, 2009.
Abstract: Review(s) of: Lines in the Sand: The Cronulla Riots, Multiculturalism and National Belonging, edited by Gregory Noble, Sydney: Institute of Criminology Press, 2009.
45 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the role of social ties and networks in shaping residents' sense of active engagement and perceptions of community capacity, and found that strong social bonds among residents are not necessary for the development of social cohesion and informal social control.
Abstract: Recent research suggests that communities can be collectively efficacious without dense networks and kith and kinship relations. Yet few studies examine how collective efficacy is generated and sustained in the absence of close social ties. Using in-depth interviews with local residents and key stakeholders in two collectively efficacious suburbs in Brisbane, Australia, this study explores the role of social ties and networks in shaping residents' sense of active engagement and perceptions of community capacity. Results suggest that strong social bonds among residents are not necessary for the development of social cohesion and informal social control. Instead, collective representations or symbols of 'community' provide residents with a sense of social cohesion, trust and a perceived willingness of others to respond to problems of crime and disorder. Yet there is limited evidence that these collectively efficacious communities comprise actively engaged residents. In both communities, participants report a strong reliance on key institutions and organisations to manage and respond to a variety of problems, from neighbourhood nuisances to crime and disorder. These findings suggest a more a nuanced understanding of collective efficacy theory is needed.
41 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an alternative perspective is recommended to improve current efforts to address the issue of Maori being overrepresented in New Zealand's criminal justice sector, which is termed as the wishing well approach.
Abstract: Since the advent of the Maori renaissance in New Zealand and the shift toward the sociopolitical ideology of biculturalism, the disproportionate representation of Maori in prisons has increased. Criminal justice sector policy asserts that this overrepresentation is best understood as the outcome of Maori experiencing impairments to cultural identity resulting from colonisation. Central to this claim is the notion that ethnicity is a reliable construct by which distinctions can be made between offenders regarding what factors precipitate their offending, as well as best practices for their rehabilitation. Despite the absence of empirical support, this claim has been transformed from a conjectural claim to a veridical fact resulting in what is termed here 'the wishing well approach'. An alternative perspective is recommended to improve current efforts to address the issue of Maori being overrepresented in New Zealand's criminal justice sector.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present results from analysis of over 50,000 police records pertaining to young people's contact with the Tasmanian criminal justice system between 1991 and 2002 across that decade, court appearances markedly reduced, while a corresponding increase in diversions was recorded.
Abstract: Internationally, many youth justice systems aim to divert young people from court through informal mechanisms, such as police cautions and restorative conferences Among other things, diversion avoids the potentially criminogenic effects of formal contact with the criminal justice system However, in some instances, the sum of court appearances and diversionary procedures indicates an overall increase in the numbers of young people having contact (formal or informal) with the criminal justice system - a phenomenon known as net-widening This article summarises previous debates about the risks of net-widening It then presents results from analysis of over 50,000 police records pertaining to young people's contact with the Tasmanian criminal justice system between 1991 and 2002 Across that decade, court appearances markedly reduced, while a corresponding increase in diversions was recorded There was no evidence of net-widening However, there was a significant increase in detention orders Implications for policy and future research are considered
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an account of a moral panic that unfolded during a short period in the Australian state of New South Wales over warring motorbike or 'bikie' gangs.
Abstract: This article proceeds in three main parts. First, it provides an account of a moral panic that unfolded during a short period in the Australian state of New South Wales over warring motorbike or 'bikie' gangs. Second, it sketches a recent history of laws in New South Wales that have expanded police powers, including 'anti-bikie' gang laws. The article shows how policing and crime control has become politicised since 9/11 and, accordingly, the extension of police powers has entailed the blurring of the functions of police and security services. This, in turn, raises serious concerns about civil liberties and the rule of law. Third, the article interprets the events surrounding the 'bikie gang wars' using classic and more recent moral panic theory as well as ideas around the 'new penology'. The article concludes by considering the utility of applying the concept of moral panic to the bikie case.
TL;DR: The authors examined the policies and decision-making that characterised a state that remained determinedly colonial in its practices and ambitions, and considered how distinctive or how representative was Queensland practice as a state response to Indigenous violence during these decades of colonial subordination.
Abstract: During the long era of 'protection' (enacted in 1897, flourishing in the interwar years and with effects continuing to this day) policy towards Australian Indigenous people suspected of interpersonal violence was ambiguous in its objectives and its means. Formally, Indigenous peoples in Australia were British subjects entitled to the full protection of the law. As a consequence, violence between Indigenous people was made visible through the conduct of inquests, police inquiries and, in many cases, subsequent arrest and charge with a criminal offence. Disposal of those charged or even suspected of crimes reflects tension between the universalising presumptions of the criminal law and the particularising effects of welfare regimes that ruled the lives of Indigenous people. Drawing on archives of inquests, courts and prisons in the Queensland jurisdiction before 1940, this article examines the policies and decision-making that characterised a state that remained determinedly colonial in its practices and ambitions. In conclusion, we consider briefly the question of how distinctive or how representative was Queensland practice as a state response to Indigenous violence during these decades of colonial subordination.
TL;DR: Based on a national analysis of Indigenous family violence, the 2001 monograph on 'Violence in Indigenous Communities' by the author and his colleagues for the Australian Attorney-General's Department called for government agencies to 'take a regional approach to supporting and co-ordinating local community initiatives' together with 'partnerships between Indigenous program personnel and mainstream services'.
Abstract: Based on a national analysis of Indigenous family violence, the 2001 monograph on 'Violence in Indigenous Communities' by the author and his colleagues for the Australian Attorney-General's Department called for government agencies to 'take a regional approach to supporting and co-ordinating local community initiatives' together with 'partnerships between Indigenous program personnel and mainstream services ...' (Memmott et al., 2001, p. 4). This current article reports on regional aspects of two subsequent pieces of research by the author, one in the Barkly Region of central-east Northern Territory for Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation (2007) and the other in the Torres Strait for the Queensland Department of Communities (2008). The research findings from both of these studies develop the case for government policy to accommodate regional approaches to Indigenous family violence due to combinations of geographic and culturally specific causal factors. The importance of nurturing social and cultural capital in Indigenous communities to strengthen social values, leadership and cohesion in addressing Indigenous violence will be emphasised. Some comment will be made on the role of underlying factors ('deep historical circumstances') in contributing to violence, in conjunction with precipitating causes and situational factors, the former being somewhat downplayed in policy debate over the period of the Howard government.
TL;DR: This article reviewed a selection of research articles on police torture in China, published in Chinese language academic journals between 1994 and 2008 as well as recent literature on Chinese policing and criminal procedure in English, concluding that answers about how to protect suspects' rights and reduce interrogational torture in criminal proceedings in China can be found in adaptations of structural elements of the legal landscape, but also in practices and traditions with strong cultural connections.
Abstract: This study reviews a selection of research articles on police torture in China, published in Chinese language academic journals between 1994 and 2008 as well as recent literature on Chinese policing and criminal procedure in English. The study shows that Chinese legal scholars have devoted considerable attention to the subject of police interrogational torture and have presented evidence that interrogational torture is a pervasive problem in criminal investigations in China. While the mainstream legal scholarship treats the gaps or ambiguities in the law as the major cause of police torture, others relate it to the organisation and structure of the Chinese criminal justice system. Some studies conclude that traditional and cultural Chinese values account for the tolerance and acceptance of police torture. The article concludes that answers about how to protect suspects' rights and reduce interrogational torture in criminal proceedings in China can be found in adaptations of structural elements of the legal landscape, but also in practices and traditions with strong cultural connections.
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey of the New South Wales (NSW) public bearing on their attitudes towards sentencing and other aspects of criminal justice administration was conducted and a high proportion of respondents reported that sentences are either 'a little' or'much' too lenient.
Abstract: Many national and international studies have examined public opinion towards the adequacy of sentencing. A smaller number of studies, particularly in Australia, have tended to look more closely at levels of confidence in specific aspects of the courts. This study describes a survey of the New South Wales (NSW) public bearing on their attitudes towards sentencing and other aspects of criminal justice administration. Consistent with previous research, a high proportion of respondents reported that sentences are either 'a little' or 'much' too lenient. Most were either 'very' or 'fairly' confident that the criminal justice system respects the rights of accused persons (72%) and treats them fairly (75%) but smaller proportions were confident that the justice system brings people to justice (54.8%), deals with cases efficiently (43.7%), deals with cases promptly (29.7%) or meets the needs of victims (34.7%). Critically, people who know more about trends in crime, court outcomes and sentencing practices have higher levels of confidence in sentencing and other aspects of the justice system.
TL;DR: This article conducted a pilot study to understand the factors that contribute to variations in rates of Indigenous offending by conducting qualitative research in two communities with significant Aboriginal populations - Wilcannia and Menindee - that are demographically and geographically comparable but with contrasting crime rates.
Abstract: Crime data collated by the New South Wales (NSW) Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) indicates that there is considerable variation in rates of Indigenous offending from one area to another in NSW, including in areas that are comparable in terms of Indigenous population. However, despite research findings that raise the importance of community context in relation to the offending of Indigenous individuals, there has been little investigation of the relationship between the dynamics of Indigenous communities and crime rates. In particular, there is a dearth of research that seeks to better understand the factors that may render Indigenous communities less prone to crime. This article outlines the findings of a pilot study undertaken by a research team from Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology Sydney, with support from BOCSAR. The pilot study sought to better understand the factors that contribute to variations in rates of Indigenous offending by conducting qualitative research in two communities with significant Aboriginal populations - Wilcannia and Menindee - that are demographically and geographically comparable but with contrasting crime rates.
TL;DR: The authors explored recreational drug use among a sample of 18-48-year-old clubbers in Wellington clubs, New Zealand in 2004-5 and found that the processes of normalisation, including current regular drug use and drug-wiseness, varies between locales and between casual, formal or reformed drug users.
Abstract: Illicit drug use within club cultures has been well documented internationally, but research and scholarship about New Zealand club cultures is scarce. This article explores recreational drug use among a sample of 18-48-year-old clubbers in Wellington clubs, New Zealand in 2004-5. The normalisation thesis is used as a basis for analysis with a focus on the issues raised by this thesis. The problematic issues raised by the normalisation thesis and developed in this article were that the processes of normalisation, including current regular drug use and drug-wiseness, varies between locales and between casual, formal or reformed drug users. This reflects both variation in 'cultural accommodation of the illicit' and the nature of the diverse population represented.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the extent to which the positive association between past and future offending can be explained by either (un)observed population heterogeneity, or by state dependence.
Abstract: This study examines the extent to which the positive association between past and future offending can be explained by either (un)observed population heterogeneity, or by state dependence. We use criminal career data derived from (1) a self-report survey administered to 2,900 Dutch individuals aged 15 years or older, and (2) the Criminal Career and Life-course Study (CCLS) that has official data on a 4% (N = 4,684) sample of Dutch offenders convicted in 1977. Using hierarchical linear modelling we find both heterogeneity and state dependence partially explaining continuity in crime in both samples. In addition, we find that the impact of prior offending decreases over time and that that impact depends on the total number of previously committed offences.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that one of the reasons for noncompliance in New Zealand (and probably elsewhere), is that the complexities of domestic violence situations make pro-arrest difficult to apply in practice.
Abstract: Since pro-arrest policies in domestic violence became popular in the United States in the 1980s, numerous western countries have followed suit. In most cases, research has shown that implementation of the policies has fallen short of expectations, with arrest rates that are surprisingly low. In New Zealand, pro-arrest strategies have been employed since 1987 and results have been similar. This article argues that one of the reasons for noncompliance in New Zealand (and probably elsewhere), is that the complexities of domestic violence situations make pro-arrest difficult to apply in practice. Moreover, in order to protect themselves from official criticism for deviating from policy, in this study frontline police sometimes filed incomplete or inaccurate incident reports. This made it hard to determine exactly how well the policy was being implemented and whether or not it was working.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the substantial growth in the number of young people remanded in custody in New South Wales (NSW) and the increasing number of people granted bail but unable to meet the conditions of bail.
Abstract: This article examines the substantial growth in the number of young people remanded in custody in New South Wales (NSW) and the increasing number of young people granted bail but unable to meet the conditions of bail. It points to the inadequacies of the Bail Act 1978 (NSW) for dealing with young people, and highlights the ways in which recent developments in law and practice and the politicisation of bail mark a substantial departure from the well-established purposes of bail and remand. It also identifies an agenda for future research concerning bail decision-making for young people.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Grewcock et al. as discussed by the authors reviewed the Border Crimes: Australia's War on Illicit Migrants, by Michael Grewcock, Sydney: Institute of Criminology Press, 2009.
Abstract: Review(s) of: Border Crimes: Australia's War on Illicit Migrants, by Michael Grewcock, Sydney: Institute of Criminology Press, 2009.
TL;DR: The Children's Koori Court of Victoria as discussed by the authors was the first court to involve the Indigenous community in the sentencing of young people as a strategy of reducing their overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system.
Abstract: This article reports on some of the major findings of the evaluation of the Children's Koori Court of Victoria - the first legislated effort to involve the Indigenous community in the sentencing of young people as a strategy of reducing their overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. This court is presided over by a Magistrate sitting with two Koori Elders or Respected Persons in what is solely a sentencing court. The outcome component of the evaluation focussed on the 62 Koori defendants who appeared before the court in the first two years of its operation (2005-07) and who were tracked for between 6 and 30 months. The evaluation found low rates of failure-to-appear and breaches of court orders. Just under 60 per cent subsequently reappeared in a court and had their charges proven. In most cases, however, the principal re-offence was either less serious or no more serious than the one that had brought them before the Children's Koori Court. This recidivism rate was within the realm of what was expected given the highly disadvantaged background of the defendants and their established offending histories. Significant reductions in Indigenous juvenile crime will require major structural change.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that comparative criminology needs to come to terms with novel objects in new conceptual and organisational layers, both above the state and below the city.
Abstract: Traditional comparative criminology has predominantly focused on the comparison of isolated and self-contained cultures and arrangements However, globalisation has altered states of isolation and self-containment to produce spheres of interrelation That provides a challenge to the comparative method This article will argue that comparative criminology needs to come to terms with novel objects in new conceptual and organisational layers, both above the state and below the city Such enquiry requires agility Rather than identifying and crossing new frontiers, globalised comparative criminology should concern itself with the complex interplay between global, national, city and subcity levels This approach is illustrated by an examination of contrasts in community safety between the rival Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam
TL;DR: The extent to which gendered power imbalances are present in Australian Indigenous sentencing court hearings concerning intimate partner violence offending is explored, and how, if at all, such power imbalance is managed by a process which aims to be more culturally appropriate.
Abstract: One of the most common forms of violence in Indigenous communities is violence between intimate partners Indigenous sentencing courts and specialist family violence courts (as well as mainstream courts) are used in Australia to sentence Indigenous partner violence offenders Currently, there are over 50 Indigenous sentencing courts operating in all Australian states and territories, except Tasmania, which use Indigenous Elders to assist a judicial officer in sentencing an offender Debates exist surrounding the issue of whether alternative justice forums are appropriate in cases involving domestic and family violence Feminist advocates are concerned with the appearance of a 'too lenient' response to violent men and the danger of exposing a victim to further power imbalances during a hearing, whereas Indigenous advocates focus on the need for justice practices that are more culturally relevant, sensitive and appropriate This article explores the extent to which gendered power imbalances are present in Australian Indigenous sentencing court hearings concerning intimate partner violence offending, and how, if at all, such power imbalances are managed by a process which aims to be more culturally appropriate
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Review(s) of: Contemporary State Terrorism: Theory and Practice, Edited by Richard Jackson, Eamon Murphy and Scott Poynting London: Routledge, 2010.
Abstract: Review(s) of: Contemporary State Terrorism: Theory and Practice, Edited by Richard Jackson, Eamon Murphy and Scott Poynting London: Routledge, 2010.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the problem of selective enforcement in relation to male homosexuality lies not in policing or in 'police culture' but in law that allows heteronormative social morality to become translated into police practice.
Abstract: This article addresses the policing of consensual sexual activity in public places in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It draws upon data produced during a qualitative study conducted in NSW that involved semistructured interviews with key professionals who have specialist knowledge of this area of policing. Using these interview data and an analysis of NSW Police policy documents, the article considers operational policing within the broader context of contemporary NSW law. It argues that the legal construction of public sex offences facilitates forms of police discretion that, because of the social and moral landscape in which such discretion takes place, encourages the disproportionate social control of male homosexual conduct. By thinking of policing as a dynamic arena in which competing moral values are brought into tension, the article explores how the moral decision-making of police officers (a product of their 'moral habitus') determines the scope and application of the law. It concludes by arguing that the 'problem' of selective enforcement in relation to male homosexuality lies not in policing or in 'police culture' but in law that allows heteronormative social morality to become translated into police practice.
TL;DR: While future research is needed to disentangle the complex interplay of colonisation and risk factors for understanding Aboriginal peoples' elevated risk of intimate partner violence victimisation, the current study demonstrates that gender is also worthy of consideration.
Abstract: Using a large-scale representative sample of Canada collected in 1999, this study examined Aboriginal men's elevated risk for violent victimisation relative to non-Aboriginal men. Aboriginal men reported about 2.5 to 3.5 times the risk of intimate partner violence victimisation compared to non-Aboriginal men. Aboriginal men's elevated risk of violence was greatest on some of the most severe forms of violence and appeared to be due to their relatively higher levels of unemployment and relatively younger average age. While future research is needed to disentangle the complex interplay of colonisation and risk factors for understanding Aboriginal peoples' elevated risk of intimate partner violence victimisation, the current study demonstrates that gender is also worthy of consideration.
TL;DR: The authors argued that the development of policy and sentencing practices in this important area appears to be influenced more by the perception of populist views, than the scientific evaluation of empirical data, and that it is of the utmost importance that the community have the benefit of empirical research and analysis undertaken in the field of criminal justice by impartial experts.
Abstract: This paper was presented as a keynote address to the Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology in 2009. It contends that it is of the utmost importance that the community have the benefit of empirical research and analysis undertaken in the field of criminal justice by impartial experts. Its central proposition is that the development of policy and sentencing practices in this important area appears to be influenced more by the perception of populist views, than the scientific evaluation of empirical data.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Felson and Boba as mentioned in this paper reviewed crime and everyday life with a focus on crime, crime, and daily life, by Marcus Felson and Rachel Boba, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage 2010.
Abstract: Review(s) of: Crime and Everyday Life, by Marcus Felson and Rachel Boba, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 2010.