Extended supervision of sexual offenders in Australia and New Zealand : differences in implementation across jurisdictions

Australia and New Zealand have joined the movement of many Western societies in recent years to address a perceived gap in public safety by passing legislation allowing for extended supervision of sex offenders in the community after their release from prison. The Australian State of Victoria passed a law similar to that of New Zealand, and both laws have now been in effect for a similar period of time. Yet despite having comparable laws and approximately comparable base populations, there have been 145 extended supervision orders imposed in New Zealand and 20 such orders in Victoria. This article examines the differences in implementation and the underlying procedures used in the two jurisdictions to understand these very different outcomes. Implications for professional practice, ethics, public safety, and policy development are discussed.

Cultural issues in commencing the supervision of Chinese research students

This paper discusses the impact Chinese students’ culturally-specific features might have on the processes by which they commence their higher degrees by research candidature. We explain how existing frameworks in cross-cultural studies and an appreciation of the different educational background might be used to create a better understanding of the Australian supervisor-Chinese PhD student relationship. We provide strategies to deal with features of Australian academic culture which the Chinese candidate might find confronting so as to maximise the chances of a successful start to candidature and a reduction in the possibility of problems arising.

Cross-cultural issues in the supervision of a Chinese socio-legal PhD student

The purpose of this co-authored paper is to explain how culturally specific features of Chinese students impact on the processes by which they commence their socio-legal research degrees by research candidature. The presentation by the co-authors of the paper will include a simulation of the first meeting between the candidate and the supervisor. This simulation will show how specific features of Chinese culture and the Chinese education system create a massive culture shock when Chinese research students are exposed to Anglo-Australian academic culture. We will explain how the underlying principles of Chinese culture impact on the candidate‘s expectations in relation to: the role of the supervisor; the requirement of original contribution; expectations in feedback on written work and communication more generally . We will then propose strategies for reducing the impact of culture shock and improving the experience of the candidature and the performance from each party to the relationship in terms of timely completions and reduced attrition. These strategies derive from the authors‘ experience in relation to doctoral research management and cross-cultural communication.

Videoconferenced and face-to-face psychological supervision

Behavioural measures confirmed a greater teaching focus in early videoconferenced sessions, while speech style was consistently less interactive, compared with face-to-face. Overall supervision relationships felt closer in person, but some participants preferred the protection of distance. A positive attitude facilitated adaption to the videoconferencing modality for effective supervision.

The Supervision of Known Sex Offenders in the Community: Monitoring Progress and Providing Feedback

Case management is the process by which most known sex offenders who live in the community are currently supervised. However, by itself, case management has been shown to have only a modest impact on rates of re-offending, and it is only when case work and/or treatment sessions are introduced, that the benefits become apparent. This paper considers how routinely collecting and feeding back standardized data about client progress towards supervisory goals can be integrated into the offender supervision and case management process. Based on methods that have been shown to be associated with enhanced outcomes in mental health, it is suggested that the implementation of feedback approaches have the potential to both enhance the case management process and improve the effectiveness of those policies which require it.

Risk assessment of sexual offenders for extended supervision orders in New Zealand : basic principles and current practice

A growing number of jurisdictions in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australasia have enacted legislation allowing for special sentencing, civil commitment, and community supervision options for high risk sexual offenders. In New Zealand, one example of this concern for public protection is the Parole (Extended Supervision) Amendment Act 2004, which provides for additional supervision of sexual offenders with child victims for up to 10 years after their release from prison. Recent experience with expert evidence and judicial decision making in such cases suggests that those involved in the process might benefit from a more thorough understanding of the current state of sexual offender risk assessment that can be provided by mental health professionals.

Short term reoffending by child victim sex offenders in New Zealand : a comparison of those with and without extended supervision

Sexual offenders with child victims in New Zealand who are considered at high risk for reoffending are subject to an Extended Supervision Order. This allows for a period of supervision of up to ten years following release to the community. The present study examined 89 offenders given Extended Supervision Orders over the 33 month period since the legislation was enacted. All types of reoffending resulting in criminal convictions by this group were included. A matched sample of sexual offenders with child victims released prior to this legislation and a sample of offenders judged to be lower risk were compared to those under extended supervision. Offenders under extended supervision reoffended faster and at a higher rate for both sexual and general offences than those deemed lower risk, but at a lower rate than pre-extended supervision high risk offenders. The relationship between specialist treatment programme attendance and completion, actuarial risk level, and recidivism in the extended supervision sample were also investigated. These variables were found not to be significant predictors of sexual recidivism.

Clinical supervision and symmetrical communication : towards a critical practice of supervision

The central argument of the thesis is that the dominant modes of the supervision of teaching are in need of critique and reconstruction. From a critical perspective, supervision is viewed as a political and ideological process enacted through asymmetrical relations and structures of communication. It is underpinned by a discourse of technocratic rationality and control Clinical supervision, a currently popular model of teacher supervision, has (despite its emancipatory origins) been accommodated by the dominant ideology and is employed as a hegemonic mechanism of evaluation, control and even dismissal of teachers. However, historical analysis reveals that teachers have contested and resisted authoritarianism and centralized control in favour of developing more democratic and participatory forms of professional development. In these moves can be found a rationale for a reconstruction of the theory and practice of clinical supervision around the concepts of symmetrical communication and critical pedagogy. The researcher engaged in a self-reflective study with a group of supervisors and teachers in N.S.W. schools to explore the possibilities and limitations of a critical and counter-hegemonic practice of supervision. The outcomes, in the form of three case studies, are analysed in terms of a dialectic of reconstruction and maintenance of the status quo. The evidence reveals that some of the research participants sought to reconstruct their supervisory relationships in ways which challenged the bureaucratic structures of their workplace. Others, however, rejected the emancipatory possibilities and resolved to maintain their traditional hierarchical relationship.

Extended supervision or civil commitment for managing the risk of sexual offenders : public safety and individual rights

Since the early 1990’s, there has been a proliferation of legislative initiatives in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australasia that are intended to improve public protection from high risk sexual offenders. These laws include extended supervision of sexual offenders once released from prison and indefinite involuntary civil commitment to secure treatment facilities following the expiration of a prison sentence. The enactment of these laws has sparked intense debate and numerous legal challenges on a variety of issues, including the need to strike a proper balance between public safety and the rights of individual offenders. Recent challenges to Extended Supervision Orders in New Zealand have included the assertion that this approach is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act. This article compares the use of Extended Supervision Orders in New Zealand to the use of civil commitment of Sexually Violent Predators in the United States, and particularly in California, which currently confines the largest number of offenders under this type of commitment. It is argued that Extended Supervision is more flexible, less intrusive, less punitive, and less costly than civil commitment. The degree to which it is effective in improving public safety remains an empirical question.

Encouraging a culture of justification: a comparison of Teoh and Baker

Focuses on the intersection of administrative law, international law, and universal human rights concepts in Australia and Canada. Comparison of  court decision between the cases involving Ah Hin Teoh and the Canadian  Minister of Citizenship and Immigration; Effect of the ratified United Nations  Convention on the Rights of the Child on administrative decisions; Judicial supervision of executive actions.

Removal of directors of public companies takes centre stage in Australia : an exploration of the corporate law and governance issues

Increasing attention is being given to the legal and governance issues relating to the removal of directors in Australian public companies. This has been due mainly to the difficulties experienced by the board of National Australia Bank in attempting to remove one of its fellow directors, and the subsequent development of public companies entering into so-called 'prenuptial agreements' with new directors, requiring that the director 'resign' if the board pass a vote of no-confidence in the director. In this article, the author revisits the area of director removal in Australian public companies for two reasons. The first reason, which covers the majority of the article, is to engage in a detailed analysis of whether the pre-nuptial agreements which some public companies have indicated that they support using to remove directors, are in fact enforceable under Australia's Corporations Act The second reason is to outline a law reform proposal to enable public companies to remove directors without requiring the vote of shareholders at a general meeting. The proposal involves providing Australia' corporate  regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) with the power to grant relief from the statutory removal provisions to public companies, but in a way which balances the competing objectives of commercial efficiency and shareholder participation and, very importantly, encourages good corporate governance practices by companies in relation to the performance assessment  of directors.

It is in the interests of both shareholders and directors to agree on a set of ground rules for the effective supervision of companies that reconciles the rights of the owners to overall control with the much tougher demands on modern directors