Principles of Criminal Law in Queensland and Western Australia

Aspires to engage students in the criminal law in Queensland and Western Australia by explaining and applying its fundamental principles. In both these jurisdictions the criminal law stems from the Griffith Code, which was enacted in 1899 in Queensland and in 1913 in Western Australia.

The Impact of Indigenous status on adult sentencing : a review of the statistical research literature.

The gross overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in prison populations suggests that sentencing may be a discriminatory process. Using findings from recent (1991–2011) multivariate statistical sentencing analyses from the United States, Canada, and Australia, we review the 3 key hypotheses advanced as plausible explanations for baseline sentencing discrepancies between Indigenous and non-Indigenous adult criminal defendants: (a) differential involvement, (b) negative discrimination, and (c) positive discrimination. Overall, the prior research shows strong support for the differential involvement thesis and some support for the discrimination theses (positive and negative). We argue that where discrimination is found, it may be explained by the lack of a more complete set of control variables in researchers’ multivariate models and/or differing political and social contexts.

The Sapphire Vortex : blending virtual world machinima with real world commentary for effective learning of criminal law

Traditional approaches to teaching criminal law in Australian law schools include lectures that focus on the transmission of abstracted and decontextualised knowledge, with content often prioritised at the expense of depth. This paper discusses The Sapphire Vortex, a blended learning environment that combines a suite of on-line modules using Second Life machinima to depict a narrative involving a series of criminal offences and the ensuing courtroom proceedings, expert commentary by practising lawyers and class discussions.

Juveniles’ contact with the criminal justice system in Australia

This report presents the first collection of data on juveniles’ contact with the criminal justice system as both alleged/convicted offenders and complainants/victims in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Its primary objectives are to outline data from each of these jurisdictions on juveniles’ contact with the policing, courts and correctional systems and to determine what we do and do not know about juveniles’ contact with the criminal justice system.

The radicalisation of prison inmates : exploring recruitment, religion and prisoner vulnerability

It should come as no surprise that prisons can become breeding grounds for radicalisation and terrorism [1]. In many cases, extremist ideologies can flourish in prisons through recruiting vulnerable inmates to follow their path. Despite being a popular topic among researchers and policymakers, there still remain significant gaps in our understanding and many unanswered questions. This paper provides an overview on prisoner radicalisation, specifically exploring the role religion plays in prison and its link to radicalisation, prisoner vulnerability to radicalisation and the radicalisation process. The paper also outlines the current debate regarding where is the best place to house terrorist prisoners (isolation vs. separation). The paper concludes by identifying the major gaps in the literature and offers concluding remarks.

The use of 'queer' in criminal justice discourses

Within criminological literature, there are growing references to a 'queer/ed criminology'. To date, ‘queer criminology’ remains a loose collection of studies and criminal-justice related commentary that uses the term 'queer'. Amid the growing calls for the more substantial development of these criminological studies, it is timely to reflect on the ways that the term ‘queer’ has been used in these discourses, to what ends, and with what effects. This paper considers the manner in which the term 'queer' has been used in these criminological and criminal justice discourses. It suggests that ‘queer’ has been used in two dominant ways: as an 'umbrella' term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer-identified people; and to signify the use of theoretical tools with which to represent sexuality- and gender-diverse people more effectively within criminological research. The paper will argue that these ways of using ‘queer’ have a variety of implications and effects. Specifically, using ‘queer’ as an umbrella term has the potential to reinforce identity categories and the politics that surround identities (a critique that has often appeared in queer contexts), while using it as a theoretical tool potentially reproduces various investments in criminology and criminal justice institutions. Both uses may preclude other productive avenues for critique opened up by the term ‘queer’. The paper will conclude by suggesting that using ‘queer’ as a verb to signify a more deconstructive project directed towards criminology is a possible direction for these discussions. While this approach has its own effects, and articulates with existing deconstructive approaches in criminology, it is important to explore these possibilities at this point in the development of a ‘queer/ed criminology’ for two reasons: it highlights that multiple, and often competing, ‘queer/ed criminologies’ exist; and it expands the diverse possibilities heralded by the notion of ‘queer’.

Validating a screening tool for mental health and substance use risk in an Indigenous prison population

Introduction and Aims: The Indigenous Risk Impact Screen (IRIS) is a validated culturally appropriate and widely used tool in the community for assessing substance use and mental disorder. This research aimed to assess the utility of this tool in an Indigenous prison population. Design and Methods: The study used data collected from a cross-sectional study of mental health among indigenous inmates in Queensland custodial centres (n=395, 84% male). Participants were administered a modified version of the IRIS, and ICD-10 diagnoses of substance use, depressive and anxiety disorders obtained using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). The concurrent validity of the modified IRIS was assessed against those of the CIDI. Results: 312 people screened as high risk for a substance use disorder and 179 were high risk for mental problems. 73% of males and 88% of females were diagnosed with a mental disorder. The IRIS was an effective screener for substance use disorders, with high sensitivity (Se) of 94% and low specificity (Sp) of 33%. The screener was less effective in identifying depression (Se 82%, Sp 59%) and anxiety (Se 68%, Sp 60%). Discussion: The IRIS is the first culturally appropriate screening instrument to be validated for the risk of drug and alcohol and mental disorder among Indigenous adults in custody. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the IRIS is a valid tool for screening of alcohol and drug use risk among an incarcerated Indigenous population. The IRIS could offer an opportunity to improve the identification, treatment and health outcomes for incarcerated Indigenous adults.

Using real-time authentic online learning scenarios to teach criminal intelligence

Criminal intelligence is an area of expertise highly sought-after internationally and within a variety of justice-related professions; however, producing university graduates with the requisite professional knowledge, as well as analytical, organisational and technical skills presents a pedagogical and technical challenge to university educators. The situation becomes even more challenging when students are undertaking their studies by distance education. This best practice session showcases the design of an online undergraduate unit for final year justice students which uses an evolving real-time criminal scenario as the focus of authentic learning activities in order to prepare students for graduate roles within the criminal intelligence and justice professions. Within the unit, students take on the role of criminal intelligence analysts, applying relevant theories, models and strategies to solve a complex but realistic crime and complete briefings and documentation to industry standards as their major summative assessment task. The session will demonstrate how the design of the online unit corresponds to authentic learning principles, and will specifically map the elements of the unit design to Herrington & Oliver’s instructional design framework for authentic learning (2000; Herrington & Herrington 2006). The session will show how a range of technologies was used to create a rich learning experience for students that could be easily maintained over multiple unit iterations without specialist technical support. The session will also discuss the unique pedagogical affordances and challenges implicated in the location of the unit within an online learning environment, and will reflect on some of the lessons learned from the development which may be relevant to other authentic online learning contexts.

Using real-time authentic online learning scenarios to teach criminal intelligence : presentation

Criminal intelligence is an area of expertise highly sought-after internationally and within a variety of justice-related professions; however, producing university graduates with the requisite professional knowledge, as well as analytical, organisational and technical skills presents a pedagogical and technical challenge to university educators. The situation becomes even more challenging when students are undertaking their studies by distance education. This best practice session showcases the design of an online undergraduate unit for final year justice students which uses an evolving real-time criminal scenario as the focus of authentic learning activities in order to prepare students for graduate roles within the criminal intelligence and justice professions. Within the unit, students take on the role of criminal intelligence analysts, applying relevant theories, models and strategies to solve a complex but realistic crime and complete briefings and documentation to industry standards as their major summative assessment task. The session will demonstrate how the design of the online unit corresponds to authentic learning principles, and will specifically map the elements of the unit design to Herrington & Oliver’s instructional design framework for authentic learning (2000; Herrington & Herrington 2006). The session will show how a range of technologies was used to create a rich learning experience for students that could be easily maintained over multiple unit iterations without specialist technical support. The session will also discuss the unique pedagogical affordances and challenges implicated in the location of the unit within an online learning environment, and will reflect on some of the lessons learned from the development which may be relevant to other authentic online learning contexts.

Prison

The prison casts a long shadow over Australian cinema. This chapter discusses Australian films set in penal settlements and prisons in the past, present and future. Themes discussed include the fictional depiction of actual events and people, gender and the prison film, the outback as virtual prison, the cell, and stories of unjust imprisonment and systemic brutality.

Review: "Stir" -- Stephen Wallace

Synopsis and review of the Australian prison film Stir (Stephen Wallace, 1980). Includes cast and credits. Stir was written by a former prisoner, Bob Jewson, who had witnessed first hand a notorious riot at Bathurst Gaol in New South Wales in February 1974, the second serious disturbance at the prison in four years. In 1979, prisoners at Parramatta Gaol staged a peaceful sit-in to protest against the New South Wales’ government’s decision not to pursue criminal charges against prison officers for their actions during the 1974 Bathurst riot. The bashing of China Jackson and his cellmate in the first scene of Stir follows a sit-in, with the rest of the film drawing heavily on events around the 1974 Bathurst riot. The director later claimed that he wanted to call the film ‘The Riot at Bathurst Prison’, but was persuaded by nervous bureaucrats to apply the veneer of fiction. The film was retitled Stir, and set in the fictional Gatunga Gaol. Like other films in this genre, Stir draws heavily on the experiences of former prisoners and warders. The Prisoners’ Action Group played a leading role in the planning and preparation of the film, and many former inmates and guards were employed as extras. And in common with many films in this genre, Stir is concerned to humanise the plight of prisoners. Through the depiction of the routines of punishment, violence and retribution by which order in the institution is maintained, and through careful evocation of the atmosphere of fear and intimidation that prisoners (and warders) live with every day, Stir, again like other films in this genre blames the authorities and the system itself for events like those portrayed here. As producer Richard Brennan says in an interview on the 2005 DVD release of the film, “prisons create monsters”...

Criminal desistance : life opportunities and hermeneutic circles of self-definition

The emic perspective of criminal desistance (ex-offenders’ personal explanations of how they gave up crime) is largely ignored by criminology. This thesis attempts to address this absence of the storyteller’s perspective by inviting desisters to participate in the exploration and interpretation of their individual desistance journeys. Significant attention is drawn to the importance of philosophical self-enquiry to personal change. This detailed journey through the desistance stories of five ex-offenders has produced an emphatic re-statement of the need for the non-judgemental listener as the beginning point of cathartic healing in damaged lives.

Encouraging visitors : a new set of guidelines for designing prison visitors’ centres

Visitors to prison are generally innocent of committing crime, but their interaction with inmates has been studied as a possible incentive to reduce recidivism. The way visitors’ centres are currently designed takes in consideration mainly security principles and the needs of guards or prison management. The human experience of the relatives or friends aiming to provide emotional support to inmates is usually not considered; facilities have been designed with an approach that often discourages people from visiting. This paper discusses possible principles to design prison visitors’ centres taking in consideration practical needs, but also human factors. A comparative case study analysis of different secure typologies, like libraries, airports or children hospitals, provides suggestions about how to approach the design of prison in order to ensure the visitor is not punished for the crimes of those they are visiting.