School of Social and Political Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemUrgent issues and prospects in correctional rehabilitation practice and research(WILEY, 2022-09)Abstract The aim of this paper is to identify some of the urgent issues currently confronting criminal justice policymakers, researchers and practitioners. To this end a diverse group of researchers and clinicians have collaborated to identify pressing concerns in the field and to make some suggestions about how to proceed in the future. The authors represent individuals with varying combinations of criminal justice research, professional training (e.g. social work, criminal justice, criminology, social work, clinical psychology) and clinical orientation, and experience. The paper is comprised of 13 commentaries and a subsequent discussion based on these reflections. The commentaries are divided into the categories of explanation of criminal behaviour, clinical assessment and correctional intervention, and cover issues ranging from the role of clinical expertise in treatment, problems with risk assessment to the adverse effects of social oppression on minority groups. Following the commentaries, we summarize some of their key themes and briefly discuss a number of major issues likely to confront the field in the next 5–10 years.
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ItemNo Preview Available“What matters is what works?”: The use of evidence in correctional settings.(ICPA, 2021)In this article we consider the value of different types of ‘evidence’ from the perspectives of a correctional agency research director and a university researcher. We discuss both the feasibility and the desirability of collecting the type of evidence that has largely informed correctional policy and practice and argue that there is a need to broaden our methodological frame to address the gaps that exist in our current knowledge base and the problems that inevitably arise when trying to translate research findings into practice.
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ItemAdolescent Violence Towards Parents – The Known and Unknowns(Wiley, 2016-12-01)Adolescent violence towards parents is one of the most poorly understood forms of family violence despite it being relatively common. This paper presents an overview of current knowledge about adolescent violence towards parents for practitioners who work with families, considering issues around definition, prevalence, impacts, and the key characteristics of perpetrators. It is concluded that both clinical and justice responses are, at present, not well informed by basic knowledge of the circumstances in which adolescent violence towards parents occurs, and there is a need to work systematically with families to balance safety and welfare needs.
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ItemThe characteristics of registered sexual offenders in an Australian jurisdiction(WILEY, 2017-06-01)Abstract Current policies to manage convicted sexual offenders living in the community do not differentiate between those at different levels of risk. This is important if risk management strategies are to be better targeted. However, current methods of categorizing risk bands rely on the application of data from other populations, and thus may lack validity when used in jurisdictions other than those in which the validation data were collected. This study provides a descriptive analysis of cases managed by police in one Australian jurisdiction, presenting the offence histories and risk profiles of this population. The analysis shows that the heterogeneity exists in relation to offence type, level of risk, and victim characteristics, suggesting that more sophisticated systems of offender classification are likely to be required if judgements about risk are to inform offender management and the investigation of new sexual crime.
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ItemDeveloping youth justice policy and programme design in Australia(WILEY, 2021-11-13)Abstract The national Closing the Gap reform provides a mandate for mainstream organisations to undergo structural transformation to better address the needs and concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In the criminal justice sector, the reform resonates strongly with ongoing discussions about how both policy and practice can address the significant over‐representation of Aboriginal people across the criminal justice system. One way that structural transformation can occur is through the genuine involvement of Aboriginal knowledge holders and communities in policy development. This study illustrates how this might happen in relation to youth justice policy and programme design. Eighteen Aboriginal community members from a town in rural New South Wales participated in a series of interviews relevant to the Closing the Gap target. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify four key themes relevant to the development of justice policy: supporting cultural identity in a post‐colonial context; articulating strengths and resources which can be mobilised in the community; the centrality of poverty to offending; and responding to intergenerational trauma. The study illustrates how non‐Indigenous policymakers and practitioners might approach the task of engagement and consultation by identifying Aboriginal knowledge as a legitimate epistemic resource that they can draw upon to guide the ongoing development of evidence‐based policy and programmes.
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ItemAn assessment of interventions that target risk factors for elder abuse.(Hindawi Limited, 2017-09)Although there is increasing concern about both the prevalence of, and harms associated with the abuse of older adults, progress in the development of interventions to prevent its occurrence has been slow. This paper reports the findings of a systematic review of the published literature that identified studies in which the outcomes of preventative interventions are described. A total of eight different intervention trials, published since 2004, are described across the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention and in terms of the types of risk factor that they target. The current evidence to support the effectiveness of these interventions is not only limited by the small number of outcome studies but also the poor quality of evaluation designs and the focus of many interventions on single risk factors. It is concluded that work is needed to strengthen the evidence base that supports the delivery of interventions to prevent elder abuse.
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ItemThe effectiveness of minimum non-parole period schemes for serious violent, sexual and drug offenders and evidence-based approaches to community protection, deterrence, and rehabilitation(Sentencing Advisory Council QLD, 2021)Purpose: This review presents a summary of research that is relevant to the implementation of the serious violent offences (SVO) scheme in Queensland. This scheme requires a person declared convicted of a serious violent offence1 to serve 80 per cent of their sentence (or 15 years, whichever is less) in prison before being eligible to apply for parole. Three separate but related questions are considered. The first relates to conceptualisations and stakeholder (i.e., community, victim and professional) perceptions of crime seriousness, risk, and harm - and how these influence determinations about the appropriate length of imprisonment and setting of non-parole periods. The second concerns current empirical evidence about the effectiveness of mandatory or presumptive minimum non-parole period schemes; and the final question considers what is known about the impact a range of other sentencing or programmatic approaches that might also be used to achieve community protection, deterrence, rehabilitation, punishment, and denunciation. These questions are answered with specific reference to those who have been convicted of Schedule 1 offences and who therefore may be subject to the SVO scheme, including those convicted of sexual violence, non-sexual violence, and serious drug offences.
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ItemPost-Symposium Reflections: A Panel Discussion(University of Waikato, 2021-06)A panel discussion to share and discuss reflections.
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ItemStandards of Practice in Domestic and Family Violence Behaviour Change Programs in Australia and New Zealand(WILEY, 2018-12-01)Domestic and family violence is a key area of concern for all professionals who work with families, with recent years seeing an expansion in the availability of intervention programs for men who perpetrate violence against women and children. This paper considers current approaches to the regulation of professional practice in this area, providing information about the changing context in which interventions are offered. The purpose of the paper is to encourage ongoing discussion about the setting of men's behaviour change program standards of practice in Australasia and to identify some key issues that require consideration.