The Effectiveness of Forensic Science in the Criminal Justice System. Policing plays a major role in combating crime in the community, reassuring and assisting persons affected by crime so that they can continue, or return, to enjoying their lives. Forensic science is increasingly relied upon by law enforcement to solve crime, and by the judicial system to prosecute offenders. However, the value and impact of forensic science has yet to be established. Through a comprehensive examination of fore ....The Effectiveness of Forensic Science in the Criminal Justice System. Policing plays a major role in combating crime in the community, reassuring and assisting persons affected by crime so that they can continue, or return, to enjoying their lives. Forensic science is increasingly relied upon by law enforcement to solve crime, and by the judicial system to prosecute offenders. However, the value and impact of forensic science has yet to be established. Through a comprehensive examination of forensic science usage in the criminal justice system in Victoria and ACT, this research will develop an evidence-based best-practice model for using forensic science efficiently and effectively. This will benefit the Australian community through the achievement of better and more cost effective criminal justice outcomes. Read moreRead less
Police Leadership in the 21st Century: Redesigning Roles and Practices. Leaders are seen as exemplifying and guiding the climate of police organisations. This project will deliver comprehensive, comparative, and internationally relevant empirical data on the relationship between leaders' approach and behaviours and the achievement of outcomes in these significant, high profile public sector organisations. On this foundation the project will make recommendations on innovative institutional desi ....Police Leadership in the 21st Century: Redesigning Roles and Practices. Leaders are seen as exemplifying and guiding the climate of police organisations. This project will deliver comprehensive, comparative, and internationally relevant empirical data on the relationship between leaders' approach and behaviours and the achievement of outcomes in these significant, high profile public sector organisations. On this foundation the project will make recommendations on innovative institutional design to achieve ethical, effective and efficient policing capable of withstanding the challenges of the future. This will increase public confidence in policing, resulting in safer communities and improved crime control. This proposal contributes to the ARC research priority of Safeguarding Australia.Read moreRead less
Sentencing and public confidence: public perceptions and the role of the public in sentencing practice and policy. Public confidence is critical to the effective operation of the criminal justice system. This project will generate much needed current national data on public attitudes about sentencing. It examines avenues for the incorporation of public opinion into sentencing policy and processes, and provides accurate measures of the factors involved. The results will enable governments to res ....Sentencing and public confidence: public perceptions and the role of the public in sentencing practice and policy. Public confidence is critical to the effective operation of the criminal justice system. This project will generate much needed current national data on public attitudes about sentencing. It examines avenues for the incorporation of public opinion into sentencing policy and processes, and provides accurate measures of the factors involved. The results will enable governments to respond to periodic crises in public confidence in constructive and informed ways, rather than act in response to law and order rhetoric, linked with harsh sentencing regimes, and costly and potentially unnecessary increases in incarceration rates.Read moreRead less
Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation. The objective of this research is through a series of projects to bring the autor's restorative justice and responsive regulatin research programs of the last decade together, to intergrate them. this means to bear a restorative and responsive approach to transforming the entire legal system, not just criminal or regulatory law/administration. hwever, it does also mean reforming criminological theory with regulatory theory and applying restorative ....Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation. The objective of this research is through a series of projects to bring the autor's restorative justice and responsive regulatin research programs of the last decade together, to intergrate them. this means to bear a restorative and responsive approach to transforming the entire legal system, not just criminal or regulatory law/administration. hwever, it does also mean reforming criminological theory with regulatory theory and applying restorative justice to business regulation, as well as tort, tax, contract and all areas of law.Read moreRead less
Whistling While They Work: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations. The protection of whistleblowers and other internal witnesses to corruption, misconduct and maladministration is a great unsolved problem in public sector governance. Involving 11 integrity institutions, this first national study of internal witness management will describe and compare organisational experience under varying public interest disclosure regimes across the Au ....Whistling While They Work: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations. The protection of whistleblowers and other internal witnesses to corruption, misconduct and maladministration is a great unsolved problem in public sector governance. Involving 11 integrity institutions, this first national study of internal witness management will describe and compare organisational experience under varying public interest disclosure regimes across the Australian public sector. By identifying and promoting current best practice in workplace responses to public interest whistleblowing, the project will use the experience and perceptions of internal witnesses and first- and second-level managers to identify more routine strategies for preventing, reducing and addressing reprisals and other whistleblowing-related conflicts.Read moreRead less
Policing the Neighbourhood: Australian Police Peace-keeping, Capacity-building, and Development in Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Australia's involvement in policing offshore is growing rapidly. Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands, and shortly, Papua New Guinea, feature in these developments. The Australian Federal Police is now a key player in regional security and development. This study takes stock of this trend. Through three case studies, the project examines the grou ....Policing the Neighbourhood: Australian Police Peace-keeping, Capacity-building, and Development in Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Australia's involvement in policing offshore is growing rapidly. Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands, and shortly, Papua New Guinea, feature in these developments. The Australian Federal Police is now a key player in regional security and development. This study takes stock of this trend. Through three case studies, the project examines the grounds for providing assistance, the different cultural and political contexts in which assistance is taking place, the forms of that assistance, and the achievements and shortcomings of previous and current police assistance missions. It will also provide an analytical framework for future engagements of this nature.Read moreRead less
International Operations and the Australian Federal Police: Devising a legal framework. As a major player in the maintenance of regional peace and security, Australia is increasingly using Australian Federation Police (AFP) in a range of international operations. The extent of deployments and the expectations both governments and communities place on these operations is unprecedented. This project, in collaboration with the AFP, will draw upon recent experiences to provide a clear legal framewo ....International Operations and the Australian Federal Police: Devising a legal framework. As a major player in the maintenance of regional peace and security, Australia is increasingly using Australian Federation Police (AFP) in a range of international operations. The extent of deployments and the expectations both governments and communities place on these operations is unprecedented. This project, in collaboration with the AFP, will draw upon recent experiences to provide a clear legal framework, advancing the capacity for AFP deployments to maintain their high commitment to the rule of law. The project is of international significance and will consolidate Australia's reputation as innovative and influential in the planning, management and conduct of police in international operations. Read moreRead less
Juror confidence in justice: democratic participation or deference to authority? Australia will be better protected from terrorism and crime if its justice system has the confidence of its citizens. Currently it does not. Without such confidence, justice offers neither a credible deterrent nor a protector of rights. Courts are typically designed and run using a hierarchical model of authority, while new therapeutic and restorative approaches make justice processes more democratic. There is litt ....Juror confidence in justice: democratic participation or deference to authority? Australia will be better protected from terrorism and crime if its justice system has the confidence of its citizens. Currently it does not. Without such confidence, justice offers neither a credible deterrent nor a protector of rights. Courts are typically designed and run using a hierarchical model of authority, while new therapeutic and restorative approaches make justice processes more democratic. There is little evidence of how either of these impacts on justice for participants. Understanding the process by which people develop trust during one critical adjudicative process, the jury trial, will allow juries, and other forms of lay decision-making in judicial processes, to be used more effectively in the justice system.Read moreRead less
Optimising illicit dark net marketplace interventions. Optimising illicit dark net marketplace interventions. This project aims to develop and test a series of interventions to disrupt identify theft activities, and design an operational risk framework that will aid law enforcement agencies and organisations to timely and appropriately intervene in cyber space. The buying and selling of identity credentials via dark net forums is a significant and growing problem. This research— based on systems ....Optimising illicit dark net marketplace interventions. Optimising illicit dark net marketplace interventions. This project aims to develop and test a series of interventions to disrupt identify theft activities, and design an operational risk framework that will aid law enforcement agencies and organisations to timely and appropriately intervene in cyber space. The buying and selling of identity credentials via dark net forums is a significant and growing problem. This research— based on systems analyses of dark net forums, and bringing together researchers, practitioners, theories and methods from human factors, sociotechnical systems, criminology, and cyber security—is expected to increase understanding of the dark net and improve ways of disrupting identity theft and trading.Read moreRead less
A comparative analysis of gambling regulation in Australian states and territories. This project will be the first systematic and comprehensive evaluation of Australian gambling regulation. Research is in response to incidents of regulatory failure, fragmentation and inconsistency in the gambling regulatory frameworks of states/territories and calls by the Productivity Commission for rigorous and independent review. It will develop an evaluative framework to analyse current gambling regulations, ....A comparative analysis of gambling regulation in Australian states and territories. This project will be the first systematic and comprehensive evaluation of Australian gambling regulation. Research is in response to incidents of regulatory failure, fragmentation and inconsistency in the gambling regulatory frameworks of states/territories and calls by the Productivity Commission for rigorous and independent review. It will develop an evaluative framework to analyse current gambling regulations, performances and capacities in the face of challenges such as crime, problem gambling and cross-jurisdictional gambling. Research will allow identification of Australian and international benchmarks for gambling regulations that prevent crime and encourage social responsibility.Read moreRead less