Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of crimin ....Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of criminal laws and police powers concerned with presence in, and movement around public places. It will particularly focus on the impact on women, children and Indigenous peoples. The outcomes will seek to reduce the criminalisation of homeless people, by identifying law and policy reform options, and comparing their cost with that of 'business as usual'.Read moreRead less
Law, order and federalism in Australia. In a series of recent cases the High Court has emphasised the constitutional imperatives of judicial independence and impartiality in State court systems. These developments provide minimum human rights protections to individuals confronting criminal justice in the States. But what has not been considered is the cost of these developments. This project will investigate the uncertainty of the constitutional restrictions confronting State governments when re ....Law, order and federalism in Australia. In a series of recent cases the High Court has emphasised the constitutional imperatives of judicial independence and impartiality in State court systems. These developments provide minimum human rights protections to individuals confronting criminal justice in the States. But what has not been considered is the cost of these developments. This project will investigate the uncertainty of the constitutional restrictions confronting State governments when responding to law and order priorities, and the extent to which these have led to the frustration of policy development and experimentation across the Australian federation.Read moreRead less
Optimising access to the Law Reports Series of Australia's war crimes trials, 1945-51. The forthcoming Law Reports Series on Australia’s war crimes trials held in 1945-51 will be, in effect, the official history of the trials. It is vital, therefore, that all users, particularly the Australian public, are provided with the necessary tools to optimally access the Series and thus obtain a comprehensive understanding of the trials.
Detecting Fraud and Anti-Competitive Behaviour in the Australian Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industries. This Project will deliver law reform proposals to ensure greater accountability and a reduction of fraud and anti-competitive behaviour associated with over 6 billion dollars of public money expended each year under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) as well as significant amounts paid by public hospitals on medical devices. It unites experts in Australian pharmaceutical regulatio ....Detecting Fraud and Anti-Competitive Behaviour in the Australian Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industries. This Project will deliver law reform proposals to ensure greater accountability and a reduction of fraud and anti-competitive behaviour associated with over 6 billion dollars of public money expended each year under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) as well as significant amounts paid by public hospitals on medical devices. It unites experts in Australian pharmaceutical regulation and high technology law enforcement with an eminent United States Partner Investigator in False Claims litigation. Reducing fraud and anti-competitive behaviour could be critical to survivability of the PBS and the benefits it brings particularly to an ageing population. Read moreRead less
Next-generation latent fingermark detection using functional nanomaterials. Next-generation latent fingermark detection using functional nanomaterials. This project aims to develop a nanotechnology-based fingermark detection technique applicable in standard police laboratories and crime scenes. Current methods only detect half the fingermarks on an object, so many criminals are not identified. This project will use silicon oxide nanoparticles with a luminescent dye to target fingermark secretion ....Next-generation latent fingermark detection using functional nanomaterials. Next-generation latent fingermark detection using functional nanomaterials. This project aims to develop a nanotechnology-based fingermark detection technique applicable in standard police laboratories and crime scenes. Current methods only detect half the fingermarks on an object, so many criminals are not identified. This project will use silicon oxide nanoparticles with a luminescent dye to target fingermark secretion components and address interference from substrate chemistries and background luminescence. Moving away from traditional detection methods is expected to improve law enforcement outcomes, as fingermarks that current technologies cannot detect will be visualised for the first time.Read moreRead less
Juries and interactive visual evidence: impacts on deliberation processes and outcomes. Australia confronts new types of security threat in the form of terrorist networks, sophisticated money-laundering and people-smuggling operations. The AFP and prosecutors are developing new display technologies to explain complex information to jurors, in the process simplifying court processes and shortening trials. At the cutting edge of this development are interactive displays, including computer simulat ....Juries and interactive visual evidence: impacts on deliberation processes and outcomes. Australia confronts new types of security threat in the form of terrorist networks, sophisticated money-laundering and people-smuggling operations. The AFP and prosecutors are developing new display technologies to explain complex information to jurors, in the process simplifying court processes and shortening trials. At the cutting edge of this development are interactive displays, including computer simulations and 360o crime scene reconstructions. Judges will use empirical information about how juries use such information in order to develop appropriate guidelines for admitting interactive visual evidence, while court planners and architects will use the project data to identify implications for court procedures and design.
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Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and w ....Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and witness memory accuracy. Crucially, crimes are frequently distressing; therefore the interaction between intoxication and stress urgently requires exploration. This project will significantly advance our understanding of key mechanisms behind drug effects on memory, and support fairer judicial outcomes for all. Read moreRead less
Gauging informed public opinion on sentencing sex offenders: a national study. Sex offences appear to attract the greatest community condemnation and desire to punish, particularly when involving predatory stranger rapists or when the victims are children. This national study aims to ascertain informed public opinion on sex offender sentencing by exploring the views of jurors in sex offence trials in all higher courts in Australia.
HISTORICAL EXPERTS AND INDIGENOUS LITIGANTS: the role of Historical Expert Evidence in Federal Court Cases. Since Mabo, historians are increasingly being called as expert witnesses in cases involving indigenous litigants. Historians perceive serious difficulties in the Court's treatment of qualitative, historical material, resulting in a possible denial of access to justice. The project investigates this treatment, pursuing issues such as expert evidence generally, the specific relationship betw ....HISTORICAL EXPERTS AND INDIGENOUS LITIGANTS: the role of Historical Expert Evidence in Federal Court Cases. Since Mabo, historians are increasingly being called as expert witnesses in cases involving indigenous litigants. Historians perceive serious difficulties in the Court's treatment of qualitative, historical material, resulting in a possible denial of access to justice. The project investigates this treatment, pursuing issues such as expert evidence generally, the specific relationship between Law and History, and the particularity of cases involving indigenous claims. The investigation asks whether historians as expert witnesses can retain both their historical professionalism and adapt to the requirements of the courts, or whether the courts? rules of evidence themselves require adaptation.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0454207
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,381.00
Summary
New Technology to Fight Crime and Terrorism: Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer Facilities (LA-ICP-MS). Australia urgently needs new technologies to prevent and fight crime and terrorism. This equipment will address current outstanding problems in forensic science and related disciplines, namely the requirement to (1) analyse minute quantities of samples, (2) differentiate samples with similar matrices but trace differences, (3) analyse solid samples that are difficult t ....New Technology to Fight Crime and Terrorism: Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer Facilities (LA-ICP-MS). Australia urgently needs new technologies to prevent and fight crime and terrorism. This equipment will address current outstanding problems in forensic science and related disciplines, namely the requirement to (1) analyse minute quantities of samples, (2) differentiate samples with similar matrices but trace differences, (3) analyse solid samples that are difficult to analyse by current techniques. This equipment is also vital for research which will improve the justice system, the quality of food and health products and increase industry competitiveness through novel industrial and environmental testing. Acquiring this infrastructure will safeguard and ensure Australia's continuing prosperity.Read moreRead less