Better Planning for and Managing Asymmetric Threats to Australia's Security: Applying the Field Anomaly Relaxation (FAR) Systems Thinking Approach. Despite an enviable national security condition, Australia is at risk in an information-abundant world that increasingly spawns asymmetric threats such as information terrorism. What is needed are enhanced strategic and operational structures to improve the nation's security and ensure sound futures planning. This research focuses on applying the Fie ....Better Planning for and Managing Asymmetric Threats to Australia's Security: Applying the Field Anomaly Relaxation (FAR) Systems Thinking Approach. Despite an enviable national security condition, Australia is at risk in an information-abundant world that increasingly spawns asymmetric threats such as information terrorism. What is needed are enhanced strategic and operational structures to improve the nation's security and ensure sound futures planning. This research focuses on applying the Field Anomaly Relaxation (FAR) systems thinking approach to asymmetric information warfare threats to Australia. This is a new approach previously developed by ECU researchers investigating risk and innovation in the armed forces. It will now be extended to improve professional practice and the knowledge and skill base of Australia's information defence practitioners.Read moreRead less
Preventing terrorism through community-based approaches. This project aims to investigate the prevention of terrorism. It will examine approaches that involve police community engagement and local responses to violent extremism. This is a significant issue given communities are a key line of defence against terrorism. Expecting to generate new knowledge about counter-terrorism by examining policies adopted in Australia and abroad, the project will identify models of best practice for the prevent ....Preventing terrorism through community-based approaches. This project aims to investigate the prevention of terrorism. It will examine approaches that involve police community engagement and local responses to violent extremism. This is a significant issue given communities are a key line of defence against terrorism. Expecting to generate new knowledge about counter-terrorism by examining policies adopted in Australia and abroad, the project will identify models of best practice for the prevention of terrorism, ascertaining how community partnerships against terrorism can be improved. This will provide significant benefits by assisting police, government agencies, community groups and local service providers to implement and evaluate strategies that prevent terrorism.Read moreRead less
Understanding recidivism and repeat incarceration among young male offenders: a biographical and longitudinal approach. The research focuses on the group of offenders who, as a cohort, annually commit the most crime within Australia. The production of longitudinal qualitative data about individual experiences of secure care, release, and imprisonment, will provide a foundation for empirically driven policies and debates in the area of youth crime and incarceration for each state and territory. A ....Understanding recidivism and repeat incarceration among young male offenders: a biographical and longitudinal approach. The research focuses on the group of offenders who, as a cohort, annually commit the most crime within Australia. The production of longitudinal qualitative data about individual experiences of secure care, release, and imprisonment, will provide a foundation for empirically driven policies and debates in the area of youth crime and incarceration for each state and territory. Accordingly, the community will benefit through the generation of new possibilities for intervening in cycles of persistent offending and repeat custodial sentences. This has major social, cultural and economic implications. Read moreRead less
Understanding and preventing gun violence: A qualitative study. Gun violence causes significant harm across Australian communities. Excluding sexual assault, firearms feature in nearly one in 10 violent crimes. The annual costs of gun violence run into tens of millions of dollars. This project aims to make an original qualitative contribution to understanding and preventing gun violence in three contexts: drug dealing/trafficking, other organised crime activity, and armed robbery. The proposed r ....Understanding and preventing gun violence: A qualitative study. Gun violence causes significant harm across Australian communities. Excluding sexual assault, firearms feature in nearly one in 10 violent crimes. The annual costs of gun violence run into tens of millions of dollars. This project aims to make an original qualitative contribution to understanding and preventing gun violence in three contexts: drug dealing/trafficking, other organised crime activity, and armed robbery. The proposed research would be the first study nationally - and one of the very few internationally - to interview convicted gun crime users about the acquisition and use of firearms in criminal life. Project results are expected to have direct implications for reducing the impact of gun violence in Australia.Read moreRead less
Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the var ....Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the various Federal and State police and forensic agencies, and the customs service, etc, highlights the importance of this project to the nation. Finally, a PhD student and a research assistant will be involved with the project and will gain specialised skills positioning them to make strong contributions to Australia's counter-terrorism measures.Read moreRead less
Understanding the nature and characteristics of youth violence in Australia. This study addresses the important problem of violence in Australian youth and the need for early intervention/prevention to limit further reoccurrences and escalation of violence across the life span and its associated economic and health costs. For the first time we will have specific access to Australian data on violent offending patterns and risk in adolescents for use in service planning rather than attempting to a ....Understanding the nature and characteristics of youth violence in Australia. This study addresses the important problem of violence in Australian youth and the need for early intervention/prevention to limit further reoccurrences and escalation of violence across the life span and its associated economic and health costs. For the first time we will have specific access to Australian data on violent offending patterns and risk in adolescents for use in service planning rather than attempting to apply findings from North America and Europe to our unique population. Work in this field will help improve the characterisation and identification of at-risk individuals and should ultimately improve our ability to direct treatment interventions to the most needy and most high risk groups.Read moreRead less
Closed Circuit Television Surveillance, Security Networks and Australian Public Space. This project will make a significant contribution to our understandings of how visual surveillance systems impact upon the way public spaces are experienced and utilised. By examining the social impacts of surveillance this study will facilitate the development of security measures that facilitate greater inclusiveness and community cooperation. It will also assist the development of security measures cognizan ....Closed Circuit Television Surveillance, Security Networks and Australian Public Space. This project will make a significant contribution to our understandings of how visual surveillance systems impact upon the way public spaces are experienced and utilised. By examining the social impacts of surveillance this study will facilitate the development of security measures that facilitate greater inclusiveness and community cooperation. It will also assist the development of security measures cognizant of local variation and potential social consequences. Read moreRead less
3D analysis of facial features for proof of identity across Australia's ethnically diverse population. The forensic sciences concerned with establishing Human identity play a vital role in safeguarding Australia. Certainty in Human identification is required by police and intelligence agencies because knowing the identity of perpetrators (or potential perpetrators) of crime allows effective preventative intervention. This is particularly important during surveillance operations and in the contex ....3D analysis of facial features for proof of identity across Australia's ethnically diverse population. The forensic sciences concerned with establishing Human identity play a vital role in safeguarding Australia. Certainty in Human identification is required by police and intelligence agencies because knowing the identity of perpetrators (or potential perpetrators) of crime allows effective preventative intervention. This is particularly important during surveillance operations and in the context of border protection. When crime has already been committed, the identification of victims and perpetrators is important for the exoneration of the innocent and successful prosecution of the guilty. The full utilisation of 3D morphometric analysis of faces will provide criteria robust enough for legal proof of identity. Read moreRead less
Targeting early contact with the criminal justice system in young people. This project aims to identify who and why young people first come in contact with the criminal justice system and what determines the early course of contact. The project will focus on first police contact, as a victim, witness or offender, as a means of identifying young people at-risk of adverse life outcomes. It intends to build on the NSW Child Development Study, a large population-based intergenerational cohort, to de ....Targeting early contact with the criminal justice system in young people. This project aims to identify who and why young people first come in contact with the criminal justice system and what determines the early course of contact. The project will focus on first police contact, as a victim, witness or offender, as a means of identifying young people at-risk of adverse life outcomes. It intends to build on the NSW Child Development Study, a large population-based intergenerational cohort, to develop services and interventions aimed at preventing young people from becoming enmeshed in the criminal justice system.Read moreRead less
Understanding and Costing Offending Trajectories: Creating an Evidence-Base for Targeting Crime Prevention. The research will provide an evidence-base for targeting diversionary and crime prevention programs and for assessing their cost-effectiveness. Many of these programs have resulted in a range of beneficial outcomes and they are receiving increased government funding. By providing a better understanding of offending pathways, the research will enable programs to be targeted towards particul ....Understanding and Costing Offending Trajectories: Creating an Evidence-Base for Targeting Crime Prevention. The research will provide an evidence-base for targeting diversionary and crime prevention programs and for assessing their cost-effectiveness. Many of these programs have resulted in a range of beneficial outcomes and they are receiving increased government funding. By providing a better understanding of offending pathways, the research will enable programs to be targeted towards particular at-risk groups at crucial developmental phases. The innovative longitudinal costing method that will be developed and applied in the Queensland context will enable an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of diversionary and crime prevention programs. This will provide a sound empirical basis for directing scarce government resources.Read moreRead less