An evaluation of the question types used by criminal justice professionals with complainants in child sexual assault trials

The way that complainants of child sexual assault are questioned about their experiences can profoundly influence the accuracy, credibility, and consistency of their evidence. This is the case for all people, but especially children whose language, social, and cognitive capacity is still developing. In this study, we examined the questions used by a representative sample of Australian prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges/magistrates to determine if this is an area that warrants improvement. Our focus was the type of questions used by the different professionals and how (if at all) these varied across complainant age groups (children, adolescents, and adults, total N = 63). Our findings revealed that each complainant group was questioned in a manner known to heighten misunderstanding and error (e.g., complex and leading questions were used frequently by all professional groups). There was also little indication of question adaption according to age (e.g., prosecutors asked children more complex questions than they asked adults). When the results are considered in the context of the broader literature on the impact of different question styles, they suggest that professional development in questioning would improve the quality of trial advocacy and judicial rulings.

Gender, fraud opportunity, and rationalisation

Framed by opportunity and gender theories, this study examines whether men and women who occupy similar organisational positions differ in the types of fraud committed and their rationalisations. Based on 261 published legal cases of convicted fraudsters in New Zealand, our results show that fraudster's position and rationalisation are important fraud predictors. Our multinomial regression results show that there is a significant difference in the fraud committed in a similar position. There is a relationship between female gambling and embezzlement fraud. A large percentage of fraudsters of both genders offered no rationalisation; those who did, claimed they were victims of circumstances (denial of responsibility) and morally justified their offending. The morally justified rationalisation was associated with lifestyles and pleasing others. Moreover, two rationalisation categories —appeal to higher loyalties and condemning the condemners—are significant in predicting the likelihood of obtaining by deception and embezzlement fraud in the New Zealand context. We also identify two distinct patterns of fraud offending: instrumental-opportunist and pathological-opportunist.

The Private Healthcare Insurance sector: A victim of fraud

Regardless of the jurisdiction research has repeatedly highlighted that the ‘public’ see the insurance sector as an acceptable business to defraud. This article builds on this work but is different in that we draw on primary research, of which there is little, into the private healthcare insurance sector as a victim of fraud. We start by highlighting the types and volumes of fraud that the insurance sector encounters. This is followed with an examination of policing private insurance fraud in a neo-liberal context where individuals and organisations are responsible for risks. Then, we consider if the private healthcare insurance sector is precipitating and participating in its own victimisation. The methods used in this research to secure data are then explained. Finally we analyse how the key elements of the data might point to the private healthcare insurance sector potentially precipitating and participating in its own victimisation.

Examining the impact of both legal and nonlegal factors on following a vehicle too closely utilizing three deterrence-based theories

Following a vehicle too closely (otherwise known as tailgating) is a high-risk behavior and major contributor to motor-vehicle collisions and injuries. Both legal and nonlegal countermeasures are currently in place in an attempt to prevent this behavior, yet there has been limited research that has examined the effectiveness of both legal and nonlegal factors on engagement in the behavior. Therefore, this research utilized a combination of the three most salient deterrence-based theories used in road safety to understand the impact of both legal and nonlegal sanctions on following a vehicle too closely. A survey was completed by 887 Queensland drivers aged 17–84 years ( Mage = 49 years; 55% males). Variables from Classical Deterrence Theory, the reconceptualized deterrence theory and the extended deterrence-based model (that includes perceived internal loss, physical loss, and social sanctions), as well as measures of following a vehicle too closely were used. The majority of the sample (98%) reported following a vehicle too closely at some point, with the average frequency ranging from rarely to sometimes. Significant predictors of more frequent unsafe following distances included: being male, younger in age, and avoiding punishment for the behavior. Meanwhile, significant predictors of less frequent unsafe following distances included knowing others who have been punished for the behavior, as well as fearing the physical and internal losses resulting from unsafe following distances. Notably, the severity of the punishment was also a significant deterrent, while the perceived certainty of being apprehended for the offence was low and did not impact engagement in behavior. These results have a number of important implications on how to maximize both legal and nonlegal countermeasures to further prevent following a vehicle too closely.

Fear of infectious diseases and perceived contagion risk count as an occupational health and safety hazard: Accounts from correctional officer recruits in Canada

Prisons are poorly ventilated confined spaces with limited physical distancing opportunities, making an environment conducive to the spread of infectious diseases. Based on empirical research with correctional officer recruits in Canada, we analyze the reasons and sources of fear, and the measures that recruits adopt to counter their fear of contagion. Our study marks an advance in the correctional work literature, which, to date, has tended to view perceived contagion risks as a workplace challenge that can be overcome with occupational skill and experience. In contrast with the existing literature, we present fear and perceived contagion risk as an “operational stress injury” that affects all correctional officers; a structural occupational health and safety problem that needs redressing from the labor policy perspective.

Racial animus and its association with punitive sentencing and crime types: Do Australian community attitudes reflect the United States’?

The racial animus model argues that public support for punitive sentencing of criminal offenders is shaped by threat perceptions associated with cultural minority groups. This study applies the racial animus model to examine support for the punitive sentencing of criminal offenders in the United States and Australia. It also examines whether racial animus mediates the possible difference in punitive attitudes between each country toward different crime types. Online survey data were obtained in the US and Australia to assess racial animus and punitive attitudes using six different crime scenarios. Results indicate that (a) individuals with higher levels of racial animus demonstrate greater levels of punitiveness; (b) Australians have higher levels of racial animus as compared to their US counterparts; and (c) racial animus mediates the difference of punitive attitudes between the two countries. Overall, punitive attitudes and racial animus vary cross-culturally, with Australians demonstrating more racial animus. Our mediation model provides evidence for the importance of racial animus in the cross-cultural demand for the punishment of criminal offenders.

The uncertain commodity of ‘security’: Are private security companies ‘value for money’ for domestic violence services?

Reflecting on Loader and White ’s (2018) suggestion that the labour of private security workers is difficult to ‘commodify’, this paper uses original empirical data to show that there are four elements to what private security workers ‘do’ for victims of domestic violence when contracted by domestic violence advocacy services: they provide (a) practical ‘target-hardening’ measures, (b) ‘expert’ advice on security, (c) forms of ‘security therapy’ as workers talk clients through their safety-based anxieties and (d) forms of ‘security theatre’ as workers provide the appearance of providing security despite the efficacy often being unclear or uncertain. Each of these elements have significant risks that can threaten the interests of victims and domestic violence services.

Stumbling upon places and cultures: An involuntary ethnography in researching the Australian ‘ndrangheta

In the past decade, the attention to the Calabrian mafia, the ‘ndrangheta, has been rekindled everywhere in the world. On the one hand, Italian attention to the phenomenon has increased; on the other hand, the mobility of the Calabrian clans has been the object of scrutiny in view of the clan’s wealth and ability to commit transnational criminal activities. This has also fed the presumption that (alleged) offenders of Calabrian origins around the world must belong to, and replicate the structure of, the ‘ndrangheta clans, also down under. This contribution will be a reflection on the difficulties and the complexities of a journey into researching the ‘ndrangheta in Australia from a criminological–anthropological perspective, in consideration of—but in contrast with—the mythical figures associated with the Calabrian mafia and its illicit global markets. Some of the difficulties, as well as some of the mistakes that I have made in this research, because of the involuntary (and disorganized) nature of the ethnography, directly question the narrative of the illegal global reach of this mafia and provide methodological reflections and lessons for criminological ethnographies.

Women migrant workers and counter-trafficking responses in Association of Southeast Asian Nations: The enduring challenge of safety and security

Drawing on a study undertaken across eight Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries in 2019, this article focuses on the persistence of investment in criminal justice infrastructure and mechanisms 20 years after the Palermo Protocol came into effect. We examine the enduring challenges and limitations around counter trafficking responses that remain removed from the lived realities of women migrant workers. Building on qualitative interviews with stakeholders and women migrant workers, we argue that women's protection from migration and labor exploitation and gendered violence remains elusive. This study highlights how counter-trafficking systems undermine women's safety and argues for a move away from siloed trafficking efforts, toward a much broader commitment to upholding women migrant workers’ rights and protection.

The push and pull of radicalization and extremist disengagement: The application of criminological theory to Indonesian and Australian cases of radicalization

Research shows there is variability in factors that cause a person to radicalize to violent extremism. The use of the push/pull distinction has been one way in which scholars have aimed to provide clarity to the process of radicalization and extremist disengagement. However, it remains a conceptually underdeveloped distinction. In this paper, we draw on aspects of criminological theory to better understand the push and pull distinction. The paper draws on research comprising interviews with three Indonesians and two Australian individuals who have radicalized to violent extremism that is aligned with jihadist ideologies. Based on this primary data, case descriptions and narratives are provided on each individual examining pathways into and away from violent extremism. We draw on aspects of strain theory, social control, differential association, and desistance theory to understand common patterns across each case and to highlight the relative influence of various push and pull factors. Implications for theory and policy are highlighted. We also acknowledge limitations in our approach.