Non-fatal shootings in NSW

This paper analyses the pattern of non-fatal shootings in NSW, covering trends, spatial distribution and other characteristics. Method: This study considers the incidence of non-fatal shooting incidents recorded by NSW Police, in particular shoot with intent, discharge firearm into premises and unlawfully discharge firearm. Analysis is limited to the information recorded about these incidents by NSW Police on the Computerised Operational Policing System. Results: Between 1995 and 2012 there have been frequent fluctuations in the recorded number of non-fatal shootings but no sustained increase over the period. The most notable results in 2012 were in April and July which showed record incidence of discharge firearm into premises. There was still, however, no discernible upward trend in offending even for this sub-offence. Shooting incidents are most common in Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield- Liverpool and Central Western Sydney. At least a third of shoot with intent and discharge firearm into premises incidents are gang, drug or organised crime related and about one in four shootings result in an offender being legally proceeded against. Conclusion: Despite a high number of incidents of discharge firearm into premises recorded in some months of 2012, shooting offences are not trending upwards, nor are they historically higher than at previous times

Why is the NSW prison population falling?

After steadily increasing for more than a decade, from mid 2009 the NSW prison population started falling. This paper identifies why this has occurred. Method: The study relied upon administrative data. Corrections data was considered to gauge the size, timing and nature of changes in the prison population. Police recorded crime and court data were analysed to measure changes in offending and sentencing which eventually have a bearing on prison numbers. Results: Corrections data showed that the decrease in the prison population was limited to sentenced prisoners and was driven by a reduction in the number of offenders serving sentences for Assault, Break and enter, Theft and Traffic offences. Break and enter, Theft and Assault, prisoners appear to have decreased, in part, because the incidence of these offences have fallen. There have also been moves away from the use of imprisonment as a penalty for each of the four offences whether because fewer offenders are being imprisoned or because the average sentence length has fallen. Conclusion: In 2011, fewer offenders were serving prison sentences for Assault, Break and enter, Theft and Traffic offences. This appears to be due to both a reduction in the number of offenders in court and changes in sentencing practices for certain offences. It is beyond the scope of this paper to ascertain whether changes in sentencing practice reflect a move towards more lenient sentencing or whether they have resulted from changes in the severity of offences themselves. The reduction in the number of offenders for some offences appears to be due, at least in part, to a reduction in the volume of crime

Understanding fraud: the nature of fraud offences recorded by NSW Police

Property offences have been declining in New South Wales, but one crime which has bucked this trend is fraud. Abstract Aim: 1) To provide an understanding of the nature of fraud incidents recorded by NSW Police. 2) To find out which fraud types are contributing to the increase in recorded fraud. Method: This study involved the review of 1,000 narrative descriptions of fraud incidents reported to or detected by NSW Police. Where possible we gathered information about the type of fraudulent behaviour, modus operandi, cost and whether a suspect was apprehended. Half the fraud events sampled occurred in the 12 months to September 2009 and half in the 12 months to September 2013. Results: The most common types of fraud reported to police were card fraud (35% of incidents), fuel drive-offs (30%), identity theft (5%), embezzlement (4%) and cheque fraud (3%). Increases in card fraud and fuel drive offs appear to account for the bulk of the increase in fraud over the past five years. Incident costs recorded by police suggest that in 2013 incidents of fraud recorded by police cost more than $200 million. The average cost of fraud by incident type ranged from just$62 per incident for fuel drive-offs to more than $35,000 per incident for embezzlement. Conclusion: Fraud is a growing problem and will likely continue to rise with new technologies and payment options. This study found that the fraud types with the highest recorded prevalence are quite different to those which have the greatest overall cost implication

Trial court delay and the NSW District Criminal Court

Summary Between 2007 and 2014 trial delay in the NSW District Criminal Court increased 34% for defendants on bail and 44% for those on remand.  In 2014 the pending caseload had increased to 1716 trials. This reports finds these results to be due to increases in the volume of matters coming into the District Court, the proportion of matters committed to trial that proceed to trial and the duration of trials (i.e. number of hearing days). Aim: To describe the growth in trial court delay in the NSW District Criminal Court and the factors affecting it. Method: Descriptive analysis of court data. Results: Where the accused is on bail, the average time between committal for trial and case finalisation in the NSW District Criminal Court has grown by 34 per cent since 2007. Where the accused is in custody, the average time between committal for trial and case finalisation has grown by 44 per cent. The principal causes of the growth in delay are (1) a growth in persons arrested for serious (strictly indictable) offences, (2) an increase in the proportion of cases registered for trial that are actually proceeding to trial and (3) a growth in trial duration. Conclusion: Action needs to be taken to reduce court delay in the NSW District Criminal Court and to improve the indicators of trial case processing. Measures that expand the Court\u27s capacity or improve its efficiency will have a more immediate (though not necessarily larger) effect than measures that reduce demand for trial court time

Who goes to prison for breaching an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order? An analysis of police narratives

Aim: To identify the situational and offender characteristics associated with prison sentences for Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) breaches. Method: Case narratives from police incident reports of ADVO breach incidents in NSW were analysed. Two samples were examined: (1) breach incidents where the offender involved was imprisoned (n=250) and (2) breach incidents where the offender involved received a non-custodial sentence (n=250). The nature of the breach and the characteristics of persons involved in these two breach samples were compared using descriptive data and logistic regression models. Results: The majority of ADVO breaches in both samples involved male to female offending in spousal/ex-spousal relationships, occurred in the victim’s house and involved face-to-face contact. Compared with offenders in the non-prison group, a higher proportion of offenders who received a custodial penalty for the breach ADVO matter were male, Indigenous, had 5 or more prior court appearances (including prior offences for domestic violence (DV), assault and breach ADVO), had 3 or more prior prison penalties and had breached two or more conditions of their order. Breaches resulting in prison also had a higher proportion of matters involving physical assault, property damage, psychological aggression and parties who had a history of violence. After controlling for other factors, the following factors were independently associated with imprisonment for ADVO; the offender’s gender, prior imprisonment, prior proven DV offence, history of violence, involvement of physical assault in the breach, victim/offender relationship and residing with the victim. Conclusion: The profile of offenders who receive imprisonment for a breach ADVO offence is significantly different from those who receive a non-custodial penalty for these offences. The nature of the breach and the circumstances surrounding the event also vary for matters where prison is imposed for an ADVO breach

Documentation: Delirium in the Hospitalized Older Adult

Background: Delirium is a common, life threatening and preventable geriatric syndrome. Because this condition is frequently addressed by administering dangerous antipsychotic drugs, it is imperative that accurate systematic assessments are charted to determine the actual need for these medications. The purpose of the study was to describe medical record documentation of a systematic assessment of delirium in older adults who had been administered an antipsychotic medication. Methods: A descriptive correlational retrospective design was used for this medical record data based study. The setting was a 107 bed acute care community hospital located in southern California. Inclusion criteria were medical records of patients who were 65 years or older, admitted to a medical/surgical/telemetry unit and had received lorazepam or haloperidol. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted using SPSS version 18. Results: For the total participant cases (N=70), age 65 to 97 years, and 60% female, there was no documentation of a systematic delirium assessment. Therefore, associations between a documented systematic assessment and other select variables could not be determined. However, antipsychotic medications were prescribed more often to females than males (p=.003). Conclusions: This study examined the documentation of a systematic assessment for delirium in hospitalized older adult patients who had been medicated with select antipsychotic medications. Documentation of a systematic assessment of delirium is important so causative factors can be remedied and appropriate interventions put into place to not only keep the patient safe, but hopefully improve the outcomes of hospitalized older adults

Consequences of Discrimination at the Workplace

Nowadays, although work relationships should be based on the principle of equal treatment of employees, diversity at the workplace has led to an increase in employee inequality in treatment. Despite policies to regulate work-related inequalities, it still exists and develops on the basis of personal characteristics such as gender, age, geographical area, religion, sexual orientation or some chronic disease. Workplace inequality can be defined as that distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on grounds that relate to the group, class or category of which the person or work belongs and which is reflected in wage differences between men and womenunfair practices and opportunities for injustice, especially in regard to employment of people of different ethnic origins

Acidic Drug Concentrations in Postmortem Vitreous Humor and Peripheral Blood.

Vitreous humor is a potential alternative matrix for postmortem toxicology drug screens when peripheral blood is unavailable. It is easily and reliably collected and may not suffer from the same postmortem redistribution as seen in blood. Here, we compared the concentrations of 7 acidic drugs (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, salicylic acid, carbamazepine, phenobarbital and phenytoin) in peripheral blood and vitreous fluid collected in 89 autopsy cases. Analysis was done by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection. Overall, we found that vitreous drug concentrations were significantly lower than peripheral blood with median vitreous to peripheral blood (V/PB) ratios ranging from 0.0 to 0.6 (mean, 0.1-0.6). The correlations between the concentrations of over-the-counter analgesics in peripheral blood versus vitreous fluid were poor, with acetaminophen exhibiting the best linearity (R2 = 0.72). The antiepileptic drugs (carbamazepine, phenytoin and phenobarbital) exhibited good correlations between peripheral blood and vitreous humor, with all exhibiting an R2 ≥ 0.95. Overall, we have demonstrated the potential of vitreous fluid as an alternative matrix for the detection of select acidic drugs