Caution versus conference referral: a comparison of police diversion in reducing re-contact by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders in South Australia

This report compares the effectiveness of formal police cautioning and family conferencing in reducing re-contact with the criminal justice system by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders. Introduction The over-representation of Indigenous young people in the criminal justice system remains a significant social justice and public policy issue in Australia. It has been suggested that an increased use of effective police diversion can reduce Indigenous over-representation. Diversion can be defined as the practice of diverting young people from entering or continuing into the formal criminal justice system and commonly involves pre-court processes and programs. Two of the most frequently used methods of diversion in South Australia are formal police cautioning and family conferencing. While a number of studies have investigated the effectiveness of diversion in reducing re-offending by Indigenous juveniles, only Cunningham (2007) and Allard et al. (2009) have investigated the effectiveness of formal police cautioning and family conferencing in reducing re-offending by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders (F-TIJOs). However, these two studies report conflicting findings and contain notable methodological limitations, including: (i) short follow-up periods, (ii) failure to track re-offending into adulthood, (iii) small sample sizes, (iv) failure to examine more than two recidivism outcomes, and (v) risks of bias due to failure to control for significant predictors of re-offending and failure to analyse data on intention to treat. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two methods of diversion; cautioning and referral to conferencing, in reducing re-contact by F-TIJOs using methods to overcome the limitations of previous research. To address these methodological limitations the current study (i) employed a follow-up period of 24 months for each offender regardless of whether this period extended into the adult justice system, (ii) analysed four recidivism outcomes, (iii) analysed data on intention to treat, and (iv) employed propensity score matching to control for significant predictors of re-offending. The following research question was examined: (1) Did the proportion of F-TIJOs who re-contacted with police within 24 months differ between those who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference? For those who re-contacted within 24 months, the following research questions were also examined: (2) Did the frequency of re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference?, (3) Did the seriousness of first re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference?, and (4) Did time to re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference

Australian Bureau of Statistics personal safety, Australia 2012: the South Australian perspective

Introduction: This report summarises the key South Australian findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety, Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 4906.0) in which Australia-wide and very limited state-specific information was released on 11 December 2013 with additional state-specific information released on 7 July 2014. Personal Safety, Australia, 2012 provides the results of an Australia-wide personal safety survey undertaken by the ABS from February to December 2012. The survey collected information about the nature and extent of violence experienced by men and women since the age of 15, including their experience of violence in the 12 months prior to the survey. Also collected was detailed information about men\u27s and women\u27s experience of current and previous partner violence, physical and sexual violence, and lifetime experience of stalking. This is the second time the personal safety survey has been conducted, with the first survey carried out in 2005. The scope, content and data collection methods for the two surveys are very similar, with the exception of a significantly larger sample size for the latest survey, and slight changes to the questions and/or definitions to improve respondents’ understanding of the questions. These changes are minimal and should not impact on the comparability of data between 2005 and 2012

Effects of backpacking holidays in Australia on alcohol, tobacco and drug use of UK residents

BACKGROUND: Whilst alcohol and drug use among young people is known to escalate during short holidays and working breaks in international nightlife resorts, little empirical data are available on the impact of longer backpacking holidays on substance use. Here we examine changes in alcohol, tobacco and drug use when UK residents go backpacking in Australia. METHODS: Matched information on alcohol and drug use in Australia and the UK was collected through a cross sectional cohort study of 1008 UK nationals aged 18–35 years, holidaying in Sydney or Cairns, Australia, during 2005. RESULTS: The use of alcohol and other drugs by UK backpackers visiting Australia was common with use of illicit drugs being substantially higher than in peers of the same age in their home country. Individuals showed a significant increase in frequency of alcohol consumption in Australia compared to their behaviour in the UK with the proportion drinking five or more times per week rising from 20.7% (UK) to 40.3% (Australia). Relatively few individuals were recruited into drug use in Australia (3.0%, cannabis; 2.7% ecstasy; 0.7%, methamphetamine). However, over half of the sample (55.0%) used at least one illicit drug when backpacking. Risk factors for illicit drug use while backpacking were being regular club goers, being male, Sydney based, travelling without a partner or spouse, having been in Australia more than four weeks, Australia being the only destination on their vacation and drinking or smoking five or more days a week. CONCLUSION: As countries actively seek to attract more international backpacker tourists, interventions must be developed that target this population's risk behaviours. Developing messages on drunkenness and other drug use specifically for backpackers could help minimise their health risks directly (e.g. adverse drug reactions) and indirectly (e.g. accidents and violence) as well as negative impacts on the host country

Hepatitis C and HIV incidence and harm reduction program use in a conflict setting: an observational cohort of injecting drug users in Kabul, Afghanistan

BACKGROUND: Armed conflict may increase the risk of HIV and other pathogens among injecting drug users (IDUs); however, there are few prospective studies. This study aimed to measure incidence and potential predictors, including environmental events and needle and syringe distribution and collection program (NSP) use, of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV among IDUs in Kabul, Afghanistan. METHODS: Consenting adult IDUs completed interviews quarterly in year 1 and semi-annually in year 2 and HCV and HIV antibody testing semi-annually through the cohort period (November 2007–December 2009). Interviews detailed injecting and sexual risk behaviors, NSP service use, and conflict-associated displacement. Quarters with peak conflict or local displacement were identified based on literature review, and key events, including insurgent attacks and deaths, were reported with simple counts. Incidence and predictors of HCV and HIV were measured with Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Of 483 IDUs enrolled, 385 completed one or more follow-up visits (483.8 person-years (p-y)). All participants were male with a median age of 28 years and a median duration of injecting of 2 years. Reported NSP use among the participants ranged from 59.9 to 70.5 % in the first year and was 48.4 and 55.4 % at 18 and 24 months, respectively. There were 41 confirmed deaths, with a crude death rate of 93.4/1000 p-y (95 % confidence interval (CI) 67.9–125) and overdose as the most common cause. HCV and HIV incidence were 35.6/100 p-y (95 % CI 28.3–44.6) and 1.5/100 p-y (95 % CI 0.6–3.3), respectively. Changing from injecting to smoking was protective for HCV acquisition (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) = 0.53, 95 % CI 0.31–0.92), while duration of injecting (AHR = 1.09, 95 % CI 1.01–1.18/year) and sharing syringes (AHR = 10.09, 95 % CI 1.01–100.3) independently predicted HIV infection. CONCLUSION: There is high HCV incidence and high numbers of reported deaths among male Kabul IDUs despite relatively consistent levels of harm reduction program use; peak violence periods did not independently predict HCV and HIV risk. Programming should increase awareness of HCV transmission and overdose risks, prepare clients for harm reduction needs during conflict or other causes of displacement, and continue efforts to engage community and police force support

Could scale-up of parenting programmes improve child disruptive behaviour and reduce social inequalities? Using individual participant data meta-analysis to establish for whom programmes are effective and cost-effective

Background Child disruptive behavioural problems are a large and costly public health problem. The Incredible Years® (IY) parenting programme has been disseminated across the UK to prevent this problem and shown to be effective in several trials. It is vital for policy to know for which families IY is most effective, to be sure that it helps reduce, rather than widen, socioeconomic inequalities. Individual trials lack power and generalisability to examine differential effects; conventional meta-analysis lacks information about within-trial variability in effects. Objectives To overcome these limitations by pooling individual-level data from the IY parenting trials in Europe to examine to what extent it benefits socially disadvantaged families. Secondary objectives examine (1) additional moderators of effects on child behaviour, (2) wider health benefits and potential harms and (3) costs, cost-effectiveness and potential long-term savings. Design Individual participant data meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials of the IY parenting intervention. Settings UK (eight trials), the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal. Participants Data were from 1799 families, with children aged 2–10 years (mean 5.1 years; 63% boys). Interventions IY Basic parenting programme. Main outcome measures Primary outcome was disruptive child behaviour, determined by the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Intensity scale (ECBI-I). Secondary outcomes included self-reported parenting practices, parenting stress, mental health, children’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and emotional symptoms. Results There were no differential effects of IY on disruptive behaviour in families with different levels of social/socioeconomic disadvantage or differential effects for ethnic minority families, families with different parenting styles, or for children with comorbid ADHD or emotional problems or of different ages. Some moderators were found: intervention effects were strongest in children with more severe baseline disruptive behaviour, in boys, and in children with parents who were more depressed. Wider health benefits included reduced child ADHD symptoms, greater parental use of praise, and reduced harsh and inconsistent discipline. The intervention did not improve parental depression, stress, self-efficacy or children’s emotional problems. Economic data were available for five UK and Ireland trials (maximum n = 608). The average cost per person of the IY intervention was £2414. The probability that the IY intervention is considered cost-effective is 99% at a willingness to pay of £145 per 1-point improvement on the ECBI-I. Estimated longer-term savings over 20 years range from £1000 to £8400 per child, probably offsetting the cost of the intervention. Limitations Limitations include a focus on one parenting programme; the need to make assumptions in harmonising data; and the fact that data addressed equalities in the effectiveness of, not access to, the intervention. Conclusions There is no evidence that the benefits of the IY parenting intervention are reduced in disadvantaged or minority families; benefits are greater in the most distressed families, including parents who are depressed. Thus, the intervention is unlikely to widen socioeconomic inequalities in disruptive behaviour and may have effects in narrowing inequalities due to parent depression. It was as likely to be effective for older as for younger children. It has wider benefits for ADHD and parenting and is likely to be considered to be cost-effective. Researchers/funders should encourage data sharing to test equity and other moderator questions for other interventions; further research is needed on enhancing equality of access to interventions

Police-initiated diversion for youth to prevent future delinquent behavior: a systematic review

BackgroundOverly punitive responses to youth misconduct may have the unintended consequence ofincreasing the likelihood of future delinquency; yet, overly lenient responses may fail to serveas a corrective for the misbehavior. Police diversion schemes are a collection of strategiespolice can apply as an alternative to court processing of youth. Police-initiated diversionschemes aim to reduce reoffending by steering youth away from deeper penetration into thecriminal justice system and by providing an alternative intervention that can help youthaddress psychosocial development or other needs that contribute to their problem behavior.ObjectivesThe objective of this review was to synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of pre-courtinterventions involving police warning or counseling and release, and cautioning schemes inreducing delinquent behavior.Search methodsA combination of 26 databases and websites were searched. References of relevant reviewswere also scanned to identify studies. We also consulted with experts in the field. Searcheswere executed by two reviewers and conducted between August 2016 and January 2017.Selection criteriaOnly experimental and quasi-experimental designs were eligible for this review. All quasiexperimentaldesigns must have had a comparison group similar to the police diversionintervention group with respect to demographic characteristics and prior involvement indelinquent behavior (i.e., at similar risk for future delinquent behavior). Additionally, studiesmust have included youth participants between 12 and 17 years of age who either underwenttraditional system processing or were diverted from court processing through a police-leddiversion program. Studies were also eligible if delinquency-related outcomes, includingofficial and non-official (self-report or third-party reporting) measures of delinquency werereported.Data collection and analysisThis study used meta-analysis to synthesize results across studies. This method involvedsystematic coding of study features and conversion of study findings into effect sizesreflecting the direction and magnitude of any police-led diversion effect. There were 19independent evaluations across the 14 primary documents coded for this review. From this,we coded 67 effect sizes of delinquent behavior post diversion across 31 diversion-traditionalprocessing comparisons. We analyzed these comparisons using two approaches. The firstapproach selected a single effect size per comparison based on a decision rule and the secondused all 67 effect sizes, nesting these within comparison condition and evaluation design.ResultsThe general pattern of evidence is positive, suggesting that police-led diversion modestlyreduces future delinquent behavior of low-risk youth relative to traditional processing.Authors’ conclusionsThe findings from this systematic review support the use of police-led diversion for low-riskyouth with limited or no prior involvement with the juvenile justice system. Thus, policedepartments and policy-makers should consider diversionary programs as part of the mix ofsolutions for addressing youth crime

Report on ABS Recorded Crime - Offenders 2013-14

This report summarises the key South Australian findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Recorded Crime - Offenders, 2013-14 (cat. no. 4519.0) which was released on 25 February 2015. Recorded Crime - Offenders is an annual publication which presents statistics on the characteristics of alleged offenders who were proceeded against by police in all states and territories. The statistics are derived from administrative records held by state and territory police agencies. The publication includes information about the most serious offence, referred to as the principal offence, associated with an alleged offender. The 2013-14 publication also presents statistics on age, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and the number of times proceeded against by police during the year. In interpreting the figures contained in Recorded Crime - Offenders it should be noted that they do not necessarily equate with the actual incidence of offending in the community, as not all crimes are reported to or recorded by police. Recorded Crime - Offenders provides information on the number of alleged perpetrators of crimes recorded by police in Australia as a whole and in each jurisdiction. The report also provides data from previous years to allow for comparisons over time. &nbsp

Evaluation in brief: intervention orders and the intervention response model January 2015

Intervention Orders and the Intervention Response Model: Evaluation Report 1 This report outlines the findings from a process evaluation of the first year of operation of Intervention Orders and the Intervention Response Model, conducted in 2012. The report is the first of three reports produced from the evaluation. It provides a statistical overview of the number and type of intervention orders issued , and an assessment of the implementation and operation of the initiative based on feedback from key stakeholders. Intervention Orders and the Intervention Response Model: Evaluation Report 2 This report outlines the findings from a process evaluation of Intervention Orders and the Intervention Response Model, conducted in 2013 following the first year of operation. The report is the second of three reports produced on the evaluation. It details the administrative and service delivery experiences of agencies and non-government organisations, as well as protected persons and defendants. Intervention Orders and the Intervention Response Model: Evaluation Report 3 This report presents the results of an outcome evaluation of Intervention Orders and the Intervention Response Model. The third and final report from the evaluation, it includes a statistical profile of intervention orders, defendants and protected persons in the first two years of operation, an analysis of the impact of the Domestic Violence Perpetrator Program on defendants, and an examination of the offending behaviour of intervention order defendants before and after an intervention order

Legislation profile report on Graffiti Control act 2001

This report provides an analysis of crime statistics for offences under the South Australian Graffiti Control Act 2001 for the period 2010-11 to 2013-14. These statistics include offences recorded by police, charges on police apprehension reports, and court outcomes and penalties for offences prosecuted under this legislation