An environmental approach to police misconduct: Exploring situational prevention possibilities to understanding and preventing police misconduct

This paper explores the applicability of environmental theories to understanding patterns of police misconduct. In turn, it aims to offer a method for identifying prevention techniques that can be practically applied by policing agencies. The study empirically examined 84 substantiated matters of police misconduct in Queensland, Australia. The matters were content analysed for elements of the first level of the crime triangle. These elements were then analysed to identify their relationships with the situational precipitators that initiated the misconduct; proactive misconduct and situational misconduct. The two types of initiating misconduct had differing relationships with the crime triangle elements. Therefore, specific prevention techniques can be tailored by policing agencies to address and prevent each type of misconduct more successfully. The paper discusses these findings in terms of preventative measures according to the second preventative level of the crime triangle and situational crime prevention techniques. This paper provides an alternative approach to understanding and preventing police misconduct by exploring the applicability of environmental theories. It finds that environmental theories offer a feasible approach for policing agencies to understand and tailor prevention of police misconduct in their jurisdictions

A Demography and Taxonomy of Long-term Immigration Detention in Australia

The practice of long-term immigration detention is a relatively recent aspect of Australian Government policy. There has been much debate about the wisdom of such policy, raising concerns regarding the health of detainees, the dereliction of human rights, and the legal robustness of such practice. Despite considerable interest, little detail is available describing who is being held and the reasons for their long-term detention. This paper addresses this noticeable gap through a systematic analysis of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Immigration Reports over the period 2005 through 2009. From such reporting it has been possible to produce a demographic profile of people held in Australian detention and to develop a taxonomy of the reasons contributing to the ongoing containment

Navigating pregnancy and early motherhood in prison: a thematic analysis of mothers’ experiences

BACKGROUND: Maternal imprisonment negatively impacts mothers and their children and is likely to have lifelong and intergenerational sequelae. In many jurisdictions nationally and internationally, young children (usually those less than 5 years) can reside with their mothers in prison. However, there is considerable debate regarding the impact of prison environments on incarcerated mothers and their children who are born, and/or raised in prison. Research to date on the pregnancy and mothering experiences of imprisoned mothers and their preferences for care arrangements for their babies and young children is limited. METHODS: This study was part of the Transforming Corrections to Transform Lives project, in which workshops were conducted with imprisoned mothers to understand their needs while in custody and post-release, and the kind of supports and system changes that are required to meet those needs. Incarcerated mothers (n = 75) participated in seven workshops conducted across four Queensland prisons. Themes were generated through reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes characterised mothers’ experiences of being pregnant and undertaking a mothering role of a young child while in prison. First, for most mothers, imprisonment adds vulnerability and isolation during pregnancy and childbirth. Second, although mothers felt that residing together with their children in prison motivated them to change for a better future, they were concerned about the potential negative impact of the prison environment on the child’s development. Lastly, most mothers voiced losing autonomy and agency to practice motherhood independently within custodial settings. Mothers expressed a need for the correctional system to be adapted, so it is better equipped to address the unique and additional needs of mothers with young children. CONCLUSION: Mothers’ experiences indicated that the correctional system and policies, which were predominantly designed for men, do not adequately address the varied and complex needs of pregnant women, mothers, and their young children. Imprisonment of pregnant women and mothers with young children should be the last resort, and they should be provided with holistic, individually tailored support, most preferably in community settings, to address their multiple intersecting needs. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40352-022-00196-4

Study protocol: a cluster randomised controlled trial of a school based fruit and vegetable intervention – Project Tomato

Background The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) is an important public health intervention. The aim of this scheme is to provide a free piece of fruit and/or vegetable every day for children in Reception to Year 2. When children are no longer eligible for the scheme (from Year 3) their overall fruit and vegetable consumption decreases back to baseline levels. This proposed study aims to design a flexible multi-component intervention for schools to support the maintenance of fruit and vegetable consumption for Year 3 children who are no longer eligible for the scheme. Method This study is a cluster randomised controlled trial of Year 2 classes from 54 primary schools across England. The schools will be randomly allocated into two groups to receive either an active intervention called Project Tomato, to support maintenance of fruit intake in Year 3 children, or a less active intervention (control group), consisting of a 5 A DAY booklet. Children's diets will be analysed using the Child And Diet Evaluation Tool (CADET), and height and weight measurements collected, at baseline (Year 2) and 18 month follow-up (Year 4). The primary outcome will be the ability of the intervention (Project Tomato) to maintain consumption of fruit and vegetable portions compared to the control group. Discussion A positive result will identify how fruit and vegetable consumption can be maintained in young children, and will be useful for policies supporting the SFVS. A negative result would be used to inform the research agenda and contribute to redefining future strategies for increasing children's fruit and vegetable consumption

Study protocol: can a school gardening intervention improve children's diets?

BACKGROUND: The current academic literature suggests there is a potential for using gardening as a tool to improve children's fruit and vegetable intake. This study is two parallel randomised controlled trials (RCT) devised to evaluate the school gardening programme of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening, to determine if it has an effect on children's fruit and vegetable intake. METHOD/DESIGN: Trial One will consist of 26 schools; these schools will be randomised into two groups, one to receive the intensive intervention as "Partner Schools" and the other to receive the less intensive intervention as "Associate Schools". Trial Two will consist of 32 schools; these schools will be randomised into either the less intensive intervention "Associate Schools" or a comparison group with delayed intervention. Baseline data collection will be collected using a 24-hour food diary (CADET) to collect data on dietary intake and a questionnaire exploring children's knowledge and attitudes towards fruit and vegetables. A process measures questionnaire will be used to assess each school's gardening activities. DISCUSSION: The results from these trials will provide information on the impact of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening on children's fruit and vegetable intake. The evaluation will provide valuable information for designing future research in primary school children's diets and school based interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN11396528

Applying the critical lens to judicial officers and legal practitioners involved in sentencing Indigenous offenders: will anyone or anything do?

In recent years there have been many attempts aimed at transforming the relationship between Indigenous people and the criminal justice system in Australia. Some of these attempts have been directed at policing relationships, including such measures as community and night patrols. Others have focused on prisons, including attempts at greater cultural accommodation, and even the building of Aboriginal prisons. The focus of this article, however, is on the relationship between Indigenous people and court processes, especially in regards to sentencing. In particular, the article explores innovative sentencing courts, practices and principles introduced across the Australian jurisdictions specifically aimed at Indigenous offenders. These include circuit courts in regional and remote centres where judicial officers seek the advice of community members when making sentencing determinations; Indigenous sentencing courts in urban cities and regional towns where Elders or community representatives are involved in the sentencing court process; and now the cross-border justice scheme where judicial officers and legal practitioners from the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia are engaged in ‘processing’ offenders from ‘cross-border’ jurisdictions. These processes are often touted as providing a more culturally appropriate and inclusive courtroom experience for offenders. However, there has been little discussion about what that means in practice for the non- Indigenous legal players. The article begins with a brief discussion of the context in which these processes have arisen, followed by an overview of these processes to establish what has been done. It then looks at the extent to which formal, publicly available guidance is available to judicial and legal officers to assist them in being more culturally sensitive. We then discuss these findings in the context of principles underpinning problem-solving courts and therapeutic jurisprudence, and within a postcolonial framework, to help determine the emotive or relational characteristics and practices that non-Indigenous legal participants might be required to adopt in Indigenous-focused sentencing practices. We do not examine the stated and unstated assumptions underpinning such processes, or the informal training and discussion judicial officers and lawyers may receive, which are important topics, but beyond the scope of this article

The hidden whiteness of Australian law: a case study

Indigenous people face procedural barriers in bringing actions in the Australian legal system, such as the need to frame their claims within Western cultural constructs of individual actions and economic loss, and to transform their stories into the written evidence privileged by courts. But an even greater barrier is the hidden Whiteness of Australian courts, which places Indigenous people as the \u27Other\u27 who must either change their claims to conform with \u27our\u27 requirements, or be rejected. The case study explored in this article shows how this Whiteness exhibits itself in procedural requirements; in its racialising of Indigenous people, their claims and evidence; and in its assumptions of essentialist views of Indigenous culture as something fixed in the past. Judges and lawyers need to step outside their personae as Whites faced with Others, to adopt one where \u27us\u27 embraces Indigenous people and culture too

EARC: a remarkable record. by Janet Ransley

The operations of Queensland's Electoral and Administrative Review Commission are examined

A rocky road for unwary royal commissioners

Judges take a risk when they step outside the courtroom to play the role of royal commissioner Dyson Heydon wasn’t the first royal commissioner to face allegations of bias, and he’s unlikely to be the last. Other commissioners, especially in Queensland, have fallen victim to the hazards they can encounter when they take on extrajudicial investigations. While Heydon’s alleged transgression was undoubtedly much milder than those of some of his predecessors, it has raised again the peculiar status of the government-appointed commissions and those who agree to run them. When Queensland premier Peter Beattie appointed Tony Morris QC to head a commission of inquiry in 2005, the job seemed clear and uncontroversial. Following scandals at Bundaberg Hospital, Morris was asked to investigate the government agency concerned, Queensland Health, and its recruitment of foreign-trained doctors. A senior lawyer of many years standing, Morris could have been expected to understand and conform to the rules about bias and procedural fairness… Read the full articl