Crime In Australia Research Articles

The Dreamworld deaths: corporate crime and the slumber of the law

ABSTRACT On Tuesday 25 October 2016, four people were killed on the popular Thunder River Rapids Ride (TRRR) at Dreamworld, Australia. Ardent Leisure Ltd pleaded guilty to three charges under section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) and was fined $A3.6 million with convictions recorded. This article analyses the charges, penalties and ways in which the responsibility of Ardent Leisure Limited for these deaths has been framed by the criminal jurisdiction – essentially, to minimise and neutralise the criminality. The article contends that the legal framework for governing corporate crime in Australia does not reflect the culpability of corporations or provide sentences of deterrence, as illustrated in the case of Guilfoyle v Ardent. The article explores the ways in which the Inquest and sentencing remarks in relation to Ardent demonstrate the failure of the legal system to grapple with the personhood of corporations, specifically in terms of agency and the implications for culpability.

“More intelligent, less emotive and more greedy”: Hierarchies of blame in online fraud

Online romance and investment fraud are growing crimes in Australia by volume and money lost but are also known to attract high levels of victim blame. The Fraud Justice Network (FJN) refers to the multitude of institutions that aim to combat frauds, but little is known about how and how and why professionals within these entities ascribe blame to fraud victims. ‘Ideal victimhood’ is constructed based on the nature and circumstances of the crime and behaviours of victim and offender and can effectively work to create hierarchies of legitimacy among victims. This article presents findings of perspectives and experiences of the FJN in Australia, through fourteen semi-structured interviews with FJN professionals. Thematic analysis found a discrepancy in the way the two types of victims were perceived. Reasons and potential impacts are discussed.

Holding to account or amplifying extremist hate? A mixed methods analysis of newspaper reporting on far-right crime in Australia

ABSTRACT This article explores how Australian print media has reported on the legally contentious activities of far-right actors, using evidence from newspaper articles and court documents. It builds on prior criminological research that has examined how media representations contribute to the rise of intersectional prejudice and the normalisation of racist violence. While much existing research on far-right activism in Australia and similar countries with European colonial histories focuses on the victimisation of marginalised and minoritised communities, this article argues that a full understanding of the political normalisation or “mainstreaming” of further right-wing ideals also requires examining broader societal perceptions of far-right actors. This includes both their violent actions and their non-violent actions, and their less overtly political activities. The study employs a critical approach to criminological theory, drawing on Innes’ concept of message crimes, Jewkes’ criteria for crime news values, and Sykes and Matza’s techniques of neutralisation.

Examining the quality of news media reporting of complex mental illness in relation to violent crime in Australia.

News reporting on mental illness can perpetuate stigma. An understanding of the current picture of such reporting is important to identify areas for improvement. This study investigated the quality of Australian news media coverage of complex mental illness in the context of crime and violence over a 2-year period, prior to the release of new media guidelines. This research utilised a systematic search of Australian news articles that were published between July 2018 and July 2020 and reported on mental illness in relation to violent crime. Researchers developed a Mental Illness and Crime Reporting Quality Framework to determine quality scores for news articles according to 11 relevant factors in media guidelines. An additional 11 characteristics of articles were extracted for further descriptive analysis. One-hundred and twenty-eight Australian news articles met inclusion criteria. The average quality score was 50 (SD = 13.91) out of a possible maximum score of 100 (range 11-78). Strengths and weaknesses were identified as some criteria were consistently met, and other criteria were met rarely or not at all. There were emerging trends between quality scores and article characteristics, including publication source, though these analyses were not statistically significant. The findings indicate that Australian news coverage of complex mental illness and violent crime met half of the criteria of reporting guidelines that minimises risk of perpetuating or reinforcing stigma. This demonstrates significant opportunity to improve the overall quality of media reporting on crime and mental illness. Future research should evaluate the impact of the guidelines on the quality of news reporting after their implementation by utilising a similar methodology, using these findings as a baseline measure.

“I Know a Guy and He’s Got Guns Galore”: Accessing Crime Guns in the Australian Illicit Firearms Market

ABSTRACT Despite there being a highly regulated firearms market, Australian criminals continue to have significant access to illicit firearms. This paper focuses specifically on the role of brokers in the illicit firearms market. It draws from 75 in-depth interviews with prisoners convicted of serious gun-related crimes in Australia. We note how these actors occupy the margins of our interview data yet are seemingly central to the supply and circulation of firearms. Six main means of illicit firearm acquisition are identified, ranging from supply through family members to being vouched for by a known person who provides a bridge to the appropriate supplier (or ‘guy’). The role of straw purchasers, theft, and/or manufacturing in the illicit firearm trade are also explored. We conclude with a provisional profile of the ‘middleman’ and comment on the resilience of the underworld code and its protection of key actors in gun crime milieux as well as implications for prevention and law enforcement.

‘ndrangheta e “ricerca del potere”: riflessioni su mafia e potere politico in Australia

This research is linked to studies on the criminal mobility of the 'ndrangheta in Australia. Starting from extensive research in the field, and from a critique of the concept of ethnicity and its links with organised crime in Australia, this work reflects on the political interests of the Calabrian clans in Australia. Some clans can maintain ties with powers and professional elites also by exploiting ethnic solidarity” within the migrant community.

Wildlife crime in Australia.

Wildlife crime is on a massive scale by whatever metric is used. The illegal trade in wildlife and related products is leading to the decline and extinction of many iconic species from rhino to tigers. Almost all countries are signatures to CITES and therefore should enforce national legislation if alleged infringements of trade of wildlife occur. No country is immune from this illegal trade although countries like Australia have their own specific wildlife crimes. Australia is home to many reptilian, amphibian and avian species that are highly prized, predominantly as pets. Collection of protected species from the wild is illegal in all jurisdictions yet policing remote areas of the outback, where so much of the native endemic fauna and flora lives, is nearly impossible. The illegal international trade in these species is highlighted by two case studies provided in this review. A further case highlights the issues of each of the six states of Australia having separate legislation, which is compounded when wildlife crime can be inter-state crime. Australia is one of the few countries having an institute, based at the Australian Museum, with an accredited wildlife forensic science laboratory and therefore the capability to undertake forensic testing of seized samples. One way to reduce wildlife crime may be by educating those who buy illegally seized products that there is a direct connection between the dead animal from which it came and the devasting effect this purchase has on the environment.

A case for the use of cyber-systemics to combat financial crime in Australia

Purpose Financial crime costs the world economy more than $1tn. Yet policing responses continue to apply traditional law enforcement methods to detect, identify and disrupt criminal actors in financial systems. The purpose of this paper is to challenge existing thinking around law enforcement practices in financial crime within an Australian context, by presenting an alternative model grounded in management cybernetics and systemic design (SD), which the author terms “cyber-systemics”. Design/methodology/approach This study reflects on prior research work across cybernetics and SD to suggest an integrated approach as a conceptually useful basis for considering regulation of financial crime, and to demonstrate utility using a case study. Findings The Fintel Alliance between financial crime regulators and financial institutions in Australia demonstrates a strong connection with, and example of, this study’s cyber-systemic regulatory framework. It will be demonstrated that the form of co-design framework offered under cyber-systemics is both consistent with cybernetic and SD literature, but also a means of avoiding regulatory disconnection in times of change and disruption. This study also invites consideration of how future forms of governance might be structured using cyber-systemics as a conceptual backbone. Research limitations/implications This work proposes a novel methodology at odds with traditional law enforcement ways of doing, inevitably requiring a change of regulatory mindset. In addition, this paper is purely conceptual and therefore more research on an empirical basis is required to prove the potential benefits in a real-world regulatory environment. Originality/value This is (to the author’s knowledge) the first conceptual exploration of blending SD and management cybernetics in the field of criminal law regulation.

Food fraud: an international snapshot and lessons for Australia

Purpose Economically motivated food crimes are widespread, and it appears countries and consumers across the globe are affected. Foods targeted and ways of dealing with food crimes vary according to several factors, including the source and destination of the food; demand; availability (e.g. short growing season); price; environmental impacts, such as sustainability (e.g. seafood); likely consumers (e.g. babies); and regulatory controls. Internationally, several foods are well known to be commonly targeted by unscrupulous criminal groups, ultimately leaving unsuspecting consumers exposed economically and physiologically. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of food fraud and the criminals committing it. Design/methodology/approach Building on a systematic search of international scholarly literature from a wide cross-section of disciplines, parliamentary documents and media articles relating to food crime, this paper cautions the vulnerabilities to food crimes in Australia from a criminological perspective. It draws on crime opportunity theory to explain the modus operandi of criminals engaging in food fraud. Findings Inadequate testing regimes, unclear definitions and inadequate laws expose consumers and vulnerable industries to food crimes. With reference to uniquely Australian examples, this paper highlights exposure opportunities and concludes with lessons drawn internationally. Further research is underway to explore how these vulnerabilities can be resolved through closing regulatory gaps and the introduction of innovative technology. Originality/value This paper usefully draws on trends in the literature and applies crime opportunity theory to understand how food fraud may present in Australia for everyday foods, as well as emerging and highly prized markets.

Governing Poverty: Compulsory Income Management and Crime in Australia

Welfare reforms have swept across most liberal-democratic nations over recent decades, carried by a deep neoliberal faith in market rationality and an intensive focus on the individual as a key site of disciplinary intervention. These reforms have been accompanied by discourses within which welfare, deviance and crime are interwoven tightly. Australia’s Income Management (IM) policies, which “quarantine” a portion of welfare income as a means of behavioral conditionality, provide an example of welfare policy that has been promoted as a way of reducing crime. In this article, we interrogate these claims. We find little support for the policy logic linking IM and crime, and we demonstrate that there is no clear evidence that IM has reduced crime. Instead, we argue that the overwhelming focus of IM on poor and racialized subjects serves to socially construct crime as a metaphor for justifying the harmful “double punitive regulation” of the state. This sees the state’s left hand (i.e., social functions, including workfare) and right hand (i.e., punitive functions, including prisonfare) work together to turn poor (and mainly Indigenous) populations into marketized subjects, while punishing those who resist, through a range of governing techniques.

Private Investigation into Economic Crime: Regulation of a Multidisciplinary Field

Regulation of the private investigator profession is complex, especially in the context of financial crime in which practitioners undertake commercially sensitive inquiries, provide dispute resolution and forensically analyze collected evidence for a wide range of industries affected by fraud. Private investigators come from a range of backgrounds, including law enforcement, government regulation and other professions, which has implications for the criminal and civil justice system. This paper examines the complexity and challenges of the private investigator industry arising from the overlap of occupations and how this influences the professionalization of the industry in the context of financial crime in Australia.

The carbon footprint of crime in Victoria

Climate change mitigation should permeate all areas of government policy, however; the Criminal Justice System (CJS) currently remains absent from Australia’s means of climate change mitigation with exception to the legislative reporting of carbon emissions in the provision of governmental reports. Anthropogenic carbon emissions are the scientific drivers behind climate change and arise from the energy consumption and lifecycle of objects used in criminological contexts, potentially hindering climate change mitigation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to quantify the first carbon footprint of crime in Australia using the state of Victoria as a case study. In doing so, an Environmentally Extended Input-Output Analysis is undertaken to discern common criminal offence types and CJS expenditures release over 480,000 t of carbon emissions across Victoria. Homicide attributes the highest carbon footprint per-incident out of each criminal offence in Victoria. Whilst security, drug abuse and police activity attribute the three highest carbon footprints out of all criminal offence types and CJS expenditures in Victoria from 2016 to 2017. The CJS has currently been overlooked in terms of climate change mitigation, therefore, this article highlights various sources of carbon emissions and prospective pathways to target for climate change mitigation.

Policing, Ill-Discipline, and Crime in the American–Australian Alliance, 1942–1945

This article analyses policing, ill-discipline, and crime in the Australian–American alliance during the Second World War. Though these topics have received considerable scholarly attention, previous studies have been narrowly focused both geographically and thematically. Providing a broad analysis of these subjects, this article places these issues within their wider political and legal context, and examines the nature of cooperation between Australian police (both military and civil) and their US allies. It also traces general patterns of ill-discipline and crime in Australia and its territory of Papua and mandate of New Guinea, highlighting policies that successfully limited inter-Allied violence.

A comparison of rural crimes in Australia (NSW) and South Africa

Rural criminology as a topic of scholarly study, neglected over the past two to three decades, has bounced into the spotlight, with claims now being made that rural criminology is receiving justified attention among the academic fraternity. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the major challenge facing two countries with different levels of development as identified by the United Nations Human Development Index. A predicament for rural criminology is that the world is not equal: rural crimes is researched in developed countries but not in developing countries. This paper compares the types and prevalence of agricultural crimes in Australia (NSW) and South Africa to determine whether significant differences or similarities exist.

Hot and bothered? Associations between temperature and crime in Australia.

Temperature and crime is one of the most extreme relationships between the atmospheric environment and human behaviour, yet our knowledge about it is primarily based on Northern Hemisphere research. This study used both temporal and spatial models to investigate the relationship between temperature and crime in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, using an 11-year data set. Results suggested that assault and theft counts were significantly higher in summer than winter (17.8 and 3.7%, respectively), while fraud counts were not significantly different. Using linear and quadratic terms for maximum daily temperature, a linear regression model indicated that daily assault counts significantly increased with rising temperature and the rate of increase slowed as temperatures exceeded 30°C. Theft counts significantly increased with rising temperature then declined as temperatures exceeded 30°C. Again, there was no evidence of a relationship between temperature and frequency of fraud count. Spatial modelling revealed that 96% of local government areas (LGAs) in NSW had a higher summer assault rate than winter. The findings of this study provide an empirical foundation for understanding crime-temperature relationships in Australia.

From pursuit to progress: critical reflections on concepts of young people and crime in Australia

ABSTRACTIn September 2018, the bodies of two Aboriginal boys were pulled from the Swan River in Perth, Australia. Trisjack Simpson, 17, and Chris Drage, 16, had run to the river as police pursued them on foot. They had been seen jumping fences. Their story is emblematic of how youth and crime are constructed in relation to each other; in particular, how certain young bodies come to be known as criminal – or, as more criminal than others. In this ‘Contemporary Comment’, the story of the boys provides a focus for critically interrogating the ways we conceive juvenile crime in Australia. It argues that mainstream discourses of young people and crime are often based on, and further entrench, a colonial ideology; and that radical reform of practices is both possible and needed.

Responding to the Needs of Prisoners with Learning Difficulties in Australia

Offenders who are convicted of a crime in Australia are encouraged to participate in educational and vocational training programs during their time in prison. However, one of the significant challenges encountered by not only prisoners who enroll in educational and vocational training programs, but also for the staff who teach into these programs, are prisoners who experience learning difficulties. Prison teachers and other staff are ordinarily unaware of which offenders experience such difficulties. Given that unidentified learning difficulties are associated with poor educational, employment and psychological outcomes, it is critical that prisoners who experience specific learning difficulties are identified, and that educational and vocational training programs offered in prisons cater for the diverse learning needs of all prisoners. This review highlights issues with the identification of learning difficulties and proposes methods of supporting prisoners who experience learning difficulties and the people tasked with managing them. Such a review offers an important contribution to the literature on educational and vocational training programs in prisons as well as practical implications for prisoners, teachers and administrators.

A public perception study on bribery as a crime in Turkey

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the perception of Turkish citizens of the severity of bribery relative to other crimes and violations.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was administered to 545 Turkish people respondents. A five-point Likert scale that measures attitudes and behaviors using answer choices was used to categorize the degree of seriousness of each crime for data analysis.FindingsThe results of the study show that bribery ranked 16th among the 33 offences surveyed, that is, it lies in the middle in terms of seriousness. The results also indicate that the average person views bribery as not a very serious crime. When compared to violent crimes, bribery is significantly less serious. As for the property crimes, bribery is significantly less serious than arson and carjacking, but it significantly more serious than damage to public property, shoplifting and bike theft. When compared to white-collar crimes, bribery is remarkably less serious than embezzlement and appreciably more serious than welfare fraud, insider trading, child labor, minimum wage and insurance fraud. The results of this study are substantial; general public do not perceive bribe as a serious crime.Originality/valueThis is an important study in relation to Turkey. This is as a pioneer study that indicates the relationship between bribery as a crime and other offences in Turkey. The results of this study should be useful to policy-makers in Turkey and elsewhere. Another important sight of this study is the fact that the results show different correlations with similar studies put through in the other countries. According to the studies, bribery was the least serious crime in Australia and New Zealand; it ranked in the middle in terms of seriousness in Mexico, similar to Turkey; and it was also less serious than the average offense in the USA.

Australian imprisonment 2002–2016: Crime, policing and penal policy

The period between 2002 and 2016 saw substantial reductions in a number of major categories of crime in Australia, including murder, robbery, break and enter, motor vehicle theft and ‘other’ theft. One might expect the Australian imprisonment rate to have fallen too, but it did not. Over the same period, the Australian imprisonment rate grew by 36%. Most commentators assume the growth in imprisonment rates is due to the growth in punitive penal policies. Little attention has been paid to the influence of crime and policing policy. In this article I present evidence that much of the growth in imprisonment rates stems from rising rates of drug use/drug trafficking and changes in policing policy vis-à-vis family violence and child sexual assault.

Assessing concordance between trends in high-level drug trafficking and other serious and organised crimes in Australia, 2005–2006 to 2014–2015

Aims: Across the globe law enforcement agencies frequently link trafficking in illicit drugs to serious and organised crime such as terrorism and gun trafficking. However, there remain few systematic academic analyses of the extent and nature of links. This paper explored the extent of concordance between trends in high-level drug trafficking and seven other serious and organised crimes in Australia: and which crimes (and crime subtypes) most and least correlated with drug trafficking.Methods: Official crime data from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions was obtained on criminal prosecutions on drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, weapons trafficking, people trafficking, sex trafficking, terrorism and corruption and trends examined over a decade: 2005–2006 to 2014–2015.Results: Analysis revealed a positive correlation between drug trafficking and money laundering and subcategories of corruption, fraud and people trafficking. No positive correlation was found between drug trafficking and sex trafficking, weapon trafficking or terrorism. Differences were found by type of drug-trafficking offence.Conclusions: These findings suggest that in Australia, high-level drug trafficking is most likely related to money laundering, fraud, corruption and people trafficking. It also suggests that drug trafficking and other serious and organised crime linkages may be more complex than often asserted.