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Abstract

One of the roles of prisons is to provide an effective environment that reduces the risk of reoffending. Many offenders have education and skill levels well below the Australian average and are more likely to be unemployed, which has an impact on their health and ability to find housing. The introduction of vocational education and training (VET) programs as part of prisoner rehabilitation offers opportunities for offenders to reduce this disadvantage, thereby increasing the likelihood of successful re-integration into the community and reducing the risk of reoffending.

In the aftermath of highly publicised terrorist attacks, since 2001 terrorism has emerged as a key concern for police and the community, according to a three-year Victorian study on counter-terrorism policing and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities (Pickering et al. 2007). People from CALD or distinct religious backgrounds are often the focus of counter-terrorism strategies. The study showed that the attention paid to CALD communities can make them feel vulnerable to increased police attention.

As AICrime reduction matters no. 72 highlighted, problem gamblers sometimes turn to fraud to fund their habit. It is therefore likely that early-intervention strategies to prevent problem gambling will prevent some fraud.

Preface

"People don't seem to handle their anger well any more." These words were spoken by an official of an industry staff association whose members are widely subjected to customer harassment. The comment highlights an apparently growing phenomenon in the workplace: aggression expressed by consumers/clients/customers and others toward service providers.

Occupational violence has been defined as "incidents where staff are abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances related to their work, including commuting to and from work, involving the explicit or implicit challenge to their safety, wellbeing or health." In the previous issue of this series (no. 9), the three major types of occupational violence were described (external, client-initiated, and internal organisational). Here, measures for the prevention of occupational violence are summarised.