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Foreword | The use of fire in homicide can involve a fire as a direct weapon to commit homicide, or to conceal homicide. It can involve the additional crime of arson, the act of deliberately setting fire to property. Analysis shows that, while homicide trends over this period have declined, the proportion of fire-associated homicides has increased significantly; a trend which has also been observed overseas. This paper examines the involvement of fire, either directly or indirectly, in the commission of homicide in Australia.

Proceedings of a conference held 30 November - 2 December 1992, Wellington, New Zealand

Contents

• Contributors
• Glossary of Maori terms
• Preface

Corrections

• Opening address
  The Honourable Douglas Graham
• Privatising prisons: principle and practice
  Richard W. Harding
• Some liberal and radical responses to privatising the penal system in Britain
  Mick Ryan
• History of contract management in Queensland corrections
  Stan Macionis and Ross Millican
• The challenge of change

Foreword | Violent crime statistics drawn from police data do not show the large amount of violent crime and victimisation that is never disclosed to police. Within this ‘dark figure of crime’ are human experiences that can leave victims without help and support, perpetrators not coming to justice and cycles of violence continuing unbroken. This paper explores some of the reasons for the high rates of non-disclosure of violence in Indigenous communities.

Foreword | Although there are no national data on youth gangs in Australia there is a perception that youth gangs are an emerging problem. This paper draws largely on overseas attempts to deal with gang related activity and the extent to which they have been successful. The most successful interventions have some combination of coercive and developmental measures. A key issue for both policy makers and practitioners is the weight given to particular measures within the context of an overall strategy.

Foreword | The latest national prison census revealed that on 30 June 2003, there were 23,555 prisoners in Australian jails (ABS 2004). Of these, seven per cent (1,594) were women, an increase of 109 per cent since 1993. Of the 812 prisoners whose most serious offence involved deception or a related offence, 21 per cent were female, representing 11 per cent of the total female prison population, compared to three per cent of men in jail for the same category of offence.

Foreword | Over the past ten years, there has been considerable discussion of what is often called 'road rage'. Articles appear regularly in the academic literature and the press, and governments have been prompted to take action to control what seems to be a growing incidence of violence associated with motor vehicle use. This paper considers how best to define the problem and to quantify its extent.

The use of people to transfer drugs and/or money, a long standing practice of the criminal fraternity, is being replicated in the high tech crime environment. 'Money mules' (people unrelated to the criminal activity that creates the illicit funds) transfer relatively small amounts of money lodged in their bank accounts to criminals overseas. Money mules are a consequence of the need for criminals to transfer, and disguise the origins of, illicit proceeds of crime.

Introduction

The value of public resources lost each year in Australia because of fraud, waste and abuse defies precise quantification, but almost certainly runs to many millions of dollars. In the climate of fiscal restraint which has become normal for all Australian governments, it is more important than ever that public funds are managed responsibly.

Foreword | In this paper, the authors describe recent developments in DNA technology. Key cases involving DNA evidence in Australia and overseas that occurred between 2003 and 2014 are used to illustrate the benefits and potential issues that can arise when new DNA techniques are applied to criminal investigations. Empirical data on the value of DNA evidence and DNA databases on investigative and court outcomes are outlined, demonstrating strong support for the value of DNA evidence to investigations and prosecutions.

What is domestic violence?

Police responses to domestic violence have been examined by a number of ombudsmans' offices across Australia, (WA Ombudsman 2003, Qld Crime and Misconduct Commission 2005, NSW Ombudsman 2006), with many findings consistent across the reports. The NSW report found that areas where domestic violence was rife were also those least equipped to deal with it. Police felt that policing domestic violence was a complex and frustrating task due to its violent nature and the cumbersome court processes associated with applying for an ADVO.

Foreword | With the ageing of the population, and increasing demand for individuals to be financially literate and self-sufficient, older Australians may find themselves at greater risk of fraud. Although the proportion of the elderly experiencing fraud is lower than for those aged less than 65 years, this is the crime they are most likely to experience and the effects can be devastating as the elderly are often not able to recoup the losses.