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The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has today released a paper that identifies cyber strategies that have the potential to identify victims of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and detect offenders.

Cyber strategies used to combat child sexual abuse material reviews existing research on cyber strategies to disrupt and prevent CSAM offending.

The study identified five key cyber strategies: peer-to-peer network monitoring; automated CSAM detection tools; web crawlers; pop-up warning messages; and facial recognition.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released a paper that examines the issues surrounding CCTV. In this case, CCTV refers to visual surveillance systems designed to monitor public spaces such as malls and major thoroughfares. Results of research on the impacts of CCTV in open-street settings have to date been ambiguous. Whether crime is prevented by CCTV or merely displaced to other locations remains contested. There is no hard evidence to show that CCTV systems are the panacea for crime problems in public space.

Key findings

• The AIC interviewed 170 assault offenders detained on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program. Analysis of questions about alcohol use provides valuable information to support a range of alcohol harm reduction strategies, including Operation Unite.
• Those charged with assault on Friday and Saturday nights were more likely than those charged at other times to have consumed alcohol in the past 48 hours and attribute alcohol as a factor in their offending.

Foreword | One way that Australian correctional authorities can safeguard the community is by incapacitating offenders and keeping them away from potential victims. The community can also be protected in the longer term by minimising the likelihood of ex-prisoners reoffending after they are released. One strategy for reducing the risk of recidivism is the provision of treatment, services and support to prisoners during their incarceration and after their release. This approach is gaining prominence in Australia and internationally.

Foreword | Most prisoners are highly likely to re-offend once released into the community and as a consequence, have a high rate of return to prison. This is a costly cycle: in 2004-05 $1.7 billion was spent on 120 custodial facilities housing a daily average of 24,092 offenders. Given increasing imprisonment rates these costs will continue to escalate unless we actively seek to prevent re-offending among prisoners post-release.

Foreword | This paper presents a summary of findings from a report to the Criminology Research Council on the experiences of child complainants of sexual abuse in the criminal justice system in three Australian jurisdictions: Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. The aim of the research was to investigate the processes surrounding, and the consequences of involvement in, the criminal justice system from the perspective of the child complainant.

Foreword | This study builds on a previous project that examined the link between child maltreatment and juvenile offending. It followed all children born in 1983 in Queensland through any contact they had with the child protection system, and/or any juvenile justice matter that required the child to appear in court or be held in custody. The current study involved the addition of the 1984 birth cohort and formal police cautioning histories to the dataset. This report describes the key findings in relation to cautioning.

Foreword | Illicit drug markets are, by definition, unregulated, unaccountable and unpredictable. Operators in this market do not enjoy access to the sort of economic data upon which traders in legal commodities depend; they cannot insure their products against loss; transaction costs are high; and, most significantly, those involved in the trade are susceptible to changes in activity by law enforcement or their competitors.

Foreword | Offenders with complex drug dependencies involving two or more drug types comprise a substantial proportion of drug court and drug diversion clients, yet evaluation studies have demonstrated that these offenders often have poorer retention rates and higher post-program reoffending rates. Poly drug use also has implications for police and law enforcement agencies, as users are potentially a more diversified group whose varied patterns of use makes them more resilient to illicit drug market fluctuations.

Researchers and professionals have argued for decades about whether or not the portrayal of violence in the various media causes violence in society. Laboratory experiments, field research and correlational studies have all been used as investigative tools. Some studies have suggested that there is a direct causal relationship between violence in entertainment and violent behaviour, and others have concluded that there is no association whatsoever. Most studies have shown that there is some sort of relationship or association.

Much has been written about how correctional education contributes to post-release outcomes for ex-prisoners. In their systematic review of 50 studies of the effectiveness of correctional education, Davis et al. (2013) found that study in prison unequivocally reduces post-release recidivism and, on average, increases post-release employment. Unlike most earlier studies of the impact of correctional education on recidivism and employment, including the primary studies included in the Davis et al.

Foreword | The disadvantages faced by Indigenous Australians are well-documented and are the focus of determined efforts by government and non-government agencies throughout Australia. Indigenous justice and safety are priority issues for the Council of Australian Governments and law enforcement. The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has contributed to work on closing the gap of Indigenous disadvantage by increasing knowledge about justice and community safety issues affecting Indigenous people.

Foreword | Mobile and wireless technologies have evolved beyond recognition since the first radio signals were transmitted in the late nineteenth century. The advent of mobile phones and similar devices has transformed business and social interactions, and Internet access no longer depends on a wired system such as a modem connected to a telephone landline - rather, it can be achieved using a mobile enabled device whenever and wherever a mobile access point is available.

Changes in illicit drug availability have been shown to impact users’ alcohol and other drug consumption. In late 2000 and early 2001, Australia experienced a sudden and dramatic reduction in the supply of heroin which has continued to the present date. This shortage has been attributed to, at least in part, supply-side reduction strategies undertaken by law enforcement (Weatherburn et al. 2003).